Screening

My photography leaves a lot to be desired (can anyone give me some good tips for taking digital pics of objects and craft works? Do you take them in direct sun? Filtered light? etc?) but here are the results from my screen print class the other day. I used three screens – a yellow, a pink and a blue which meant I could get purples, greens, oranges and browns when overlapping them. This is what it looked like after two colours were put down:

Which I actually like better than the finished three colour image:

I LOVE this class that I am doing. I lay awake on Wednesday night unable to sleep because I was so excited about class the following day. I even got a bit of a buzz of joy when I read through the requirements for end of semester assessment. This is so bizarre for me. I have a very rocky study history – having dropped out of three courses after patchy grades and even patchier attendance records. Although this one is likely to take me eight years at the rate of one class a semester I can actually imagine enjoying those eight years and perhaps even getting some kind of certificate at the end of it. But perhaps I should take it easy and not get too carried away…

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17 Responses

  1. I also like the two color one more. But then again… you couldn’t really see the smile on her :o)

  2. Funny, I like the second one better and not just because of the smile. I like seeing the edging of her skirt.

  3. Hi Claire -If it takes 8 long, luxurious years, you can rest assured that you will have savored every moment of it. It’s great that you’re in a program that feeds your soul — I hate the fact that I rushed through 4 years of college and 2 years for a Master’s doing something that I felt blaise about.
    -Leslie

  4. I love both prints, they are so joy-filled but agree with bluepoppy about the skirt edging 🙂
    Someone once told me the point of any visual arts course is stay in it as long as possible because you have access to resources and equipment that would be so expensive to set up at home.

  5. Pictures of craft stuff is taken best near a window that doesn’t have direct sunlight shining through it. And don’t be afraid to take pictures at different angles – straight on shots can be boring!

  6. guppywoman@hotmail.com says:

    For photgraphing 2D images or flat objects, a good thing to use is a ‘copy stand’.This is basically a camera holder (not too different to a photographic enlarger) that has a base board to place or image and 2 side lights . anyway thats for conventional photography, and u would need to use tungsten film, if i remember correctly. However im sure the principle of 2 side lights applies.. by side lights i mean on the side but shinning down @ say 30 degree.
    I found a funny photo of a faily crude homemade looking one http://www.marietta.edu/~mcshaffd/macro/copy.html

  7. Fabulous, Claire! It’s fantastic you’re doing this course.

  8. quark3001@hotmail.com says:

    http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002-2.html
    has a great article on digital photography. it uses jewelry as an example, but the principles are the same for photographing any small object.

  9. I love the full color screen! It’s great and I can imagine all the exciting things you have in store with your art.

  10. so cute!
    To photograph my jewelry, I use white paper for a backdrop (poster board works well for large objects) and lots of light. Cheap clip-style desk lamps work well.

    I put down a paint chip sample that’s about 50% gray and set the white balance on my camera manually. Then I adjust the exposure compensation to about +0.7 for a bit more brightness, place my objects, and begin shooting from my tripod-mounted camera.
    (Typically I set it to aperture mode and use the macro.)

    In Photoshop I adjust the curves and levels slightly, and I get something like this: http://www.hiitfasions.com.

    Good luck!

  11. Hmm..I do like the colours in the first one better. Yet I also agree about being able to see the smile and skirt edge.Maybe a different kind of pink or a different yellow would have made it work better? She’s kind of fake-tan orange. 🙂
    Still, it’s fun, and a great piece!

    And can’t help you much with digital experience..we’re still working that out ourselves.. not being able to focus in the same way is really a challenge!! The lighting has been pretty funky too..we have a few pictures of our dog with glowing eyes in mid-daylight! Oooh spooky!

  12. now that i look at it again, i also like the simplicity of the first piece…but what really struck me is that i like her better with blue hair!!

  13. Hey Claire, just wanted to say that I’m so happy to hear that you are happy and creating! And 32, too! Happy belated birthday!

  14. Beauuuuutiful! Haven’t been here in a while and it’s great to see your multimedia adventures! Despite your different mediums, they all have a decidedly wonderful Clareness about them.
    When I was in school we were told this regarding photographing our art: Find a wall in the shade on a sunny day around noon. Tack a backdrop to the wall and any other surface you’ll have in the photo (white is best). Take the photos without a flash, straight on, then take detail shots showing bits you want to highlight.

    An overcast day works too, on any wall. The theory is that reflected light is much softer than the harsh sunlight, which leaves hard, dark shadows.

  15. I thought this one would definitely inspire many bloggers.

  16. ward@primalscreen.com says:

    Yes, there is something very engaging about the first image. I think it’s the simplicity of the “3” colors you have there. I know you’ve printed only 2, but with a “third” that is created with the two, but it’s because of the analagous (sp?) colors that probably are more aesthetically pleasing. Hmm, maybe? Love the design! Make shirts and we will buy!

  17. Holy Moley! I want to eschew my taxes for yet another day and make silkscreens!! Thanks for the great, inspiring entry.
    Photography – I photograph my stuff on a plain paper background on a day that’s bright but overcast. And I use Curves and Adjust Colors in Photoshop to correct a multitude of sins.