Written by: Kristen Moore

Published on 01/31/2024

Well hello again! Today I wanted to share 5 tips for taking AMAZING photos of your crochet products with just your phone! Whether you’re a pattern designer, sell finished items, or just love sharing your beautiful creations with the world then this post is for you. Most of us don’t have the means or ability to take the time and spend the money on a high quality camera. But what all of us do have is our handy dandy phone that pretty much goes everywhere with us. You can actually take really great photos just by using your phone, and I’m going to share a few tips that have helped change the game for me when it comes to taking product photos!

A little disclaimer first - I am not a professional photographer. I have learned a lot through trial and error about what works for me from taking my own product photos with my phone though, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to share what I’ve learned.

Let’s jump into the first point!

1. Natural light is your FRIEND.

If you can, find the best spots in your home or environment with natural light (it might take some experimenting) and use those same spots over and over again. There are two main spots on my house I always use for pretty much every single one of my photos - right by this one window in the back of my house, and right on my dining room table with my favorite tablecloth as the backdrop.

I usually take my photos around the same time during the day also…this way I know the lighting will be pretty reliable and accurate as long as it isn’t a darker gloomier day. In that case, I’ll still try my best but sometimes I may just need to wait for a sunnier day.

With that being said, make sure to also keep in mind that you don’t want bright, direct sunlight! If the sun is shining straight onto your piece it will wash your photos out and make the coloring look too bright and glowy.

If you’re outside, try moving closer to the shade to take your photos, or wait until the sun is behind some clouds and see how that helps!

2. Take your photos from all different ANGLES!

If you’re taking your photos straight on every single time you could be missing the chance to showcase all the details of your project. Experiment and have fun with this part! I like to just snap, move, snap, move, snap, move…when I’m shooting my pics in order to capture all of the beautiful features! It also gives you more photos to choose from whether you’re using them in listings, your website, or making a post to share on IG or Facebook.

I like to go back through all the photos I took, delete the ones that didn’t turn out, and then work with the few that did turn out really well.

Check out these example photos!

Each one is taken at a slightly different angle so you can use them over and over again.
Find my Amka Snow Doll pattern here!

3. Use Portrait Mode on your phone!

If you have a phone that has portrait mode, I highly suggest using it for your product photos. It helps emphasize the main subject by slightly blurring the background so the focus is on your product only. I don’t really have much else to say with this point - it’s simple and will really take your photos that extra mile.

4. Be aware of your surroundings!

You’d be surprised at what might be reflecting onto your photos…changing the coloring and quality of them. This includes the shirt you’re wearing, overhead lights that might be on, that darker blanket laying on the side of your couch. Really, anything close by could be reflecting on your piece and causing the lighting to be off. If you’re set up by a window with that great natural light coming in, but your yellowish living room light is on…you’ll probably want to turn it off to allow the natural light to really do its thing.

Funny story…I took a TON of photos one time without even realizing the very green shirt I had was reflecting straight on to my piece. When I was sorting through the photos afterwards I knew they looked a little off, and then when I spotted that same green tint in every single one I knew exactly what had happened (insert nervous laughter). Unfortunately, I had ran out of time to take more pictures (hello, stay-at-home mom life), so I had to wait until the next day.

This is your friendly reminder to learn from my mistakes and try putting on a white shirt (if you have one) or holding up a white piece of poster board in front of you before taking those pictures!

Can you see the difference in the coloring of these photos?

The *photo on the left* was taken wearing a green sweatshirt as you can see from my sleeve. The *photo on the right* was taken while I was wearing a lighter purple sweater. Both are taken in the exact same spot at the same time of day and are not edited. Depending on what you wear, your photos can look so different!
P.S. doesn’t Percival Puffin look so cute? :) Find the pattern in my shop here to make your own!

5. Don’t be afraid of EDITING your photos!

I feel like editing can be surrounded by some negativity, but I also think it’s because we’re in a day and age where filters are so heavily used.

When I say to not be afraid of editing I mean sometimes a little brightening of your photo can do wonders and still allow all the natural colors to show through.

I’ve been using the free Lighroom app for a while now to edit all of my product photos and it has helped more than I thought was possible. They have tons of built in presets to use, or you can try creating your own to use on all of your photos.

Check out these two photos:

Both are taken in portrait mode on my iPhone. The *photo on the left* is unedited. The *photo on the right* was edited using a bright preset from the Lightroom app.
By brightening and warming up your photos you can showcase the true beauty of your products!

If you don’t have or want another app to have to use, you can also just edit your photos right in the photo’s settings. If your photo looks a tad dark, try increasing its brightness a bit. If the colors are looking a little dull, try adding a tiny bit of vibrance to them. And, a lot of photos will usually have some natural shadowing that happens. If you’re photo has a bit more shadowing than you’d like, try decreasing it a bit so your subject pops a little more.

I really hope these 5 tips will help you up your photo taking game when it comes to captured those beautiful creations of yours.

Don’t forget, it also takes a lot of time and patience. If something isn’t working for you, try adjusting until you find the style of photo that works just right for you.

Thanks for following along! Have you checked out any of my free crochet patterns yet? The Seward Dishcloth and the Love You Berry Much Strawberry have been my most popular!

XOXO