Photo Shoot, Take 2

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Several weeks ago, I tried to photograph the black bracelet I made. I put my camera on its macro setting and used natural light just as recommended on Fire Mountain Gems. For some reason, my camera kept saying I was too close to focus. So I backed up and tried again; again, my camera wasn't happy. After repositioning several times, I was finally far back enough that the camera didn't give me the "whoa, I can't focus warning," so I snapped a photo. This was the result:


No amount of zooming in or cropping made the detail on this any better. I figured at the time that the biggest problem with how it turned out was that I have no idea how to shoot beads. I've had some success with a few other things I've made, including this bracelet in progress:


There is a difference between the two bead styles. In the first photo, the beads have a shiny coat. In the second, the beads have a matte finish. At the time, I wondered if the shine had something to do with why the camera couldn't focus.

This past weekend, we had a wonderful bout of 70 degree, sunny weather. My daughter was down for her afternoon nap, so I decided to try photographing the black bracelet again. This time, the photo -- while still nowhere near professional grade -- turned out much, much better:


I wish I knew what I did differently the second time, because it might cut down on the amount of time I have to spend photographing my beadwork. The only thing I know for certain is that the first time around, I was rather rushed. My daughter was awake and not happy that I wasn't in the room with her, even though she could see me and I could see her through the glass patio doors. I opened door so I could talk to her and she could hear me, thinking that might calm her some, and my poor little girl took a tumble right out onto the patio trying to get to me. (She was fine; just scared.) So perhaps all I need is to make sure I'm not rushed, which is good, because I was starting to think I might need a more expensive camera.

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