I’m so excited to share this post featuring some lovely shots by my product class students at The Makerie retreat in Colorado.

I had so much fun teaching both of my classes at The Makerie, but in the product class I felt especially in my element, because the goal was to create beautiful images that also sell, which has everything to do with the commercial work I’ve been doing recently.

In this class I asked my students to bring in all the amazing things they make, as well as additional accents and props that we could use to style the shots. And let me tell you, we made a fabulous mess together! It was absolutely fabulous to see their creativity and the incredible things they make! There were pillows, cards, pouches, aprons, shoes, illustrations and much more.

photo by Anne Weil

In this class we focused on some principles of photography, lots styling, focus and depth of field (see above – yeah, baby!!), tips for shooting images that sell (of your products, your process and of yourself!), as well as natural and artificial lighting. We built a softbox to diffuse harsh and artificial light, played with softening and deepening shadows, experimented with reflectors, and finally shot in Manual mode, understanding how to adjust aperture, f-stops and ISO, to achieve perfect exposures.

photo by Kara Lundquist

Also, on my end something clicked when I realized that doing commercial work can be honorable. For long I’d struggled with thoughts that my role in the world would be more dignified if I shot for non-profits, instead of shooting things to sell (like Fashion). But this class opened my heart to how wonderful and important it is for a crafter and maker to be able to photograph their work and share it with the world in a way that shows their vision and complements the beauty of their offerings.  I am so happy to know that my lovely students now have some extra tools to improve their businesses and sales. Isn’t that the coolest thing ever?

photo by Elke Bergeron

And look at these images! Don’t you think they did a fabulous job? Their shops and blogs are totally going to rock! I am so impressed with how much they were able to learn in just ONE DAY! Can you imagine what we could do in a whole weekend together? Yes! I want to do a 2-day “picture your craft” extravaganza!

photo by Jess Chamberlain

So that is my next project:  a weekend long “Product Photography” workshop for crafters in the Bay Area. You will be able to attend 1 or 2 days, depending on your schedule, but 2 days will be highly encouraged :)

Are you local? Do you want to join me?

photo by Anne Weil- check out her sweet blog as she has updated it with lovely new photos since the class!

If you are interested, please sign up for my newsletter and I’ll keep you posted of the upcoming dates and locations.

Would you like to host my workshop at your studio? Please contact me at alessandracave@gmail.com and let’s talk!