Saturday, November 25, 2006

Why I am not a magazine stylist . . .




The Dumpling Times - local newspaper of Gartocharn Village - has offered to put in a bit about my Christmas opening hours if I can supply a festive photo.
This is a very kind offer and of course I am very pleased to take it up.
It is always on occasions like this that it becomes very very obvious that I am not a natural stylist or photographer. Photos like these, that are perfectly good enough for the blog, become suddenly very flawed when I think about newsprint. It suddenly becomes obvious that the van is squint and that 3 seedtrays would be better than 2, and that you can see the pylons in the background . . .
When we had the photographer here from Country Living Magazine he was very good at all those sort of things (which is partly why the photos in the finished article don't really look like here at all) - knowing how to position a chair at a table so that it looks like a chair in a photo, framing things so that the weeds and electricity lines don't intrude, and getting me to stand twisted so that I look slimmer in the finished magazine. It did however take 2 days and a lot of swearing to get the photographs.
It has now started to rain, I am not going back outside to get straight photographs so I shall have to hope that either photoshop has a straightening button or that the good people of Gartocharn are slightly off centre.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish someone whould get me to stand twisted before taking photographs.
I think the photographs are charming but I do so understand the frustration, I just don't understand why my camera fails to photograph what I'm seeing!

Anonymous said...

I think the photos are lovely. Your little van is so cute. Know what you mean about the photography. I really struggle with it. Usually with me it's getting the lighting right. I'm sure your photos will look great in the paper.

Anonymous said...

I love your green van! The wreath is lovely too! I understand about taking pictures - mine never come out looking how I mean them to.

Anonymous said...

What in the world is that vehichle?

very nice.

I want one.

Jane said...

The vehicle is a Citroen H-Van, a French van which turns into a stall - I use it as a shop in the summer - It looks very cute with all the buckets of flowers.
Originally the van was a mobile butchers van.
The design is from the 1950s but they were made up until 1982 - our is 1978.
It does go, but we do not have it MOTed at the moment so it isn't allowed on public roads.

Charlotte said...

Hi jane, I can simpathise with the photo problem. I'm struggling to take professional looking photos for my website which hopefully will be up and running soon. And the van is just class! No wonder you won best stand at the Country living fair early this year( if my memory is correct) You have an eye for presentation and the van just made that extra bit special!
I also loved how you had the name snapdragon written on slate tiles. Anyway, hope you are getting on ok with how to demonstrate and explain the wreath making.
Charlotte

deb said...

What fun! I love the photo!!