Birthing.
That’s what I call it. I don’t make patterns. I don’t write patterns. I birth them. When I’m done, I’m exhausted, wishing I had opted for that epidural, and happy the screaming is over. It’s the closest thing to real live birth I’ll ever experience. No, really.
Yes, self-publishing patterns – the way I do things anyways – is quite challenging, tedious, and epic (Epic because it doesn’t seem as though I do much of it these days.) My design process is probably different than most because, for the most part, it’s not consistent. The inspiration portion isn’t anyways. But once I get going on something tangible, it is.
I’m usually married to the computer (iPad these days) during the writing portion because I need to design and type at the same time. This saves me frustration later in trying to read my chicken scratch handwriting after I’ve crossed out too much text that it’s unreadable. While I’m writing the pattern, I have to be thinking 12 steps ahead what’s coming next so that if there are any unique step-outs I have to shoot (step-outs being those pictures I use in my patterns to illustrate the text), I can do it as I’m working and not have to go back and try to fudge it later on. It’s a real time saver.
So last night at about 1am – yes, I was up, weren’t you? – Mr. NexStitch took the last batch of step-outs for me (You know, because I can’t take pictures of myself and demonstrate at the same time. There’s no app for that yet but I’m working on it along with a Dinner that Cooks Itself app). I figured some readers (read: designers) might be interested in seeing how I take the step-outs. I know lighting is an issue for some doing the same thing.
This is just a basic set-up:
3 Tungsten lamps
1 Photo tent
1 Bounce
1 Adjustable table
1 Tripod
Really, there’s no big set-up here with a million lights.
I set up a large photo tent (the big white boxy thing that I’m sitting in front of) on a short, adjustable table. I have a small stool I can sit on to lean somewhat comfortably into the tent. There are two tungsten suns, I mean lights (they’re so hot!) set up to the left and right of me outside the tent, and an additional one hanging above the tent, leaning far over the tent. A camera is positioned on a tripod and placed right up against me as to appear as though it’s looking over my shoulder.
Sometimes these step-out shots can take awhile. It’s taken a couple years to get a good rhythm going to pump them out quick enough that they don’t waste anyone’s time in having to wait for the next picture to be taken. Or the bulbs. The bulbs are expensive. $8.00 a pop and they don’t last a long time either so they can’t be wasted.
Or burn. Burning my face on tungsten lights that are placed mere feet from my face is not fun. Not fun at all. In the end, this set-up works for me as I’m able to put out some nice quality pictures that need very little manipulation after the fact (another time-saver).
So, what’s your set-up?
