So lovely!

01. bestest friends limited edition giclee   02. join the circus limited edition giclee 03. love limited edition giclee print 04. such a cool cat limited edition giclee

Poppy ballerina bunny and her magical balloon! You can see her in my Etsy store.

I was also featured in this lovely online magazine called ‘Dreamer Journal‘. Take  a look, you can view the mag online! Very cute indeed, and they were so nice to do full-page spreads of my work!  So thanks so much Dreamer team!

I so want one of these! Drawing on paper automatically converted to vector!

The text underneath the drawing I think translates to ‘Con botas de agua” (With rubber boots, because I looove them)”

Vist Beatriz lovely blog at conbotasdeagua

There’s Milke the bunny and Mr Owl is keeping eye on him, just to more he stays safe in the woods.

I’ve had this in the back of my mind for a while, below is a video tutorial on my own process of cropping images on Etsy, or any other shopping venue. This tutorial  is using Photoshop as an example, but could use the same principle in other photo editing programs. There’s a few Photoshop tips/shortcuts in the tutorial as well. This tutorial is mac based, so some of the shortcuts will be slightly different on PC.

You can use this for any size image, so you could use it for a landscape image as well ( you would just need to find a more landscape image as a base reference),  the crop area (where you marquee) will just be smaller in most cases.

Feel free to use my image size as a base for your own images!

It’s probably best to  view the tutorial at full screen mode.

I hope it helps, or feel free to share your own method.

Let me know if there is something you don’t understand :)

Ps- at around the 7 min mark it sounds like I am saying the ‘shit key’, it’s meant to sound like the ‘shift key’ he he!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Summer Love - set of 9 photo blocks

Here’s a lovely interview with the super talented, super lovely… photographer – Susannah Tucker. Oh and we also did a bag collaboration together.

Hi there Susannah…so can you tell us a little bit about your background and how Susannah Tucker Photography came about?

I have always been interested in taking photos, and looking at photos.  For as long as I can remember, even as a child.  I loved the magic of the Mum’s Polaroid, I loved watching Dad use his big fancy SLR, I loved looking through our family photo albums.  Then when I was 8 I was given my first camera, and it’s just been a journey ever since.  In school and university I would make huge collages of cut out photos of friends for my walls. Travelling through Europe I took hundreds of rolls of film over about 3 years (many still to be developed).  In my mid 20’s I realised that photography was what I was truly passionate about and I wanted to study it.  It wasn’t until Annabel was born that I thought I needed to open an online shop, and try a market stall, and have a go at selling my work instead of waiting for the right time to study.   It has been small steps from opening my Etsy shop in 2008 to where I am today.

What inspires you?

It changes.  Definitely my kids.  The blue sky.  Country fields and flowers.  Wide open space.  The beach.  Everything vintage and rustic and old.

What’s a typical day like for you?

My husband gets up early for his commute to the city, and is gone by the time the kids wake.  I get them ready, it’s normally a rush as I try to check my emails before we leave the house, they like to play and don’t like to be rushed, but eventually we make it out the door and walk around to take Annabel to kindy.  Then Otis and I head out to an activity or to meet up with family or friends.  We pick Annabel up, then while they have a rest I get to work – emailing, editing photos, making up orders ready to ship.  Then it is play time, dinner, bath, and when Shannon gets home he puts them to bed and I go out for a walk.  Most evenings we do a bit of work – I love when I have photos to edit, and Shannon will do a bit of music (he works in the city, but is a musician at heart).

Do you have a favorite place you like to visit?

The beach!

When you started selling online was it rather quick success, or did it take time and patience?

It has taken a lot of time, patience, and perseverance.  When things are going very slowly and I am stuck in a creative rut I have to remind myself that it is not all about the highs!

Is there any tips you can give those starting out selling their works online?

If you love what you do, then do it.  Give it a go, and stick with it.  You have to be your biggest fan, believe in yourself and you will find your niche.

And of course I can’t let you go without asking if you have any photography tips for those that need help with setting up their product shots? ( love how you get that sort of grey overtone in your backgrounds when doing product shots, I never understand how those shots are set-up…do you do some recolouring in Photoshop? Or is it your lighting set-up? My photos always seem to have more warmer tones).

Natural light works best, and try a lot of different set ups, props, and angles until you find what works best for you and your product.  I use a lot of white cardstock as a background to the photo blocks, there are so many prop and background options around that don’t cost a lot.

Play with the settings on your camera – ISO is your best friend! (the grey overtones are because of the low light in our house – I always try to lighten them in Photoshop, but then it alters the colour of the products too much!  I am forever trying to get the perfect white photo, but have come to realise that until we paint our walls (they are off white at the moment), this is how the photos will look!

_______________________________________________________________

Visit: etsy.com/shop/SusannahTucker

Blog: susannahtucker.blogspot.com

Check out mine and Susannah’s bag collaboration: the-minolta-messenger-bag-collaboration