Pink Chihuahua Art: Tips on Taking Pictures of Your Layouts

One of the first things I learned when I started posting my layouts on the internet is..... a horrible picture can ruin a beautiful layout. I quickly learned how easy it is to make a picture of your layout look just as good as the real thing, without using a $500.00 camera or a fancy scanner!

I take all my pictures with a simple point and shoot Canon A560 camera. I got it for around $150.00 at Target about a year ago, and it is one of the best cameras I have ever owned.

Here are some simple steps to get a great picture of a layout using your own point and shoot camera.

1. Go outside. Natural sunlight is the best place to take your picture. Even if the sun isn't out the natural light outside really helps.

2. I usually alway leave my camera on the auto setting, but one thing I do change when I take pictures of my layouts is the macro setting. It usually looks like a little flower on your camera settings. Just hit the button and it should turn macro on. I find it to be great for really showing detail work in a layout.

3. Set your layout on the ground. I usually put a scrap sheet of 12 x 12 paper under it just to keep it protected from any dampness, dirt etc.

4. Stand directly over and about 6 inches away from the bottom of your layout (so your feet aren't in the picture), hold your camera directly over the layout pointing at the ground. Now usually I don't zoom in that much because I use photoshop to crop my pictures, but if you don't want a lot of surrounding background in your picture make sure to zoom in and crop the layout using your camera zoom.

5. All that's left to do is snap! Instantly you should have a better than average picture of your layout.

Here is a layout I took a picture of yesterday morning.