Outtakes: Shockwave Wrap

24. May. 2018
/
6 Comments

This wasn’t a typical finished knit photo shoot in so many ways, one of which there were not nearly as many ridiculous photos of me where I look like a dork. But I’m still me, so I found ways to let my dork flag fly.

I love a good prop. When i’m photographing someone and I can tell they are feeling weird about it, I like to give them something to hold. Having an object to interact with helps get rid of the “Omg, what do I do with my hands? How do I use my arms again??” feeling that tends to creep into photoshoots. That happens to me all the time, so I like having a mug. And there was a Sherlock Holmes book hanging around, so I decide to go for it. but there is such a thing as getting too ‘prop-y’, and it looks super staged:

No one sits in that position reading their book and clutching their mug at the same time. No one.

Side note on the styling- I think above you get a good idea of what this would look like in a real world setting, just imagine I’m wearing pants.

Then I was reading and got a little too involved, forgot what I was supposed to be doing.

When I don’t have a prop, I play with my hair. if you ever felt like semi-stalking me, you’ll see a huge assortment of photos where I’m touching my hair. Hey, we all have our habits. But I’ll end on this gif, which is brilliant. These 3 photos are EXACTLY the order in which they were taken, all a few seconds apart in some sort of bizarre photo surprise sandwich:

I look okay in photos #1 and #3, but photo #2 is me at my prettiest, I think. I’m considering it for the jacket photo for my next book.

Outtakes: Gesture Sweater

16. Nov. 2017
/
7 Comments

If you saw last week’s post on my wonderful new Gesture Sweater, then you have likely already seen some good photos of just how beautiful this sweater can be. Now let me show you what it looks like when I’m clowning around High Park with the kids! Look at us, making a little family totem pole.

With James fully mobile and prone to running off (can you believe he will be turning 2 in a couple of weeks?!), the biggest challenge was keeping track of him while trying to get photos. Sometimes this worked, sometimes we just followed him through the bushes and took photos along the way. Oh wait, there he goes again….

Other times, he just wanted to do what his mommy was doing. Because obviously if mommy is standing on a log, then he must also stand on the log. Or at least attempt to get onto the log:

And even if they were distracted long enough to get out of the shot, then I was distracted, because Lila and James are just so freaking funny and adorable. I have no idea what they were doing off camera here, but clearly I thought it was awesome:

Most of the time spent trying to get photos of the sweater went quite a lot like this:

Then at some point they managed to get super interested in some sticks or leaves or something like that, and we got some photos. Although I thought it would be a brilliant idea to throw some leaves up in the air and somehow they would magically float down around me while I gave my best blue steel into the camera lens, and it would look spectacular. I was dead wrong – This is how you get leaves and dirt in the face, people. In the face.

This is probably a good time to remind you that there are way better photos to be found on the original finished knit post over here (there’s even a coupon code!).

* This is part three of a short series of sponsored posts for We Are Knitters. I chose the pattern kit and the colour, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Outtakes: Golden Hour

12. Sep. 2017
/
12 Comments

It’s been such a long time since I’ve done an outtakes post! These are the outtakes from my previous finished knit post on Golden Hour, a which is my new favourite sweater. While in England, Guy and I were able to slip away for a bit and get some photos, and all the photography starts aligned with good lighting, and a beautiful backdrop, and of course a kick ass photographer. It was a bit windy, though:

Sometimes the wind is great and gives movement to a photo, and sometimes you are just trying to not eat your hair.

And even when we went somewhere else and the wind was less of an issue, sometimes I’m doing weird things. Or just talking, because photos of people talking are just the worst. Nothing quite like seeing how crazy your face looks mid sentence to make you want to never speak again:

“Have you ever seen such a beautiful stone wall? Really, you must take a closer look!”

And of course, a classic pose of mine:

I think at this stage Guy know just what to say to get me to do that, and then he’s ready with the camera. Every. Single. Time.

I hope you enjoyed the outtakes!

Delineate Tank: Outtakes

23. Aug. 2016
/
38 Comments

The long awaited outtakes post, where I embarrass myself with unflattering photos!

There was lots of great discussion on the fit and some amazing tips in the comments for ways to modify it to get improve the fit, so if anyone is thinking of knitting this, I recommend a read through. Let’s get an establishing shot, shall we?

Like I said in my last post on this, it’s okay. I think the shape is sort of boxy on me in a boring sort of way. Boxy can work, but I feel like it’s got to be oversized to pull it off. And when I stand up straight and don’t move, you can’t tell that there is excess fabric….. oh, wait, now you can tell:

Super unflattering pose, am I right? Then I decided I should pose for real. This was an actual attempt at a pose:

I think there is literally a shaft of sunlight pointing out the wobbly underside of my pasty white thigh. It’s highlighting it, really. As if to say, “Look here! At this bit! This is where the late night snacks are stored!” So since all shame was thoroughly gone, I leaned into the silliness.

Here is my “Onward, fearless explorer!” pose:

and then there’s my strongwoman pose, still with that shaft of sunlight in the underside of my thigh:

I hardly ever wear shorts, you can probably tell. I know self tanner exists, but I feel like next summer I’ll manage better to do that sort of thing. I’ve never been that fond of my legs (other then the fact that they work great, and I’m super grateful for that), so I’m a fan of long pants and skirts. but it was far too hot for pants that day.

I kept saying to Guy, “Don’t show my ugly knees in the photos!” So naturally:

Ta-da! Good thing we are all friends here. Otherwise I’d be really embarrassed to share all that with you!

Outtakes: Golden Rose

09. Jun. 2016
/
25 Comments

This is pretty much what getting blog photos looks like, when we are doing it with the kids:

We were on the Toronto islands for the day, one of my favourite places to visit (I prefer Ward Island, but Center Island is where all the kiddie attractions are). In the photo above, I was lying on the ground trying to recreate some of the magical composition that we had for this photo from my Pemba mitts and headband. Except Lila assumed that I needed help, lying on the ground. Such a thoughtful child, and very concerned that I be comfortable. So she wanted to assist by holding my head.

Unfortunately, even with all the ‘help’, we couldn’t quite manage to get the sort of photo for the cowl that we were aiming for. Another time! Lila also assisted with sourcing props (which you can see in action on the ‘official’ finishing knit photos, here):

Lila loves that flower headband, even though it’s a bit big for her. James is 6 months old now, and thankfully can’t walk or crawl. I don’t know what I’m going to do when there’s two of them running about. But right now he is really, really into my food. If he sees me eating anything, he wants some of the action. For example:

Do you see how his pudgy little baby hands are hanging onto the bun for dear life? Mere seconds after this shot, he had successfully ripped off most of the bottom bun, stuffed handfuls of it into his sweet little face, gummed a bit, and then spat it all out in a slimy, disgusting bread pellet. He still has no teeth, but we have begun working on solids, and we are doing baby led weaning, which I did with Lila and worked really well for us. I’m glad I had the foresight to take off the cowl before eating, because otherwise James would have put his burger-covered hands all over it!

Those were the outtakes! It was a lovely day, but I think next time we will try to do photos when we have childcare. Much faster, and much easier!

12 3 ›»Next Page

Hi I'm Julie. I love the written word, cozy knits, international travel, domestic pleasures, my quirky british husband, and my two little kids. I help knitters and crafters get inspired by sharing modified knitting projects, round ups of craft ideas and recipes, and reflections on the crafting life.
Email Knitted Bliss