Natural light product photography and Christmas stockings

Confused by the title? Hopefully not for long! My mom and I run an Etsy shop, Little Buddy Designs, selling hand knit Christmas stockings. We've had the shop for 4 years. She knits the stockings, and I do the finishing work, photography for the listings and handle customer service. All year my mom knits stockings to build our inventory. She hands them over to me, and I prep them for sale. This is our busiest time of year. You might catch me in carline duplicate stitching names onto stockings ;). 

Here is an inside look at how I photograph them using natural light.

I use white seamless paper and lay it across my dining room table.

I set up in front of a window to get the most natural light.

I use a reflector to bounce the light back onto the stocking, so the lighting is even. I balance the reflector against our light fixture (you can see it in the mirror). I could also use my backdrop stand and hang the paper from it, but I find it quicker and easier to use my reflector. I make sure I'm not standing directly in front of the window when I'm photographing the stockings, so that I'm not blocking the light.

I lightly edit all of the photos by adjusting the white balance, adding brightness and adding contrast.  I do all of this in Adobe Camera Raw. The edit is subtle, as I find it important to get it right in camera.

Have an Etsy shop too? Make sure you're using the Etsy iPhone app - it makes a fun cash register sound whenever there's a sale!

Berry Cobbler | Gluten Free | Sugar Free

This mixed berry cobbler is super simple and quick to make. You can use any combination of fresh or frozen berries. I've made fresh strawberry and raspberry cobbler, and pictured here is a frozen berry mix of strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry (Trader Joes, of course ;) ). Adapted and slightly modified from this recipe.

Filling:
about 2 cups of berries (I use 1 bag of frozen mixed berries)
1/2 TBS Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 
1 tsp lemon juice

Cobbler:
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour 
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/8 cup Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/8 cup raw honey
1/4 almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together the filling ingredients. If you use frozen berries, heat them slightly so you can cut up the larger berries. Pour the mixture evenly between 2 small circle baking dishes. Mix the cobbler dry ingredients in 1 bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Spoon half the cobbler mixture over the berries in each baking dish, and smooth evenly over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

The cobbler is delicious topped with whipped cream or frozen yogurt ;)

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Life's a Beach Triathalon | Lido Beach | September 2013

I tried to catch as many Sun Hydraulics folks as possible!