CAS19 Redux and Chatter about Photographs

Here's a little card I made for CAS19 Sketch: Natasha's Pink Blooms and forgot to photograph. It's 4.25 x 4.25, which is a great size here in the US of A because it fits in a standard A2 envelope and doesn't require additional postage, like square envelopes do.

Well, my question about photo backgrounds was pretty conclusive: most of you prefer the colored background for white cards. The few who preferred the white background confirmed for me that I wasn't crazy, though. In the case of the card in my previous post, I like the white better, too, but only by a little bit.

For the record, I take most of my photos by the west-facing window in my craftroom, almost always in the afternoon. The window has a white sheer over it, which softens the light a bit. The light hits from the side (I position the card perpendicular to the window). My camera, a Nikon CoolPix, is set on macro (the little tulip icon) and I turn off the flash. If I have to shoot at night or on a really cloudy day, I use my Ott light and still supress the flash...which tends to make everything look yellow. The photo above was taken on a cloudy day without the Ott light, which accounts for its bluish tone.

I set up the background with two sheets of cardstock, one propped against a CD case holding clear stamps. With the white card bases, the background color sometimes distorts the white, especially blue backgrounds. I try to fix this as best I can in Picasa, but it's tough sometimes to get the card looking really white.

Have a great weekend! DH is planning a century ride tomorrow (100 miles on his bike), which means I'll get a little time in my craft room...assuming small children play nicely. Check out my blog Questioning my Intelligence for THIS POST about living with an Ironman triathlete. It's pretty funny, if I say so myself. ;-)

Supplies
stamps: Simply Said, Hero Arts (sentiment)
cardstock: real red, chocolate chip, white
ink: chocolate chip, real red
accessories: rhinestone, dimensionals