Jack the Stitcher
Jackie is a crafter with a dark side, dreaming up inappropriate cross stitch pieces and patterns. Hers is not your grandma's cross-stitch....
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Jackie is a crafter with a dark side, dreaming up inappropriate cross stitch pieces and patterns. Hers is not your grandma's cross-stitch.
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May, 2016Views
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Awards
Member Selection Award
Summer Selection
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was designed to illustrate the creativity of my cross stitching friend Jackie Kohler. My aim was to communicate her imagination as a fiber artist using the very medium she works in. Technically, things were very low key - so low key, in fact, that I took this on the floor of my sun porch with no more equipment than my camera.Time
This shot was captured at roughly 2 pm, but could have been accomplished at most any time that day. The determining time factor was not light, per se, but the rout of travel required between destinations to create an entire series of images to tell Jackie's full story.Lighting
For this image, we were lucky. The day was hazy with drizzling rain at times. The light streaming through my sun porch window sheers created a giant soft box. No extra lighting was needed.Equipment
I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark III and used a 135 mm lens here. I needed the camera movement to be fluid as I explored angles, so I did not use a tripod. The only other gear was the ottoman I stood upon and the black plastic placed on the floor so I could easily position yarn and embroidery floss independently from my model without losing the fanning effect.Inspiration
Jackie's patterns and finished pieces in her "Jack the Stitcher" Etsy shop fall into the category of inappropriate cross-stitch, but her wit is more than just shockingly funny. I wanted to show her sophistication, sass, brilliance, and her softer side, as well as the unexpected darkness with an ever present hint of hope that this single beautiful person embodies.Editing
To achieve both that dark and yet hopeful feel, I used Lightroom to add split tones in the highlights and shadows giving that overall soft pink and gold coloration. The aim was to balance the blank look on her face with a sense of softness. Adding a boost of saturation to the fiber, my intention was to accentuate the chaotic prism of color coming from the whiteness of Jackie's still, blank face. I wanted it to appear as though she were the white ray of light that split off into the many colors of the rainbow through the sharp eye of her artistic lens. A gaussian blur was added to the fiber in Photoshop in order to create a softer, more dreamlike feel because that's how I view imagination - a fluid and fleeting thing that you can't quite nail down.In my camera bag
I'm a wedding photographer by trade these days so my Canon 5D Mark III is my workhorse, capable of shooting two cards at once for backup. But my roots were in landscape and wildlife so I have a Canon EOS 7D that broke me into shooting higher quality images way back when. The 7D has since become my backup as it's hard to go back to driving a Ford after getting behind the wheel of a Cadillac. My lenses are a combination of wedding primes (50, 85, and 135) with two wide angles (24-70, 16-35) and a telephoto (100-400). I also keep a Canon 1.4 extender and a set of Kenko extension tubes with me. Combined, this collection captures the grand spans of landscapes and reception rooms, takes superb headshots of grizzly bears (from a safe distance), explores the beautiful world of flowers and bugs, and makes for amazing portraits of people.Feedback
To create a truly artistic and compelling portrait, my best advice is to know your subject well, create a well thought out plan, and be confident in the choices you make, whether sticking with the original design or making improvements on the spot. Jackie andI I volleyed ideas back and forth using a private Pinterest board to visualize the many sides of her personality. While she absolutely offered valuable input, the project was ultimately my own. That said, it was very important for me to confidently retain complete creative control. This helped Jackie feel confident that I would do everything within my power to make her look her best and utterly authentic - even in fantasy situations. You have to find that balance. Oh! The most important thing I nearly forgot to mention is to have fun. Because, my goodness, did we ever!
