Get this song on Amazon http://bit.ly/Amazon-Magic-Crayons

Blue Robot merchandise from http://bit.ly/Zazzle-Magic-Crayons

Flash cards on Teachers Pay Teachers http://bit.ly/TpT-TimSensei

Get this song on iTunes http://bit.ly/Apple-MagicCrayons

For the KIT used to make the other videos on this channel https://kit.com/MrTim

Hi,

As the video / IT / web guy at my school I get asked this quite a bit - Any Tips for Taking Photos of Products?

Firstly, you’ll be happy to know you can easily improve the quality of your photos with a little effort rather than a large expense.

The camera on your phone is just fine :-) smart phone cameras are remarkably good.

Turn off the flash for more even lighting. Turn up the brightness of the screen (I have mine turned down during the day to conserve batter), and connect to a mains power supply so that the phone doesn’t go suddenly flat mid-shoot.

A tripod that keeps your camera steady is a must. You can get a small adjustable grip that then will hold your camera for a few dollars. Use the self-timer on your phone so there is no camera shake while pressing the shutter

Lighting: choose a sunny day, set an empty table with a white sheet or paper across it so it gets indirect light. A thin curtain over the window that diffuses the light will give nice even lighting.

To crop your images and remove the background (easy to do as it is on the one colour sheet) use Photoshop Elements. It has all the features of the full photoshop you need but without the monthly fees. It also has “save as for web" feature that will keep your photos high quality but the files sizes of your products down. Photoshop Elements is sometimes bundled with Premier Elements if you need some high-end video editing software, although I’d recommend iMovie or Filmora if you are new to editing.

And most importantly…

Back up. Everything. Your hard drive will fail one day. Look to get an external hard drive that’s about 2-3 times the size of your drive

All the photography and video gear I use for producing the items in my Teachers Pay Teachers store and The Magic Crayons YouTube Channel can be found on my Kit page here.

I hope this helps. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you

Tim

Get this song on Amazon http://bit.ly/Amazon-Magic-Crayons

Blue Robot merchandise from http://bit.ly/Zazzle-Magic-Crayons

Flash cards on Teachers Pay Teachers http://bit.ly/TpT-TimSensei

Get this song on iTunes http://bit.ly/Apple-MagicCrayons

I taught English for a number of years at this kindergarten designed by renowned architect Takaharu Tezuka. An amazing place to be as a student. A challenge as a teacher when kids are allowed to roam freely, but once you become accustomed to the lifestyle and ethos it is an amazing place to be.

Over 25 International Schools and over 20,000 students in Japan take part in the Sakura Medal annual book reading competition. Nominated books must not be more than 2 years old are are chosen by student, staff and librarians. All are recommended reading for children.

2018 Nominees in English

• Elementary School - Chapter Books

• Elementary School - Graphic Novels

• Elementary School - Picture Books

• Middle School

• High School

2018 Nominees in Japanese