I started my creative profession as a photographer a couple decades ago. You see, I really love photography. I worked as a family photographer for years where my specialty was (and is) photographing young children.

Photography has been my creative outlet since I was 12 years old.

My first camera was an Argus film camera my dad bought on an over seas deployment to Japan in the 1950s. I wish I still had it.

I take all the photos on this site, and I photograph my knitwear designs on models here in my area. I love that part of the process. It’s actually how I decide what designs to move forward with in terms of pattern publishing.

Seeing the piece in 3D and walking around is the best way to observe how your finished object really appears.

It’s why the big design houses fit everything on models and have the models walk around. They even photograph the mock ups to see how they look in print.

I also gauge the reaction of the models to the knits. If they really like something and want it, then I KNOW it’s a good design.

knitwear photography session by patty mcguire for pattymac knits
The snapshot of the photo shoot was taken by the model’s mother and the finished picture is the one you see in the center frame. Isn’t that amazing?

Following a photography session, I review the image files to see how much I still like the knitted piece in the pictures. I even post previews on my instagram and gauge the response I get to a new design in determining whether or not to move forward with it.

The pictures provide soooo much information beyond simply creating something for my etsy shop to market a product.

Except for the the flat lays and other specifically styled images, I shoot knitwear pictures exclusively on models. Models have features that photograph better than “regular” people AND they like to be photographed.

Having someone in the picture who enjoys modeling and wants to be there really makes the task of product photography a LOT more fun.

There’s so much that goes into a photo session with a model. And while I don’t use flash, I do use light modifiers to get the look I’m going for. **You can see some of what I do in the previous photo.

Hair and makeup for professional photography session
Megan carefully applies Eugenia’s look.

On special occasions I also work with professional hair and makeup artists. It makes a huge difference to the over all look of a photo session, though most models know their faces really well and do quite a good job on their own makeup. Still, when I can do it, I love to work with professionals.

This gorgeous woman has also been signed by a New York agency and will relocate in fall.

knitwear photography from patty mcguire and pattymac photos

I work with a broad range of ages and modeling ability. The big thing is that who ever appears in my photos really WANTS to be there. I see so many photos taken by people who want to get into design, and yet they post pictures taken on unhappy models. The photography is done without color calibration. Someday I want to have classes here to help those people.

Until then, here are some of the blog articles I’ve written about photography technique.

I started posting craft tutorials at the end of 2015, and although they are quite challenging to create, I love doing them. Expect to see more of them!

I have a professional camera and lenses with computer equipment set up to render color properly. Think color calibration is not important? Remember THIS? Please read this is a short blog article I wrote on the importance of color calibration and the effect of poor white balance in digital photography.

An awful lot of time, effort and dedication goes into the visuals on this blog. I sincerely hope you enjoy them, and that it inspires you to take up your own creative adventures in whatever form that may be. Have questions? Drop me a line! I’d love to hear from you.

Big Cozy Wool from Knit Picks is a new favorite of mine