How it's done: achieving the look of "Alphabet Soup"

I've had a lot of questions lately about how exactly I created the photographs for the Alphabet Soup series, so I thought I'd share some of the techniques here.

1) I only use natural, diffused light. Incandescent or other artificial light sources throw harsh shadows, so I have to wait for a perfect, sunny day. It's challenging, especially when just one little cloud rolls past and interferes with my sun!

2) I use a vintage lens to capture the images. Combining modern photography with vintage cameras and viewfinders is my favorite way to work. All those bright spots and scratchy bits? Totally intentional! The soft, muted feel of the older lens helps me capture the feeling of the whole series.

3) How do I know which text to use? When I find one that makes me smile :-) I keep playing with the images until I reach a combination that fits perfectly...sometimes it happens quickly, other times it takes nearly a whole episode of "Glee!" to get it right.

Come visit both the original "Alphabet Soup" gallery, and the still-in-progress "Alphabet Soup for Cross Stitchers" gallery to see more!