amateur hour

man alive. the shelves are overflowing. the boxes are tucked, stacked, whatever. tons of inventory. things i once drooled over almost forgotten now {GASP!} because they are so deep in the inventory abyss.
with a small window of opportunity to get some good natural light
it seems like there will never be enough time in the world to shoot it all.
sound familiar? maybe it's just me. evs.
but, since my basement looks dangerously close
to the opening shot of a hoarders episode,
this is constantly on my mind.
my time is limited because
1) all things shop must come second to my day job
{insert debbie downer sound here} and
2) our house is my arch nemesis
when it comes to the kind of light i need for crisp photography.
we're covered in windows but, for the majority of the day,
they're almost all completely shaded.

wah wah and boo hiss.

i've been looking at a gazillion options.
maybe a fancier camera will to the trick?
maybe using studio lights with filters will look like natty light?
using white-board reflectors?
i mean...i've been on tons of photo shoots and have seen some magical results
by way of fancy equipment. i must need fancy equipment!
then, after reading pioneer woman's what the heck series ,
i thought it may behoove me to learn a little more
about my camera and the adjustable settings.
I'M A JERK for not doing this sooner. i know. i know. embarrassing.
especially after going to great lengths
like picking up a cheap kids tent from ikea for parts
to craft up some freestanding light filters
{bonus points: my dog happened to poop in the tent}
and moving a trillion things around in the house so i could clip lights on to things.
ARGH.

so, after messing with the exposure compensation,

i had ah-ha and doh moments simultaneously.

i grabbed a few items from the vintage stash and headed into our office.

it was about 7pm and the room gets southern exposure.

it was pretty dark in there but i tried anyway and these are the results.

ok-these are not the best shots in america. i know this.

BUT if i get out the ol' tripod and try this in the afternoon...i might be on to something.

hey- a small win is still a win!