Forum Home Lusternia.com Lore Wiki Vote! Forum Rules VOTE ON TMS!
Home› Life Outside of Lusternia› The Real World

Montwick Bodycare

KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
edited May 2013 in The Real World
Rather than clog up the Raves thread every time I make something new, I figured I might as well make a separate thread to show off what I have been making and stocking in my shop.  Obviously this thread will be rather image heavy, so I will try to keep the photos to a reasonable size.

image
My "Amethyst Disc" soaps - these ones were Lavender scented.

image
These are my "Amethyst Heart" soaps - substantially smaller than the disc soaps, they weigh in at around 12 grams each, making them handy to take away on holiday or for something to add a bit of scent to your clothes drawer.

image
The smallest soaps in my range, "Amethyst Rose" weighs in at a mere 6 grams, intended mainly for scenting clothes drawers or places that host overnight visitors such as bed and breakfast establishments.

image
Paleberry Soap - these weigh in at around 15 grams, again handy for packing into overnight luggage or short trips away.

image
Pale Lavender Soap Disc - all the soap discs weigh in at around 60 grams, making them good for adding a little extra aesthetic appeal to a bathroom.
image
"Snowberry" - These I offer in both unscented and custom scent - I have a range of scents that I offer that I can add to these soaps - the colored ones I usually try to do matching scents.

image
"Pure Snow" Soap Disc - again I do these ones unscented or custom scented.
Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

Comments

  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    edited May 2013
    And these are some of the lip balms I've made!

    image
    Natural Unflavored Beeswax Lipbalm

    image
    REAL Milk Chocolate lip balm (yes, it contains real dairy milk chocolates, for you unashamed chocoholics!)

    image
    Peanut Butter Lip Balm (ALLERGY ALERT! This one again contains real peanut butter!)
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • XeriaXeria
    I think you will want to invest in better photographs. These don't do your products justice.
    is dead like the dodo
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    edited May 2013

    Xeria said:
    I think you will want to invest in better photographs. These don't do your products justice.
    Yeah I know.  Sadly I'm short on cash and I don't know anyone that has a decent camera.  As soon as I can get my hands on one I will be taking some high quality pictures.

    That being said, I don't know why the photos here are coming up so blurry - the ones on the website are better quality.

    EDIT: AHA! There we go! Better quality photos!  Seems I used the wrong hyperlinks.  Silly me.
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    edited May 2013
    Also here's some more soap designs!

    image

    image

    image
    (These are probably my personal favourites)
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Time for more soap designs!


    image
    "Peppermint Crystal" mini-soaps (thusly named because they are completely clear, no colouring whatsoever)

    image
    "Eucalyptus Crystal" mini-soaps - again no colourings whatsoever!
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    edited June 2013
    I'm feeling in a good mood, so I've decided to spread the joy a little - for June and July, I'm offering a special 10% discount for Lusternia players (plus anyone that plays any of the other IRE games if anyone wants to let their friends in the other games know - I don't play them personally and I don't want to spam their boards)

    To claim the discount, simply use the coupon code IREROCKS - note that you need to make a minimum purchase of $10 for this coupon to work though (and the discount does not apply to shipping costs)

    New additions to my line of soaps include the following fragrances:

    Lemon Cheesecake
    Strawberries and Champagne
    French Vanilla
    "Angel Wings"
    "Dragons Blood"

    I am also going to be adding liquid soaps to my range in the next couple of days - so make sure to check back!

    This voucher will expire July 31st NZ time, so make sure you get in before then!

    http://montwick.com/shop
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Time for more photos of stuff I have been making! (Yeah, I know, it has been a while since I last put some photos up - I still need to get my hands on a decent camera...)


    image
    Some of my gemstone soaps (Sapphire)

    image
    More gemstone soaps (Emerald this time!)

    image
    Some of my handmade candles!
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • RialormRialorm
    Very nice. One small tip for product photography though, use a white backdrop. You can put one together with some printer paper. It looks much clearer and cleaner that way. 
    image
    You have received a new honour! Congratulations! On this day, you have shown your willingness to ensure a bug-free Lusternia for everyone to enjoy. The face of Iosai the Anomaly unfolds before you, and within you grows the knowledge that you have earned the elusive and rare honour of membership in Her Order.
    Curio Exchange - A website to help with the trading of curio pieces in Lusternia.
  • MunsiaMunsia The Supreme Goddess
    Do you make your own molds, or are you just using premade molds? 
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    edited January 2014
    Munsia said:
    Do you make your own molds, or are you just using premade molds? 
    Premade molds for the time being, but I'm starting to make my own now that I've been doing this for a while and I'm feeling a lot more confidant about my work.

    That being said, time for more photos!

    image
    image
    Ruby soaps!

    image
    image
    Amethyst soaps!

    and last but not least, simply because it was far too tempting to resist doing...

    image
    Chaos Emeralds! XD
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Time for more photos!  Been busy making more stuff to add to my range of products, slowly expanding out, plus word is starting to get out there, I've had a couple of queries for bulk orders, one of which is for a wedding of all things *guy-squee*  Fingers crossed they actually decide to use my products... but I digress

    image

    Goats Milk based soaps!  Good for delicate or sensitive skin!

    image
    Handmade, scented Tea Lights!

    imageI
    Individual Wax Melts (I actually like these more than the clamshell ones, they look nicer >_>


    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • CyndarinCyndarin used Flamethrower! It was super effective.
    I think the gemstone and disc soaps are so pretty. Unfortunately none of the colors match by bathroom decor!
    image
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    edited February 2014
    @Celina‌ I am always happy to do custom orders - let me know what sort of things you are after and I can give you a quote :)
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • LendrenLendren
    How hot is the stuff being poured into those molds?  I wonder if molds could be 3D-printed for custom designs.
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Not very hot at all, about 40 degrees celsius.  Technically 3d-printed moulds could be used, but Silicon moulds are by far the easiest to get the finished product out of, plus they retain their shape more readily without any obvious bend marks or other imperfections.
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Been a while since I last put any of my crafted goodies up here, but I'll be putting up some more photos tomorrow USA time though with any luck, got a new set of silicone moulds today that I'm looking forward to seeing how they come out (these ones are novelty ones, so they should snag a bit of interest from the general public)
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • HiriakoHiriako
    Kagato, the camera itself might make a difference, but it looks to me like your angles and lighting are more to blame. What I would suggest is trying to get either a fairly bright white light and a similarly white background or using some sunlight. The shadows definitely seem to be an issue in those more recent photos, sadly. A prop or two can help as well. (The fire/air ones remind me of a mahjohng game!) If you divide the 'image' into three rows and columns with equidistant lines, you want to try and place the item you're photographing along the points where those lines cross. Try using more of an angle as well. Straight down obscures the light and product. Good luck!
  • XeriaXeria
    In additions to Hiriako's suggestions Here are a few basic set ups you might want to try:

    BASIC Equipment needed:

    Strong lighting (natural sources allowed) 
     - Desk lamp
     - Mini LED TORCHES (or your plain old torch)
     - THE SUN (at different times of the day)
     - WINDOWS with clear untinted glass.

    Background
    -Outdoors (Grass, sand, dirt)
      - The park
      - Your backyard
    - Indoors 
       - Various colored cloths. (raid your wardrobe for shawls or scarfs. Those will do very nicely. Pick the ones with subtle patterns or solid single colors. consider the color of the product you're photographing. You want them to complement each other. Pretend you're matching a jacket to your shirt or something. Easy-peasy)
      - 2 Mounting boards, taped together in an "L" shape with the white side facing upwards of the "L" shape.
    (you can get them at a craft store. White one side, black the other. Very handy. DO NOT DIRTY!)
     
    Camera (Turn off the flash! Flash is bad! Unless you're a pro then by all means go ahead!)
    - Iphone/samsung/smart phone camera
    - POINT AND SHOOT. That'll do just fine.

    NOTE: For web pictures you'll only need 72 Pixels per inch. For printing You'll want at least 300 ppi

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Notes:

    lighting: Generally, you'll want a brightly lit place with lots of ambient light so that you pick out the details of your product in your photo. Place a light source to one side of your product to provide some sort of contrast. You don't want too much, just a good balance of light and shadow.

    if you're stuck, pretend it's a plate of food you or a friend is instagramming.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SET UPS

    ONE
    Take your L Shape cardboard set up. Place it next to a window with morning sunlight coming through it. The window should be to the left or right of the set up. Ensure the lights in the room are turned on, arrange product and photograph.

    White paper and cardboard generally reflects light and can act as a small source of light. While black absorbs light. This is handy if you want to tone down the lighting a little for more contrast. 

    When you're confident with this set up, place your products on top of those shawls or scarves you've raided from your wardrobe. Make it sexy! Cloth makes for a good prop! 

    TWO
    Take your stuff outside on a nice sunny day. I suggest you bring along a piece of black cardboard if you're doing this in the strong afternoon sunlight. 

    Place product on black cardboard. Snap. Adjust to suit your needs.

    The top down angle with no flash works for your white products in strong sunlight, but I suggest you place them on a black background before shooting. White tends reflect light rather strongly and you'll end up with bleached out looking photos if you do consider this when you're setting up. 

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Lastly

    don't be afraid to move things about. Wear clothes you're not afraid of getting dirty. You'll be crouching on your hands and knees should you choose to snap outdoors. 

    Experiment, try different angles and arrangements. For inspiration and research. I suggest pin interest boards. Examine the wonderful pictures of food up there.  Look at how they arrange the food and then promptly use those arrangements for your products. 

    You'll get better with time. It's not hard to pick up basic photography skills. For all this, you'll only need 1 hour tops. 

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hope that helps!
    is dead like the dodo
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Been meaning to put up some more photo soaps for a while now, but with so much going on, haven't really had many opportunities.  Photos are poor quality due to taking them late at night, I'll put up better ones later.



    image
    Pac-Man soaps!

    image
    Short on bath/shower time? :P  Better make it a quick one or you will be OUTATIME /backtothefuture

    image
    These would easily be my favourites because they are so clearly defined.  The front ones are pretty darn small though, not really good for anything beyond putting in a pouch and putting in a drawer to scent your clothes.

    image
    These last ones admittedly I was a little disappointed with the moulds, because the logo is not very defined :(
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
Sign In or Register to comment.