Hardanger embroidery photographs in magazines

Was thinking this morning about when Hardanger embroidery is unfortunately displayed in magazines with the back of the piece showing, rather than the front. There have been a number of times in my career where I have submitted Hardanger for publication in magazines and books, and they have been photographed with the back showing.

I always find this so disappointing, whether its my work that’s been photographed in that way, or other people’s. And unfortunately, it happens way too often.

While it always goes through my mind “They should know better!!”, I can understand how these things happen. Usually, there is a photographer, maybe a stylist, and maybe one of the editorial staff at a photo shoot. They usually have a number of shots to do in the one day, and usually only one of the items is Hardanger. The stylist will lay the item out, and prop it. The photographer will light it, and the editorial staff member will check that it looks ok and fits with what the text describes.

Often none of the people on the shoot will have any familiarity with Hardanger. They simply DON’T KNOW which is the front or the back of the hardanger. They just pick the side that they think looks best. So it gets photographed the wrong way up. The photo then goes into the layout, and possibly still none of the people working on the magazine have any real familiarity with Hardanger, so they don’t notice the problem. Also, when the magazine layout is on the computer screen, all the photos are shown in low resolution, meaning that the details can’t really be seen.

And so it goes to print… and then hits the stores… followed closely by a dismayed phone call or email from the designer, and sometimes also complaints by observant readers, or readers who can’t get theirs to look like that (because they’re following the instructions, and therefore are getting the right result!).

My top tip for anyone sending a Hardanger doily, runner, tablecloth etc (something flat) to a magazine or a book, is to neatly and as inconspicuously as possible, sew a small label to the back of the work, that says “THIS IS THE BACK”. Make sure that it cannot be seen from the front, no matter what colour the piece is laid on. This should stop these unfortunate accidents from happening, and it will mean that your work is always shown to its best advantage, which is what we want!!