PlanetJune Craft Blog

Latest news and updates from June

Fall woodland crochet photoshoot

I spent most of the day yesterday setting up this scene in the PlanetJune forest (no regrets!) and I couldn’t wait to share it with you! This photo captures the essence of what I love about fall – the gorgeous colours and the cozy warm feeling of the season. I hope you love it too…

fall woodland crochet patterns by planetjune

What do you think? Does it give you a warm and cozy feeling?

To set up this woodland scene, I used 5 different PlanetJune designs (find them all at www.planetjune.com/fall!):

Can you spot them all (except the Canadian flag – that didn’t quite fit this theme!) in the scene?

Behind The Scenes

Why did it take me so long to capture one photo? I thought you might enjoy a glimpse into my process here…

First I collected the elements I thought I might include in this photo – a big pile of leaves, mushrooms, acorns, pine cones and squirrels.

amigurumi and applique crochet elements for the woodland photo scene

I set up the empty PlanetJune forest scene with a fleece fabric floor and my painted green backdrop.

painted green backdrop and brown fabric ground for the woodland photo scene

Fun fact: I’ve been using the PlanetJune forest since 2008, when I launched my AfricAmi patterns and realised my white rhino wouldn’t show up well against a white background! The ‘ground’ is a piece of fleece fabric, and the mottled green backdrop is a sheet of white poster board that I painted to look generically leafy. I’m amazed that my painted backdrops have survived my round-the-world travels and I’m still using them 14 years later!

Then it was time to arrange all the elements, light the scene so everything shows up clearly, and start photographing!

two softboxes light the woodland photo scene

I currently use two softboxes to light my photos. They make it possible for me to shoot at any time of day or night and have my pictures always look consistent. Look at the difference they make to the scene: in the above photo the lights are off and in the one below they’re turned on:

two softboxes light the woodland photo scene

After snapping the first photo, I copied it to the computer and checked it on my big monitor. Then came many rounds of tweaking. I’d change the exposure or depth of field on the camera, or moving elements around while hoping I didn’t knock any pieces over or jog the camera tripod (it’s tricky maneuvering around the tripod and light stands to reach into the scene, and my poor mushrooms fell over multiple times!)

two softboxes light the woodland photo scene

After each change, I’d snap another photo and check it again, and repeat over and over. In the end, to create the square photo I was looking for, I had to raise the height of the ground at the back by slipping a roll of extra fabric under my base fleece. And, of course, doing that made allll the mushrooms fall over and I had to start positioning them all again…

But finally, I had the raw photo I wanted, and all that was left to do was to crop and process it into the final image!

fall woodland crochet patterns by planetjune

It’s a long process, but to me it’s like a little art project, and it’s very satisfying when it all comes together into a finished piece I can be proud of. I hope you’ll love my adorable little woodland scene!


a selection of Fall-themed PlanetJune crochet patterns

If you’d like to crochet any of these patterns, or any of my other autumn-themed designs (including some freebies, if crochet patterns aren’t in your budget right now) I’d love it if you’d join the PlanetJune ‘Fall into Autumn’ CAL (crochetalong).

You can find the CAL in the PlanetJune groups on Ravelry and Discord, and you can also join in by posting what you’re making to any of your social media accounts and tagging me (@PlanetJune) so I can see them and leave you a comment.

I don’t usually announce CALs here on the blog unless I’m already writing a related post like this one, so if you’d like to be notified about new crochetalongs, please join one or both of the PlanetJune community groups where our CALs take place, or sign up for my monthly newsletter – I’ll always keep you in the loop!

7 Comments »

  1. raine said

    where did you get that pattern?

    • June said

      I’m not sure which pattern you’re asking about, Raine, but there’s a bulleted list just below the first photo, and the links to all my patterns I used to create the photoshoot are there 😊

  2. Nancy Faraday said

    I love your description of the process. It’s lovely that these two hobbies complement each other. The photo shows off the crochet creations so well. Just fabulous.

  3. Ruth said

    I love this beautiful autumn collection June, and the way you have made the perfect setting for photographing. ?

  4. samantha said

    This is the cutest thing ever! Love the whole setup, it made me smile.

  5. Desley Millar said

    Hi June. Just love that cosy scene. There is a lot of work that goes into photography. The colours are beautiful.I can’t stop looking at it. It’s really lovely. Congratulations
    KIND REGARDS DESLEY MILLAR

  6. SandyG said

    Oh, June, it DOES give me a warm and cozy feeling! The colors are fabulous! Thank you for this!

RSS feed for comments on this post

Leave a Reply

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment here! I read and appreciate every comment. I only respond to questions here on the blog, so please return to this page to see my reply, or check the box below to subscribe to new comments by email.

Please note that I can only answer questions related to PlanetJune patterns and tutorials (see details), and I can only respond to questions or comments written in English. Thank you :) - June

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Quick Links: Crochet

    navigation: arrow

    buy crochet patterns and accessories from my online store

    'Everyday Crochet' and 'The Essential Guide to Amigurumi' crochet books by June Gilbank

    Crochet video tutorials and step-by-step photo tutorials

    Free PlanetJune crochet patterns

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Quick Links: Crafts

    navigation: arrow

    Punchneedle Embroidery information, ebook & patterns

    Papercraft ebook & tutorials

    Free PlanetJune craft projects & tutorials

  • Blog Post Categories

  • Blog Archives

  • CAL Galleries

    Ravellenic Games: Team PlanetJune
    PlanetJune Reindeer Games
    PlanetJune Temperature Snake CAL

  • Welcome to PlanetJune!

    June Gilbank

    Hi, I'm June. Welcome to my world of nature-inspired crochet and crafting. I hope you enjoy your visit!

    If you'd like to get in touch, you can contact me here.
    crocheted Canadian flag by PlanetJune
  • A fanned-out pile of the books Everyday Crochet and The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, with text 'The answers to all your crochet questions at your fingertips - find out more'
  • Support PlanetJune!

    Want to say thanks? You can send me money in seconds at paypal.me/planetjune (over $20) or paypal.me/planetjune2 (under $20) or send me a donation through my shop.

    Or simply click through from my links before you shop at Amazon, Etsy, KnitPicks, LoveCrafts or Crochet.com, and I'll make a small commission on your purchase, at no cost to you! Start here:

    ♥ Support PlanetJune ♥

    Tip: This link is also in the footer of every page!

    Thank you so much for your support!