Sometimes taking good photos of handmade jewelry is more difficult than making handmade jewelry! Everything has to be perfect to do justice to your handcrafted artisan jewelry. A picture is worth a thousand words if you're a writer; a picture is priceless if you are trying to market your jewelry and unique gifts online!
Handmade jewelry photography is too important to leave to chance. Waiting for the sun to be exactly right is okay if you don't have anything better to do but time is money and both are in short supply! You don't have to wait for the cloud to pass or the direct sun to be on the left. If you are serious about taking great pictures you need a studio set-up. It's not difficult and not too expensive considering the online marketing advantages. Once you get everything just right, it doesn't matter what time of day it is or what time of year. You will get consistently great results even if you are working into the wee hours of the morning.
Make your own light tent by making a cube and covering it with white rip-stop nylon fabric, cost about $20 to make. If you need instructions, there are many online. Use three 5200'K spotlights (daylight) about $35 each, use studio stands (kinda costly) but swing arm lamps work too, just less adjustable. If you are able buy a professional digital camera with a great macro lens, they hook up directly to the computer and you just press enter so no shaky out of focus shots. The photos come up on the monitor so you can adjust the coloring, etc. You just set up the first item getting it just right, then replace it with the next item so photo shoots go quickly. Touch ups are at a minimum if the photos are taken well. There will always be those really shiny pieces that when zoomed in at 5000 times the actual size you will see yourself taking the picture. Smudging tools work well in those cases!
Take your time to learn about your camera and all the features, it will make your life much easier. Experiment with background colors but nothing shows handmade jewelry as well as a white background. Make sure your designs stand out emphasizing the unique features of each piece. It is all about experimenting and finding the perfect settings for each photograph.
This maybe is extreme for someone just starting out but when you have been making handcrafted jewelry and unique gifts for over 23 years and have over 3,000 items it becomes essential! Photos are extremely important especially when marketing online and well worth the investment of your time and money.
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