Are you a jewelry designer interested in taking pictures of your creations?
Whether you create or just admire them, jewelry is a gorgeous subject to photograph.
But, jewelry photography can have some unique challenges.
Fret notwe are here to help.
Read on to learn our top tips to make your jewelry photos shimmer and sparkle.
Clean the Jewelry
This tip is an absolute must.
Image Credit: Lokal_Profil/Wikimedia Commons
Before starting your photography project, take some time to clean your jewelry.
Use Artificial Lighting
Any product photography calls for artificial lighting to get crisp images.
But it is especially crucial for jewelry photography because you want even-lit and clean photos.
Image Credit: Lokal_Profil/Wikimedia Commons
Unfortunately, controlling natural light to get the perfect shadows and highlights can be challenging.
You may also need a tripod to have enough depth of field.
So, consider investing in one if you’re serious about jewelry photography.
If you use a standard lens, you are likely to crop the images to showcase the jewelry better.
Plus, the photo quality from a macro lens can be superior to the ones from a standard lens.
Try renting the lens and see if you like it enough to buy one.
We have afun list of other things you might shoot with a macro lens.
It is like a small box made of white translucent material.
you might light it up from both sides and the top.
The metal and gemstone part of your jewelry can be highly reflective.
Often, these reflections are distracting and unappealing to the eyes.
One of the main challenges in jewelry photography is avoiding these reflections.
Having a light tent can help you with that.
This is also a perfect setup if you are taking photos for an e-commerce inventory.
When you have hundreds of items to photograph, having a light tent can be quick and convenient.
Be Creative With Your Composition
For e-commerce purposes, you’re able to use a simple white background.
But get creative with the backgrounds if you want to portray your brand voice better.
Natural backgrounds work well for jewelry.
Try placing the jewelry on leaves, flowers, and so on.
This is particularly great to compliment the gemstones and bring out their colors.
Also, having loose beads and stones in your composition adds visual interest to your photos.
Usually, darker backgrounds enhance the jewelry’s colors and bring attention to the intricate designs.
Rock slates, wood barks, and ice are some popular options you might use.
Of course, you’ve got the option to use velvet and other shiny fabrics too.
The textures in these materials are visually attractive, which makes them the perfect backdrop.
you’re able to also try toadd layers to your compositionto make the images more powerful.
Check the White Balance
White balance is one of the key tweaks that can make or break your photo.
If you’re using natural light, you have to check that to set the correct white balance.
You don’t want your beautiful jewelry photos to have an ugly yellow cast.
Using the wrong white balance can make your photos look less professional.
Shooting in RAW can be helpful when you’re using natural light.
You will have the flexibility to tweak the white balance later in post-production.
Here are somecompelling reasons to shoot in RAW over JPEG.
Try Different Angles
Don’t be afraid to shoot the jewels from different angles.
Then lay it on a wooden board and try some top-down pictures.
it’s possible for you to try this strategy for other items like rings and earrings too.
Photographers use clear putty to make the rings stand on their own.
you might creatively compose the images to leave them out of the frame or edit them in post-production.
Also, feel free to zoom in on the details and showcase the patterns and designs on the jewels.
Focus Manually
Manual focus is the way to go for tiny subjects like jewels.
You want your camera to focus precisely where you want it to be.
If you let autofocus do the job, your camera can focus on an unwanted area.
Also, you want the entire jewel to be in focus.
it’s possible for you to do this only with manual focus.
So, editing is not optional.
You have to do basic touch-ups to make the jewels look smooth and clean.
See ourstep-by-step guide for focus stacking using Lightroom and Photoshop.
Take Jewelry Photos With Confidence
Jewelry is one of the fun product subjects.
But it is not that hardjust follow the above steps.
