Make a low-budget jewellery photoshoot happen with these simple steps. Read on to find out!
Believe it or not, your product/inventory images can make or break the success of your jewellery business.
We’ve already talked about why first impressions are important. If shoppers can’t see detailed jewellery images on your website, how else will you convince them to buy?
Photographing jewellery can be quite a challenge. You need to showcase the beauty of your jewellery while also avoiding reflections and smudges. You also need to understand the exact amount of lighting to permit in your photo – not forgetting to mention setting up your camera shutters at the optimum level. It can get real confusing, real fast.
This guide will walk you through tips on preparation, lighting, positioning, and editing photos—a few tricks and techniques you can try that will simplify the process and make your images sparkle!
Essential Jewellery Photography Equipment
Looking to become a DIY jewellery photographer on your own? Here is a list of pieces of equipment that come in handy and ease the process for you:
- Tripod
No matter how steady you say your hand is, you can always get shaky pictures, especially if you’re taking photographs with your smartphone. Looking for precise, perfect photos of your jewellery? Get a tripod. These are available at a pocket-friendly price and can be extremely useful in taking steady pictures.
- A lighting source
For your jewellery to be shown off in a photograph perfectly, it needs to be put in a lighting background that is neither too harsh nor too soft and that shows its elegance and brilliance aptly.
Tip: Natural Lighting works best! Create your jewellery shoot in rooms with big windows to capture the perfect sparkle.
In case you don’t have access to natural lighting, you can get a softbox or photography lighting kits that are available to buy online.
Tip: Keep it simple. Don’t get caught up with the lighting. Figure it out one step at a time. Once you get your photography set up right, you can always play around and get creative with the lighting!
Tip: You can also experiment with the position of the lighting! Move it closer/further and in different directions to find the best lighting effect for your jewellery.
Lighting can cause all the difference! Here’s how jewellery can be highlighted using direct and diffused lighting.
- Backgrounds
Your jewellery is the model in your photoshoot, but to bring out the best features of your model, you need to take care of the second most important thing – the background.
Because the centre of your photograph has to be your jewellery, try keeping the backgrounds simplistic and blank – backgrounds that do not take the focus away from your jewellery.
Tip: You can go for white paper backgrounds for highlighting most of your jewellery, but you can use black paper backgrounds if you want to bring focus on coloured gemstones in your jewellery.
Paper sweeps come in handy for setting up photography backgrounds too!
Setting up
1. Set up your photography platform
Use a sturdy piece of furniture to prepare your photo studio, and find the space you need. If you’re near a window, set up your table 90 degrees to the right or left of it. The closer you are to the window, the softer the light will be.
- Polish & Place your jewellery
Remember: DSLRs and most smartphone cameras can catch intricate detail in photos. Many times, elaborate jewellery design that you normally cannot see with your naked eye appears in photographs. Make sure that your jewellery is polished and clean.
- Position your lighting
If you’re shooting with natural light, you’re already set with lighting. Jump to the next step.
But if you’re using artificial lighting, your setup will look a little different.
Place your light source (softbox or umbrella) at a 45-degree angle to the product. This will keep the lighting soft and even. Keep your camera directly in front of the jewellery piece.
- Set up your camera
Ensure your white balance is set accurately so you capture your jewellery with the colours you intended. Either set it manually or use your camera’s automatic mode and double-check the results.
- Retouch your photos
After shooting your jewellery, you’ll want to prepare images for your online store. Post-production processing involves making photos look professional and beautiful.
The easiest route is to hire a professional editor to retouch your images. This can be a huge cost and time savings versus learning how to edit photos from scratch.
If you prefer to do it yourself, choose a free online photo editor and learn the photo-editing basics.
With everyone making photography such a big deal, you might think that you need a high budget and an expert to capture the essence of your jewellery. But sometimes, keeping things simple can yield the sparkle you want!
Found this helpful? Head over to see 5 ways to photograph your jewellery with your smartphone!
To know more visit our website meet.plushvie.in or reach out to us at info.plushvie.in
