Uncommon tips on how to photograph jewelry

Jewelry photography isn’t as simple as it seems unless the photographer learns and masters the keys to capturing beautiful images of them—sharpness, lighting, and exposure—and how to alter them in each setting to produce the best results possible.

But don’t worry—not it’s as difficult as it sounds! As long as you’ve had enough of practice shooting in Manual Mode on your digital camera, you may use the guidelines below to start capturing more amazing jewelry shots.

Uncommon tips on how to photograph jewelry

1) Choose the Right Camera

Any camera may be used for jewelry photography as long as you can change the aperture and shutter speed manually and shoot in RAW. It helps to be familiar with the camera you want to use so you can make modifications fast and simply to achieve the desired appearance.

If you’re shooting with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, ensure sure your lens has a wide aperture. Many beginner or kit lenses have a maximum aperture that is too small for macro and product photography. For the best effects, use a lens with an aperture of f/1.8-f/4.

2) Choose the Right Surfaces

Place the jewelry item on a hardwood table, a simple white or reflecting surface, or just zoom in on important aspects to omit the remainder of the object while using a wide aperture to blur away the backdrop.

3) Find a Sturdy Tripod

To guarantee that your photographs are razor-sharp, utilize a tripod and, preferably, a remote shutter release to steady your camera. It will not only prevent camera wobble, but it will also assist maintain your objects framed in the same precise way, making it easy to alter your focus and tweak your lighting.

4) Adjust White Balance Settings

One of the most common mistakes in jewelry photography is failing to pay attention to your white balance settings. It is critical to capture proper colors in your photographs while photographing jewelry for documentation and sales. You wouldn’t want to picture silver rings and submit them as gold rings, would you?

Prevent this by manually changing the white balance on your camera until the jewelry in your shots begins to seem as it does in real life. You may try using a gray card to modify the white balance for your current lighting condition, or you could shoot in RAW so you can quickly modify the white balance in post-processing without affecting image quality.

Uncommon tips on how to photograph jewelry

5) Use Off Camera Flashes

Even for jewelry photography, many photographers recommend using natural light. However, for a more professional look, employ off-camera flashes to create a more regulated lighting setup.

Whatever method you use, it is critical that you be able to provide soft and uniform lighting in order to avoid as much shadow as possible.

You may optimize your lighting arrangement even further by making the best use of your existing light sources, such as reflectors or light boxes.

The Glow LED Studio-Cube ($65 for the 17-inch cube and $95 for the bigger 27-inch cube) is a fantastic example of a professional light box, with which you can put the product to produce soft illumination from all directions. This removes the uncertainty from very complex lighting settings for jewelry photography.

While you’re about it, switch off any other superfluous light sources in the room and avoid combining different forms of illumination that may generate various color temperatures.

6) Manage Reflections

Because gemstones and metals are very reflective, you’re likely to see yourself (and your camera) mirrored in the jewelry, which you definitely don’t want.

When it comes to jewelry, removing reflections is a trial-and-error procedure. As previously said, wrapping a piece of paper over and underneath your camera lens can assist to reduce reflections and bounce more light back towards your subject.

There is no need for costly installations. Then, on either side, use a diffused overhead light to offer adequate lighting without producing highly reflecting patches, and gently elevate your camera (with the tripod) so you’re shooting down at your object.

7) Choose a Good Jewelry Photography Background

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being a little more creative with your fashion choices. You may certainly add intrigue to your photo if you want to! Just be aware that cramming too many items into your frame may divert your visitors’ attention away from the beauty of the jewelry.

In general, keep it basic and consider how the backdrop, colors, and other aspects interact with your subject. They should always compliment and draw attention to the jewelry, as seen in the photo above.

8) Feature Contrasting Colors

You may use contrasting colors to create dramatic and appealing imagery by arranging your jewelry on intriguing and colourful surfaces. Experiment with complimentary hues to discover what kinds of pictures you can create with your jewelry.

Using a solid color or many shades of the same hue, as seen in the example above, can help your things stand out immediately. However, maintain it to a minimal and avoid utilizing too many hues, which might divert your visitors’ focus away from your core subject.

9) Clean Your Jewelry

Taking excellent jewelry shots also necessitates keeping your objects clean and polished. What may not appear visible to the human eye may become apparent when blown up in the very detailed photographs captured by your digital camera.

Unless your gems require extensive cleaning, you may just remove dust and add shine to them before the shoot by wiping them down with a light, moist cotton or microfiber towel. You may also wear cotton gloves to avoid putting fingerprints on the items every time you handle them.

10) Focus with Precision

The common purpose is to accentuate the focal point of your jewelry, such as the center diamond or the charms on a bracelet, so you’ll probably just use Auto Focus on those. However, even in close-ups, the focus may be incorrect, so you should double-check it by analyzing the image and zooming in for a closer look. Refocus, validate, and lock it if it is not accurate.

Uncommon tips on how to photograph jewelry

Before you wrap up the session, make sure you have several winning images with the full piece of jewelry in focus. This is especially useful if you’re shooting for a catalog and only have space for one or two product shots that need to demonstrate all of the jewelry photography nuances and nuances. Even with a large depth of field, this may appear to be impossible, but it is doable using focus stacking. This approach allows you to take many images with each element of your jewelry in clear and crisp focus, resulting in a final image with everything in focus.

Tips and Techniques to use in Jewelry Photography

Jewelry photography is a type of product photography that involves taking photographs of jewelry. You can do this to jewelry you wish to sell online on an ecommerce website or advertise on fashion magazines. The entire mission of jewelry photography is to take pictures of jewelry that will get people’s attention and make them very interested in your product. 

However, if you do not do it correctly, you are not going to get the desired result. Jewelry photography involves the use of very detailed photography procedures that should be done with utmost care to get the best results. Most photoshoots for jewelry should be done by professionals and experts in the field of photography. However, if you can’t afford to have professional photographers take your jewelry photos for you, then there are some tips you should know that will help you get your desired results.

In this article, we will go through some of the tips and techniques you can use in jewelry photography to give your jewelry photos the best results and make them attractive to your potential customers.  

Tips and Techniques to use in Jewelry Photography

Tip #1: Choose the right equipment for shooting

The equipment you choose to take your jewelry photos can make or break your shoot. For jewelry photography, there are a number of equipment you should have. The first one is a camera. It helps to use a professional camera and not smartphone cameras, but if a smartphone camera is all you can afford, you can make it work by manually adjusting the aperture and shutter speed so that you get your desired result. However, if you can afford it, try to get a DSLR or mirrorless camera. 

In addition to a camera, you should consider getting a macro lens for your jewelry photoshoot. This is important as it helps you take good close up photographs of your jewelry, and it is also a necessary equipment for all kinds of photoshoots. A good lens with focal length in the range of f/1.8 to f/4 is the best option for these kinds of shoots. 

Also, you want to decide what kind of lighting is good for your photoshoot. The two options you have are: natural lighting and artificial lighting. Natural lighting is good, but you must work at certain times when the sun is not too bright or not present at all. For artificial lighting, aim to use warm colors and control the color temperature.

Tip #2: Prepare your jewelry before shooting

You have one chance, one opportunity to get the attention of your audience, so use it well. It is important that you choose the jewelry you want to snap and confirm that it looks impeccable. Ensure there are no stones missing and there is not blemish or scratch on it. Remove strings, cut out tags and unnecessary additions to your jewelry and clean it properly.

Your audience will notice if there is any blemish on the jewelry and that can put them off before they even decide to consider your product. Many jewelers don’t take this tip seriously. Don’t be one of them. Spend time cleaning your jewelry from blemishes and stains, dusting it and searching for any defect on it before you shoot.

Editing the picture after it has been taken can also take care of all these issues, but it would take more time to do so, time that would have been spent on marketing your product.

Tip #3: Sparkle is good, reflections are mot

It looks nice for your jewelry to have a nice sparkle and glow, but you should try as much as you can to manage reflections. When you take jewelry photos, especially since you want them close up, you may make the mistake of allowing your reflection and that of your camera to show. Try to avoid this mistake as much as you can. 

There is no clear cut way for you to totally eliminate reflection in your jewelry photo, but you can use a series of trial-and-error methods to get the desired results. For example, you can change your position with respect to the direction of the light and see if that eliminates reflection. If it doesn’t, you can also try placing a paper around and at the bottom of your camera lens. This works sometimes to block reflections and allow more light to bounce back towards your subject.

When in doubt, always remember: sparkle is good, reflection should be avoided like a plague.

Tip #4: Avoid Unnecessary distractions

Sometimes, when you are trying to shoot jewelry, simplicity is key. All you need is a good, clear white surface to shoot, and your camera. Sometimes, you can add jewelry holder or white foam, but that should be enough. Resist the urge to add portraits as wallpapers or even use props and mannequins to hold your jewelry. These things are not necessary, and most times can distract from the main focus of the picture: the jewelry itself.

Mannequins may look cool and sound like a great idea, but it is better to use a simple surface. This is because mannequins take lots of space, space that should have been taken by the jewelry itself. Also, portraits in the background take away the attention from the jewelry itself, which is something you don’t want if you are trying to get people to notice the jewelry.

Tips and Techniques to use in Jewelry Photography

Conclusion

There is no perfect way to engage in jewelry photography, but with some good pointers, you can get something ideal or close to perfect. Remember, in jewelry photography, looks matter a lot. Most times, people will order a product online because of what they can see on the internet, so you must be willing to give them the best possible impression and convince them with all the tools available to you.

Also, jewelry photography is an investment in your brand, so remember to follow up all these tips with consistency so that you can build a brand that people will trust and want to buy from.