photos! how do you get good pictures?

Hi Jeni,

You can get the gradient background by using a gradient paper backdrop, found at your local camera shop.

Kind Regards,
Kirsten in PA

Kristen,

Thanks for the tip!  Not sure where any camera shops are near me yet, but I'm sure I can find some on the interweb.

Jeni

 Hi Jeni, actually that reply was from another Kirsten (guess there's a few of us out there!).  If you look up one post, you'll see I gave you a link to an online shop where you can get this kind of paper...hope it helps.  Thanks (the Kirsten who wrote the article)

Oh yeah, that is confusing. Sorry I did not even realize!

I am always excited to meet other Kirstens - it is a rare name. How lovely that we both like the same things too :-)

Thanks for your article, Kirsten. It brought me to this website, which looks like a fantastic community and resource.

~Kirsten in PA

Thanks to both Kirstens!  I very much enjoyed the article and plan on trying out those tips.  Thankfully Italy seems to have plenty of free sunlight, and I have either a patio or front porch that is out of the direct glare.  With that, a tripod and my poor man's light box I should be ready to rock!  I've already been checking for the graduated backgrounds now that I know what I'm looking for, but until I decide what I want I'll try it with just what I have around.  I have been photographing on a piece of either grey felt or grey cardstock, which seems to show off the work best.  I've tried black and white, but it doesn't seem to work as well.  That said, I probably don't have my camera set up correctly.

Any tips on how to set a necklace up either hanging or at an angle so it's easier to photograph? 

Thanks again,

Jeni

 Here is my two cents.  I've struggled with taking pictures of my jewelry to sell on eBay for years, and here is what I have found.  I wouldn't recommend the cardboard light box.  You can get a fabric light tent on eBay in various sizes and prices.  I bought one that's just under 2 feet square for $25.  It is a cube with an opening on one side.  Set the cube in the brightest window in your house and place your jewelry in the cube and on a display (like a necklace bust or earring display, which you can find cheaply on eBay).  The natural light coming through the fabric will displace any shadows and it works great!  Put your camera setting on macro, turn off your flash, and adjust your white balance higher if it's cloudy or lower if it's sunny.  My pictures come out great using these techniques, and I have to do very few image adjustments.   

 Has anyone tried an old light box like for x-rays? I know that at work we have backflashes ( LIght box behind the person that flashes and insta second before the camera flash ) and it keeps from shadows etc.

We have a few light boxes that we keep on hand for x-rays that come in. I keep thinking that I will try a few pieces on one but I can't remember to take jewelry to work or to ask to bring a light box home.

Just a thought to see if anyone else has tried? If I remember this weekend, I will try it if I happen to be by work.

oops! i didn't know there was this thread! i have shared my technique here. i only use an automatic camera (in Flower setting), sunlight, a computer chair, some background objects and backdrops. works for me! =)

i agree in avoiding automatic flash! it is the devil on almost every kind of pictures! lol. professional studios are in exceptions.

 Hi Valarie

This might be a red herring but I use an Epson Perfection 3490 photo scanner for most of my photos now, it's not so good for dangling things link earrings but I've had more success using my scanner than camera.  These are a couple of things I have scanned:-

I've also found it good for scanning semi-precious beads.

Good luck with your photos

Karen

 Ooh...sounds like a good idea! The only minus is the lack of backdrops.

And my technique (idk if i've posted this before...) : Choose a nice backdrop, turn on Macro, and change the camera mode - play around with it every time you take pictures. The mode to bring out blues in the picture works well for blue earrings. Flash off usually is best. And thats pretty much it.

Hi Valarie, do you have a digital camera? There is a setting for fine detail on mine that is super fantastic. It is marked with a flower. I pushed it and played around with flash and no flash the results were great. I hope this helps.

Michele

 Hi,

I use a light box that I built out of foam core board.  I also use a single halogen desk lamp for my jewelry photography.  You can find instructions on how to build my light box on my website-  http://www.inexpensivejewelryphotography.com/photolightbox.html

I also recommend that people use a tripod and the camera's self-timer.

One of the reasons why people can't take good photographs of their jewelry is because they didn't read the camera's owner's manual first.  By not reading the cameraa's owner's manual you won't be familiar with all of the camera settings which will result in poor photographs.

Another mistake that many people make when photographing jewelry is they fail to fill up the entire LCD viewing screen with the jewelry they are photographing.  This makes it very hard for people that see your photograph onine to see all of the fine details of the jewelry item that you made.

Indirect sunlight is the best type of lighting to use for photography.  An overcast day is great for taking photographs outdoors.

Re: your light boxinstructio9ns and comment about back corners showing;

A piece of white poster board, too large for the box, can be bent [NOT folded] and placed at the back of the box to hide the corners.

Stan B,

 Hi Stan,

Thank you for your comment about my light box.

What you said is true, but it may not work if you are using a color other than white unless you happen to have a poster board that is the same color as the background color that you want to use.  Otherwise you may not see the corners, but you would see the white that you are using to hide the corners when you are using a green, red, blue or other background color.