Photography props and backgrounds

My thoughts…

I’m practicing again with my photos…

Backgrounds….

Many pictures of jewelry are done with solid background. Typically, a clean slate really focuses the attention on the piece not the background. I personally love black backgrounds, though some designers feel they are visually stale.

If you have a flowery swirly jewelry design, with a paisley, checkerboard or overly textured background the photography is going to seriously distract the viewer. You’ll want to give some serious thought to what are you selling, the fabric or the jewelry. Does the fabric detract or enhance your jewelry design.

Now, if your jewelry designs are going to be in a catalog or a similar publication you will have to follow submission guidelines; most often requiring a solid background. When using stark white background against color; especially dark colors, the contrast is extremely high. When photographing with a white background you have to verify the white actually comes out WHITE and the design colors actually comes out the proper color! Many photographs can be ruined simply because the white background appears greyish, off color, and the piece will often have an unusual color cast.

Props

Props can add character, tell a story; thereby ADDING TO THE VISUAL appeal of the design. The use of different colors and/or props can make a stunningly gorgeous statement. They should be simple and focus attention to the piece. The whole prop does not have to be in the photo to be effective, its shadow or texture can reflect the beauty of the jewelry design.

Some of my favorite props are things found in nature. While my designer friend Lola from Metal Chasers loves using antiques, especially glassware, bronze candlestick holder and similar objects. Lola was the inspiration for this blog and has greatly helped me improve my photography skills. Much of what I’ve learned about photography has been gleaned from Lola.

Recently I received a wonderful suggestion from eSMArts team member, Stacie of Creative Junque, suggesting that I use ceramic tiles as background props. Looking forward to trying this suggestion, I really believe this will add interest without distracting from my designs.

Practice, practice and more practice

I suggest, taking several photographs with several different props, backgrounds, camera angles, and lighting. This will give you a selection of photos, which gives you the ability to choose the photo that shows your design to its fullest potential. What works for one piece may not work for the next. The more photos you take, the more experience you will gain, you will find your style, and hopefully photography will become second hand…

I’m still practicing…

Photography…...it’s driving me crazy…

I even own a light cube!
I am so photo challenged, and more I try, the more confused I seem to get. I’m currently trying to improve my jewelry photos, with not much success. Much of the information that I have gleaned has come from my jewelry related online groups, where they suggest a solid background in the black, grey, white scale, not using props. I did get some decent photos with a white background, but they just seem to be missing something, not really to my liking. So today I decided it was time for me to try using a black background, and found that I liked them much better than the white background. I fiddled with natural lighting, and artificial lighting. The natural lighting was more successful, but even though it’s a cloudy day, the sun moving in and out of the clouds, proved to present problems.

It has been recommended by other artisans not to use props, but out can the props away, why not try to take a chance and see if I could take a photo that I actually liked. Much easier to photography earrings if your using props, and yes, I liked the photos using the props.

Now I need to decide to watermark the photos or not to watermark the photos. In some ways a watermarked photo looks more professional, but the question is, does the watermark distract the viewers eye, as they view the jewelry.

I did come to a conclusion; I personally think my photos listed in my Etsy Store look better when I’ve used props. Yes, I like the black background, and props. Still need a lot of practice, as practice makes perfect. Now if I could make a decision on watermarks. Check by my blog or Etsy Store, and see how my photography improves…

Photography, My Dilemma...

The photo tells they story, and my dilemma how to improve my photography…

You might say I’m photography challenged. I really have a hard time taking good photos, but this last week I decided that now was the time to try and improve my photographs skills. I have taken photos outside, I really like the natural light, but this hasn’t been the solution. Weather, the time of the day, the right props, and bugs. Yes, BUGS! The lighting might not be right when I have the time to take photos, the weather may not be cooperating, and sometimes I get a great photo, and guess what, a tiny bug is in the photo.

So my next option was moving my photography setup to an empty bedroom. Quite, and I can leave my photo cube up and always have it available when I want to take my photographs. Now I have to practice, practice and improve my skills. The photos are getting better, things are getting easier to do. Oh, did I tell you about the feathers? Yes, feathers! My beloved pet Orange Winged Amazon, Rico, I’m using her room for my photography studio. New problem, but I’ll deal with the feathers.

Rico is a wild caught Orange Winged Amazon, that I rescued 22 years ago.