I Have a New Toy

I have a new toy, well maybe not so new, just never used this wonderful toy. Yes, I purchased a “Rotary Tumbler” sometime ago and never got around to learning to use the tumbler. Well, today I had some extra time, and decided I would finally open the box and see what tumbling jewelry was all about. A pound

of mixed stainless steel shot, a little water, and a squirt of dawn and I was off and running to see what tumbling would do for may copper jewelry.

I was amazed when I finished the first batch, just three copper bracelets, but what a difference the tumbling made. Everything is bright and shiny, with a special glow. So next I tumbled Naga Shell sterling silver earrings, again the tumbling made a beautiful shine.The next tumbling adventure was a Gold Parawire bracelet which included Lampwork beads, again a beautiful shine.I happened to have another similar bracelet,and could compare them side by side, amazing how beautifully the tumbled bracelet out shined it’s sister. My next experiment was my “Springs & Loops” Necklace, this necklace features both Gold Parawire and Silver Parawire, wanted to see how the tumbling would effect two different color wires.Now I’ll experiment with tumbling my favorite copper necklace and some earrings. The necklace has a number of mixed gemstones, and the earrings have copper coils and bead dangles. Really made everything sparkle…

I love my new toy….

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…