Jewellery photography
Jewellery photography is a challenge.
I've been on a steep learning curve this year. As every small business I have to be creative and smart about how I spend my money. And even though hiring a professional photographer is still high on my list, at the moment I'm taking my photos myself.
My photos are one of the most important parts of my website. It's most likely you have never seen my jewellery in person and so weren't able to hold the pieces and turn them over to check them from different angles or try something on. So I have to show as much of my jewellery pieces as possible. And the photos have to be clear and sharp too.
Taking photos is something I enjoy doing but it can be really frustrating as well. I was lucky enough to already have a DSLR camera, although it's not the newest model it does take good pictures. And over the years I've invested in some lights and a light tent. And that's the main issue when taking photos, lighting. Especially when you're taking photos of silver jewellery with a mirror finish is a challenge. Because everything reflects in them, not just the lights themselves, but the camera, the colours of the clothes I wear and anything around it can reflect in the jewellery. Sometimes a photo you thought looked great through the lens turns out to be unusable on the screen.
Apart from the lighting I also have to think of the purpose of the photo I'm taking. Of course I need photos that are just clear sharp product shots. But I also need some other photos of sets of jewellery and lifestyle shots. Focussing on a part of a piece or a set and blurring the background slightly. I won't bore you with the details, but once you get the hang of it it can be really great to take these. They add a great mood to a website or blog and can tell part of your story.
I'm hoping to take a lot of new photos for my new website. And I'll also add videos. I've only just started creating those and it's yet another challenge to take on. The lighting is the main challenge again. Making sure the video doesn't flicker is difficult when you use artificial lighting. So another issue to figure out.
I do hope to share all my results when I launch my new website. And once it's live I would love to hear what you think of it.
Klaar x
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