Using a light box will really improve the look of your jewelry photos. The light box will help you clear bright photos. With you light box set up right, you can also cut a lot of glare out of your photos and give your jewelry just the right amount of sparkle. If you have ever shopped for a light box or tent you know the can coast over $100.00. That can be a huge and unaffordable expense for your new jewelry business. I have searched the net and found some good simple and cheap solutions.
Check out these links below for ideas on building your own light box. Please share with us your ideas and experiences with building your own light box.
Jen Weaver's Do it yourself light box
How to build a light tent
Other suggestions are milk jugs, totes, or other opaque plastic containers.
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Flickr as an online portfolio
For those jewelry makers without galleries built into there websites, flickr.com may be just the thing they need. Flickr is free and lets you upload a ton of photos. You get your own photo stream page and added into searches. Flickr will also provide you with links to direct your customers too. Below is my flickr slide show. I use this on the main page of my jewelry website.
If you haven't tried flickr.com for hosting your photos online, check it out. If you have used or tried filckr, tell us about it.
If you haven't tried flickr.com for hosting your photos online, check it out. If you have used or tried filckr, tell us about it.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tips to get better photos of your handmade jewelry
Tips for better jewerly photos
Taking pictures of your handmade jewelry can be a real chore. Most of the jewelry makers I know, including myself, have had trouble getting great pictures. Some of the most common problems are blur, yellowing, glare, and poor lighting.
Blur can be caused my several things like, unsteady camera, holding the camera too close to the jewelry, or being too far away and zooming in. The best way to avoid these problems is to steady your camera with a tripod or stack of books and use the macro setting on your camera. The macro setting allows you to place your camera very close to the jewelry and still allow the camera to focus on it.
Having you jewelry photos come out with a yellowish look to them is from light bulbs. Regular household light bulbs give off light with a yellow tint. To avoid this use white bright light bulbs like flouresent or the energy saving swirl bulbs. If you have the chance take your photos outside on a sunny day. Sun light will give bright clear true colors to your photos. There are lamps that simulate sunlight. I haven't tried these to see how they work with jewelry photography. It may be worth experimenting with. Most digital cameras have a white balance setting, ajusting this can give you better photos. Some photo editing software also has white balance you can play with.
You want your jewelry to sparkle and shine, but not glare. Using a light box or tent is the best way to control glare. I have seen jewelry sized light tents for sale on ebay for over 100.00! The good news is you can make your own. Depending on the size you need you can use a milk jug or a tote. The opaque plastic will cut down the glare from your lights and help you keep jewelry sparkle. Sometimes simply placing a piece of white paper in front of your lights will defuse the light enough to cut out the glare. It is key to avoid using the flash on your camera. This will only add to the glare.
Household lamps aren't as bright as professional photography lamps. This can leave you photos coming out too dark. I use about three desk lamps and then lighten the pictures further in photoshop. If I had more lamps I would use them! I have found that if I hold one lamp above and a little behind me, it seems to allow the camera to pull in more light.
I have seen people using their scanners to get images of their handmade jewelry. It is not my favorite way of getting images of jewelry. The shadow of the jewelry always looks like blur and takes away from the picture. I have tried it with my scanner and it doesn't work. If you have no camera, do try out your scanner, yours may work better than mine. The main thing is that people can clearly see what your handmade jewelry looks like. Get close ups, get details, and get different angles.
Keep experimenting until you find a set up that works for you.
Taking pictures of your handmade jewelry can be a real chore. Most of the jewelry makers I know, including myself, have had trouble getting great pictures. Some of the most common problems are blur, yellowing, glare, and poor lighting.
Blur can be caused my several things like, unsteady camera, holding the camera too close to the jewelry, or being too far away and zooming in. The best way to avoid these problems is to steady your camera with a tripod or stack of books and use the macro setting on your camera. The macro setting allows you to place your camera very close to the jewelry and still allow the camera to focus on it.
Having you jewelry photos come out with a yellowish look to them is from light bulbs. Regular household light bulbs give off light with a yellow tint. To avoid this use white bright light bulbs like flouresent or the energy saving swirl bulbs. If you have the chance take your photos outside on a sunny day. Sun light will give bright clear true colors to your photos. There are lamps that simulate sunlight. I haven't tried these to see how they work with jewelry photography. It may be worth experimenting with. Most digital cameras have a white balance setting, ajusting this can give you better photos. Some photo editing software also has white balance you can play with.
You want your jewelry to sparkle and shine, but not glare. Using a light box or tent is the best way to control glare. I have seen jewelry sized light tents for sale on ebay for over 100.00! The good news is you can make your own. Depending on the size you need you can use a milk jug or a tote. The opaque plastic will cut down the glare from your lights and help you keep jewelry sparkle. Sometimes simply placing a piece of white paper in front of your lights will defuse the light enough to cut out the glare. It is key to avoid using the flash on your camera. This will only add to the glare.
Household lamps aren't as bright as professional photography lamps. This can leave you photos coming out too dark. I use about three desk lamps and then lighten the pictures further in photoshop. If I had more lamps I would use them! I have found that if I hold one lamp above and a little behind me, it seems to allow the camera to pull in more light.
I have seen people using their scanners to get images of their handmade jewelry. It is not my favorite way of getting images of jewelry. The shadow of the jewelry always looks like blur and takes away from the picture. I have tried it with my scanner and it doesn't work. If you have no camera, do try out your scanner, yours may work better than mine. The main thing is that people can clearly see what your handmade jewelry looks like. Get close ups, get details, and get different angles.
Keep experimenting until you find a set up that works for you.
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