I have never before wished that I had taken studio photography when I was in school, until now. Recently, I have been struggling with my photographs of jewelry. They're okay, but they're not "IT". They're not perfect. They're not "ME". Above is my latest style...call it an interim style of photography until I get my new set up in place. It's an attempt at using some color, some contrast. But it's simply not good enough. It doesn't look professional, and in the end, I really want to look professional. It's all part of my business.So, my plan now is this. It is essential that I have a stationary light box that I can have my "stage" set up in at all times. It never moves. It will need to be by a window. I think I have a plan. Now I just need to get some furniture for it. A tall table of some sort, or dresser, or shelf that it can sit on top of, because our windows just happen to be ridiculously high up. The background will be white, with a few props. The props will be spray painted either white or grey. I'm thinking grey, because I don't want my photos to be too much like megan auman's who I greatly admire.
So I'm thinking, grey river rock (maybe even natural, instead of painted), some grey branches, and maybe some grey eucalyptus branches for the Australian themed pieces. Then I just have to figure out how to deal with the lighting :)
Oh, and aside from the studio set up, I also need to have shots of people wearing my jewelry. My plan for that is to get some friends together, and just go out around town, doing every day hang out things, and take photos of them wearing my jewelry. It gives scale and shows the wearability of the product.
Wish me luck, and keep an eye out in the next few weeks for improvements!
Anyone want to buy me my own digital SLR? And some lights?
I have similar issues with photography. An old camera (not an slr) with a zoom lens. I do have a light tent, which as made a big difference, but I too dream of a dedicated photography place, and I wish I would have taken photography in school. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteI know! I have a minor in photography, so I can use a manual camera like no one else, but Dave has this fandangled Canon 30D where you have to press a million buttons and turn all these gizmos to get the right settings. It's so confusing to me. And my digital is at least 4 years old, a little point and shoot, and horrible for jewelry. Great for sunsets, though! ha ha
ReplyDeleteI have a Canon point & shoot digital, with some semi-manual settings. It works well for me. Sometimes I need to use my tripod with the macro. You can use daylight spiral fluorescents with a lightbox and adjust the light setting on your camera- if it has that adjustment.
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteI am also a jeweler and have been doing my own photos for a short while now, so i can appreciate the difficulties involved.
Please have a look at www.strobist.com, a blog run by David Hobby all about using small off camera flash units - the learning curve is a little steep but it will really make a difference and get you thinking about light in a whole different way.
You can see my jewelry photos at www.christophertrollen.com - I feel that I am now beginning to understand the process but still have a long way to go.
Hope this helps.
Chris
Thank you Chris! Yeah, my partner just started using one of our flashes on the tripod, with the camera linked to it but free. I get to hold up a reflective blanket stuffed into a strainer. Works quite well, even if it looks a little bit funny. btw, I love your photos! And jewelery :) For larger shoots we have hanging reflective blankets....I think we'll need to get more stationary daylight lamps too.
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