Five tips for photographing jewellery

Small and reflective, jewellery isn’t always the easiest thing to photograph. But if you sell your jewellery online, having the best product shots you can is crucial. That doesn’t have to mean employing the services of a professional photographer though. Follow these simple tips from Catherine Hicks and you’ll soon be taking product shots you can be proud of…

1. Always use natural light

If you can, try to photograph outside on a cloudy day or even on a window sill. Bright sunlight doesn’t work because you get too many reflections on the metal and too many shadows on the backdrop. Try to get the light shining at the right angle – if it reflects towards the camera you get a slight glare on the metal, but not enough light and it looks dull. Move around to test out different angles until it looks just right.

2. Get the background right

Take your photos on a matt background, so you don’t get too much shine which detracts from the jewellery. Play around with different colors and types of material for the background until you find something that suits your jewellery and your style. Once you’ve chosen something you like you can use it again and again. That also helps make your pictures look uniform online and gives your shop a clear identity.

3. A better camera will give you better results

If you use a decent camera it will give you sharp images with excellent detail. You can take photos with your phone or with a basic point-and-shoot camera, but you won’t be able to get the depth of field or detail you can get with a good camera.

A decent camera will allow you to create depth-of-field in your shots

4. Take LOADS of pictures

I’ve spent hours trying to get my pictures looking right and have taken hundreds of pictures. Even now when I feel I’ve worked things out, I take at least 10 pictures of each piece of jewellery and then delete and crop the ones I like. If I’m not happy I go back and take another 10+ until I get the results I want.

5. Give the customers some perspective

If you can, photograph the jewellery being worn or even held in your hand because it gives the viewer an idea of scale. Even if you don’t use these as the main image, they are good to have as an addition. Play around with the styling and try out different angles, rather than just taking the shot straight on. Think about your style and how you want the picture to look. If you have a lot of pieces, it’s good to stick to one style so all the pictures fit together well.

Include shots of your jewellery being worn to give the customer an idea of scale

See more of Catherine’s work in her Folksy shop Catherine’s Studio Jewellery >>

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