Photographing Jewelry

Recently members of my Etsy Metal Clay team asked me to write a tutorial on jewelry photography. I was honored to hear such a request because this is something I’m really proud of and that I’ve worked hard at during the past year.  The following is just what works for me and I'm excited to share it with you.

Posting work in my Etsy shop has made me a better photographer. There, the photo is everything. A good photo will make your jewelry look even better. A bad photo will make even good work look bad. On Etsy, there are 5 photos to show off your work, so the first one shouldn't be about showing the whole piece, it should be about enticing your audience. It should be an interesting and amazing photo on its own. The space they provide is a horizontal rectangle, so I always shoot horizontally to get the most out of the space.

I take the majority of my photos using an old, African wood tray as the background. It is a dark, almost black, aged wood and there's just something about it. It is matte but has a bit of a sheen to it, it looks professional yet it has character due to the subtle wood grain and scratches. It looks different in every photo due to the light but it ties them all together. A simple background is a good idea, you don’t want it to compete with your jewelry.I use a Canon PowerShot SD 1000 digital Elph. I bought this camera before a trip to England last year and my hopes were that I could use it for travel pics as well as for jewelry. It does a wonderful job with both. I place my wood tray on a desk by a South-facing window. I only use natural light. Early or late day works best. If it is really cloudy I'll take the photo outside. I adjust 4 settings, I set it to manual, cloudy, macro and no flash. I hold the camera low down, and try to find that magical angle, really close up, where the light is raking across it; where the texture pops and the piece comes alive. I see a lot of jewelry photos on Etsy that are taken just too far away.Rings and pendants are easy to take because they fill up that little rectangle so well. If a pendant is quite long, I'll take the photo so that is lies diagonally to fill up the frame.I found that if you try to show both earrings equally in a photo, you can't get close enough. So I stagger my earrings, and take the shot from bottom-right, often with the light coming from the upper left. The angle draws you in and the photo becomes more interesting. Being that close, offers a lot of information yet you can still see the pair.For necklaces, I'll often shape them into a spiral so that they fill up the whole frame. I'll take several photos so I can choose the best one.I'm even taking some photos of Celie's work and they are coming out great!  It is such a thrill for me to capture her magnificent work and that she's diggin' the pics.  

My second photo in every listing shows the full piece, it’s never a great shot but it shows the actual shape of the piece (since the angle of the first photo can distort what the piece really looks like).

So that’s it. Simple really, I don’t use any fancy equipment or lighting. If anyone has any questions I’d be happy to answer them.  Happy snapping!

Interview in the Burlington Free Press!

I was so excited to be interviewed by Myra Flynn for the Burlington Free Press!  The article is out today.  

Exciting things!

This past week I was  featured on Tonya Davidson's newsletter and on her website: Whole Lotta Whimsy.  What an honor!  I was also interviewed on a great blog called: Wunderbug. In Etsy news, several members from our team Etsy Metal Clay are having an Etsy Trunk Show in the Virtual Labs this Thursday at 7pm (EST). Click HERE and click on the tree house room in order to reach our Trunk Show. Each member will be presenting 3 of their items during the trunk show. There will be 3 door prizes available for those that are paying attention. What fun! I'm also busy getting ready for a trunk show at a friend's next week.  I thought things would slow down a little bit before the holiday madness but they are picking up!  Gotta get to work.  

(The photo above is of a special order that I did last week.)

Last Market of the Season

So last Saturday was my last market day, it was bittersweet and bitter COLD.  Most of the day lingered in the 40ºs, just too cold to stand outside all day.  It's so sad when the market season ends but it also means my schedule eases up a bit which is quite welcome.  The rest of the weekend was friend filled and fun!  Now I have a little break before the holiday shows.  As I write this, it is SNOWING outside.  It's not sticking but it is still a shock to see the whirling white outside my window.  I'm not ready for this. Fall feels like the firework finale of summer, very intense and it's over way too soon. Now I'm working on a few special orders, my fall catalog, and more Modern Relic silver and bronze pieces.  

What a weekend

I spent much of last week making the bridal jewelry for my good friend May.  I've made bridesmaid's jewelry for other weddings but never jewelry for the bride.  So it was an honor, as well as a bit of pressure!  I made her these necklaces and matching, single leaf earrings.  I made her mom, sis and lovely bridesmaid Kina matching single leaf necklaces. My good friend JP (JP Candelier) was her wedding photographer and we went to her beautiful home, before the ceremony.  I got to place the jewelry on her once she was in her dress, as JP documented:

May lives an hour and a half South of me and for that reason, we always meet half way when we get together.  This was my first time visiting her at this house and now that I've been there I know it's worth the drive and I'll be visiting again.  The scene couldn't have been more picturesque and it couldn't have better captured Vermont at its fall finest.  It was a sunny, blue sky day and the temperature was just right, warm with a slight breeze.  The trees were at their peak, the rolling fields still lush and green.  

May and Justin live on a farm and there were chickens and cows and lovely old buildings and a pond and the house had a great long porch.  Just breathtaking.  The actual ceremony went by in a flash and then it was back to the farm for the party under a huge tent.  It was fun spending time with many of the friends I used to work with.  The food was delicious, there was a fab bluegrass band and everyone was full of smiles, including the blushing bride.  I have an amazing photo of her that will be in my upcoming catalog. 

It was one of those rare days that I took a deep breath and soaked it all in.  Time slowed down a bit and I could feel all this positive energy renewing my spirit.  

By late afternoon, as the party was wrapping up, I had the bright idea of calling my friend Lauren in MA, since I was half way to her home and have been meaning to visit her.  As luck would have it she was all for it and my wonderful weekend continued.  We had dinner in Northampton, MA, a town that I've got to go back to, it felt very similar to my favorite place - Burlington, VT.  The next day we met up with JP and his girlfriend Meghan in Brattleboro, VT (another favorite town of mine) for brunch and a photo session of Lauren and Meghan for my catalog.  I spent he rest of the afternoon wandering around the town, then leisurely driving home.  It felt like I'd been gone a week!  Now I've got a bit of catching up to do...

Fall

Amidst making lots of pieces, I managed to make time to make something for myself and take some photos of my world.  These things are important to do.  Last Saturday I purchased a lovely wallet/clutch thingy on clearance at Urban Outfitters because it was missing part of its closure.  I thought it was fine the way it was but after showing it to Celie we both realized it was begging for some bronze.  So I made 2 bronze 'plates' and riveted them together and now I have the coolest wallet ever!  

And now it is Peak Fall, even though fall just started.  It seems each gust of wind blows color into the leaves.  Gotta soak it all in before we settle into the long gray.  View from the yard: It was blustery outside and the wind began blowing the leaves right off.  I felt like a kid, staring up in wonder and awe.  It was raining leaves!  I gazed up and it looked like a flock of confused birds.

EtsyMetalClay Team

I'm part of a great new group of Etsy Metal Clay artists called "EtsyMetalClay" or EMC.  As of now it's a small group but the numbers are growing as is the excitement and enthusiasm.  In just 2 months the group has come up with a logo, banner, website, mini mall, blog, and a flickr group and we're always making Treasuries.  Today our team is being featured in Etsy's blog the Storque.  Thanks to Lora Hart for creating this team and all the talented members that have moved this team so far in such a short period of time.