How to Photograph Jewelry on a White Background
If you are an online jewelry shop owner, you want to display your products in the most alluring way possible to attract more customers. The main problem is that it is impossible to hire a professional photographer due to cost management or timing related issues. So what can you do? What could be the possible alternative?
You can take your own photos. It is possible for you to get great shots of your items if you have the proper equipment such as lighting and camera and a proper plan of action. It will help you to achieve your goal. We will discuss here how to photograph your jewelry on a white background which will lift you and your brand on a different level.
I am a professional photographer and graphic designer, so I think I can give you an acceptable suggestion on this issue.
1. Camera Settings
Depending on the brand of your camera, camera settings may differ. However, the references I am going to provide here, hopefully, will give you some idea of where to start or when your camera needs adjustment. I suggest my readers for using specific camera user manual of your own. This will help you to be familiar with adjustment settings of the camera. You also can take help from online resources.
Macro setting: Most digital cameras can be set in the macro mode for “up close” photography. This feature is usually indicated by a flower icon on all cameras.
Manual Mode: This mode allows you to set and adjust certain settings rather than rely on camera’s default factory settings.
Aperture: This is the opening that allows the light into the camera. Jewelry photographers fix aperture settings before the photo shoot because the control allows for the exposure and depth of field in photos. A small aperture setting will make the entire jewelry piece in focus, whereas a larger aperture will make the closest area of the jewelry in focus. Set this on the highest setting available on your camera in order to have your entire piece in focus.
White Balance: This adjustment will make jewelry items appear in its real color. This setting depends on lighting conditions
Exposure Correction: This is a setting can manually adjust the brightness of the photos as you take them. This can be adjusted depending on photo background color and you can use (+) the setting to lighten your image and (–) the setting to darken your image.
Spot Focus: If available on your camera, it’s helpful to set the focus mode to “spot focus”. This allows you to control the camera focus.
2. The Photography Light Box
The purpose behind the light box or light tent is to provide an evenly distributed diffused light that is bright, without causing a glare bouncing off your objects. You can purchase simple and very elaborate set ups online.
Illuminating Box Setup
The key is to use clear or frosted Plexiglas or another brand. These are all the essentially the same products, just different brand names. It also comes in different thicknesses and color.
3. Time to capture photos
Step-1: I have taken a series of photos to achieve the final look I want. With the white background, the white area seems a little over exposed but not jewelry item, especially with certain colors, metals (such as un-oxidized sterling silver) and gemstones. So, you can try different settings in order to achieve your best picture.
Step-2: With each photo, you can take written record of camera settings. It will help you see the difference and progression of each shot. So you can compare your results and make adjustments as needed. If you do not want to write, simply look at the photo properties in your editing software if it is needed.
Step-3: During photography, try to use the natural light source as much as possible. If it is not enough, then you may use lightbox, flash lights etc. Keep the camera in the same position.
Step-4: I’ve turned on all my normal light I use with my photography lightbox, along with my other lighting equipment’s. Red, white, clear and bright silver are difficult to photograph and adjustments may need to be made when trying to capture these items. You can also re-adjust camera if photography is taken in dark environment.
4. Analysis of the captured photo
I have achieved my best results using the f-stop 8 with a shutter speed of 1/10 OR using the f-stop 4 with a shutter speed of 1/40. The difference in these photos is that more of the item will be in focus using the f8 while the f4 setting will produce a blurred/dreamy effect on the part of the item that’s the farthest away from the lens. If you want more of a dreamy look, simply lower the f-stop even more. Remember, your shutter speed will need to be adjusted accordingly.
5. Jewelry photo editing works
After capturing photo, images must be edited. As a professional graphic designer, my first choice is Adobe Photoshop. Color Experts International where I work with my co-worker graphic designers, we use Photoshop pen tool based clipping path, retouching, shadow creation technique to make the photo more attractive. These photos can easily be used for web contents, e-commerce sites, magazines or catalogs containing jewelry images.
We have more than 30 years of experience in image editing service and you can choose us for quality jewelry photo editing service. We offer free trial service and discount for large volume of image editing job.
