Being able to capture the beauty of jewelry in a few frames is comparable to art.
The valuable product photography of jewelery is key to success in the online sale of jewelery or the creation of a quality catalogue.
Everyone involved in jewelery shooting has the difficult task of finding and capturing their attractiveness and managing to deliver it in a particularly intriguing way to the audience.
When it comes to jewelery, everything hides in the details.
High-quality images are essential to their performance. Detailed and accurate demonstration has the power to attract attention. And this may be an indisputable argument that determines the subsequent action of the potential consumer.
If you start e-commerce or want to create a jewelry catalogue, you’ll need photorealistic, high-quality images.
High-quality images are achieved with precise color rendering and attention to fine details.
The greatest challenge in capturing jewels lies in their surfaces and the materials they are made of. Jewelry usually consists of many elements and alloys that react differently to light.
Take a ring of gemstone for example. It is necessary to highlight the size of the stone. The scattering of the light of this stone must be manageable. At the same time, the main light should illuminate the body of the ring.
Therefore, a detailed study of how different materials interact with light is a main foundation in the process of jewelry shooting.
Or we can conclude that the approach to capturing each jewel should be different.
How can we successfully photograph and present jewelry?
The jewelery is beautiful, brilliant, small, with lots of details and in many cases complicated for filming. If you are going to shoot a lot of jewelry, it would be a good idea to trust a professional photographer to take the photos and to perform the necessary editing before they are published on your online store or in a printed catalogue.
On the other hand, the fact that jewelery is small is also an advantage if you decide to shoot your the products yourself. Organizing an improvized photo studio will require less space, less effort, and it will be much easier. A good alternative for photographing jewelry at home is the softbox – a tent for product photography.
For attractive pictures of jewelry, besides inspiration and creative styling, it is essential to choose the right backgrounds and surfaces, proper lighting and specific photographic equipment.
The selection of the appropriate type of jewelry visualizations depends on the type of the product itself, as well as on the specific place of publication or distribution – website, e-shop, social platform, catalogue.
The simplest way to present jewelery is to shoot them on a white background.
Most e-shops and e-commerce platforms require the images to be on a clear white background.
As a rule, the white color will focus the attention on the jewelry and the distraction that can be caused by a decorative background will be avoided.
Focus on details.
Customers should be able to see every small and fine detail of a jewelry.
Jewelry are the products that best fit in the product photography technique for detailed capture. The focus must be on the most important part of the jewelry. With focusing on the object, emphasis may be placed on a particular quality or characteristic – braid, inlay, fasteners, and so on. For effective jewelry presentation, you need at least one detailed photo.
Photo: http://www.shop.kenanddanadesign.com
Another popular shooting style that is used in the product photography for jewelry is to show it from different angles.
A great selling concept is the е group capture. If you have a set of jewelry you can present them together in one image.
Photo: http://www.m.tatler.ru
For more impact, you can also try with images in the context or lifestyle product photography. Inclusion of a model to demonstrate their application and the situations in which they will be needed would be of use to potential buyers. This approach can help build your image and highlight your brand.
Photo:http://www.lebook.com
Especially popular nowadays is the tendency to capture images with a 360 ° view. This allows products to be displayed in an interactive format while providing maximum visual detail.
To be successful in e-commerce, jewelry traders focus on the consistency and quality of product images and content. The sequence provides detailed information about the product.
Photo: http://www.behance.net
Typically, three to four photos of a particular item are sufficient. Which style will be chosen depends on the overall concept.
Will you use images shot from different angles (front, side, top)?
Will you show a general view followed by a detail that highlights a specific feature?
Will you tell a story, add a model, or would you prefer to present a grouped set?
The decision is strictly individual.
Every style in product photography has its own uniqueness, challenges and technical requirements. Product photography for jewelry is no exception.
Often the positioning of jewelry and their composition require creative approaches. One of the most important steps before you start is to clean any jewelry that will be shot. It is a good idea to use gloves to avoid any stains and prints. In order to be positioned vertically, illuminated well or to focus on a particular element, often additional stands, retention devices, cord or glue for fastening are used for some jewelry.
Most of the jewelery stones also create some difficulties. Their transparency tends to reflect and scatter the light. To enhance every aspect of the stone, additional light indicators can be added.
Equipment for photographing of jewelry
There are some simple techniques for shooting of jewelry tht are used by professionals, which amateur photographers can also apply successfully.
The basic requirements for quality image of jewelry are sharpness, illumination, exposure.
Capturing shiny jewelry requires the photographer’s skills to control the light. If the light is not suitable, the failure is certain. A natural, soft light is preferred in the process of capturing product photography of jewelery. In most photo studios they use softbox where light is scattered around the object. Of course, using the camera’s flash is not a good idea. Light can be reflected and you can get unwanted shadows that should generally be avoided. For product photography, it is appropriate to use artificial, studio lighting. Manipulated lighting, whether it’s studio or natural light, will minimize the shadows and promote a clean, white background.
The main purpose of product photography for jewelery is to highlight the details. Using a macro lens will allow the product to be zoomed in, close-up shots, and the focus will be on the object. The most suitable for capturing jewelery are fixed focal length lenses. They have a large aperture f / 1.2, f / 1.4, f / 1.8, etc. Suitable for shots in low light with exceptional depth of sharpness control. More sensitive to light always give better results.
In the case of product photography of jewelery, the choice of lens is more important than the choice of camera. Still, digital technologies are developing at a rapid pace and responding to various demands. Today, a macro lens can also be purchased for a smartphone. Choosing whether to use a DSLR, SLR, or smartphone is again strictly individual.
The camera’s settings must also be taken into account. White balance is of paramount importance. The images of silver jewelry are particularly sensitive if the white balance is not pre-set. For more realistic images, make the settings manually.
To get the perfect focus, a proper aperture is required. The images of the jewelery must be clear and precise. The more we open the aperture (the number is less), the more light comes into the lens, but a smaller part of the object is in focus. And vice versa, the more we close the aperture, the image is sharper, that is, the whole object is in focus, but the light that comes in is less.
The best option used by professional photographers is the f / 11 aperture.
In the photography of jewelry, any camera shake can create some defocus. The camera or smartphone must be stabilized with a tripod.