If you have an online store that sells jewelry, you already know how difficult it is to photograph these types of products, whether they are watches, diamond rings, gemstone necklaces or earrings.
Photographing jewelry presents a unique set of challenges, from its shiny surfaces to its small size with detailed designs, reflections, hot spots, but there are some helpful techniques that will help you and make the process much easier.
#1 Clean your items
If you want to take beautiful jewelry photos, you need to make sure your items are clean, polished, free of dust, debris, smudges, and fingerprints.
You have surely noticed that in luxury jewelry stores, the salesperson always wears white silk gloves to handle anything that is shown to him.
Preparing for the photo shoot takes more time, but it will save you a lot of post-production touch-ups.
When you're shooting close to a subject, what may not seem obvious to the naked eye will be immediately apparent when you view images on a monitor or printout.
#2 Keep the background simple
When photographing jewelry, the most important thing is to keep the focus where it belongs, that is, on the product.
The best way to keep your images simple and clean is to photograph your products against a white background image, this way you avoid all possible distractions.
Just as important is keeping your style with a consistent undertone.
You should aim for a clean and professional image of the product, for this reason we recommend that you do not wear accessories when photographing jewelry.
Keep everything in the frame simple and clean, use a minimalist setting to let your jewelry shine.
#3 Establish a list of guidelines
Consistency is key when photographing Jewelry retouching and for this reason you should establish a set of guidelines and follow them. Variations from one image to another will distract your customer.
Guidelines should include details on camera settings, photography lights, background, and equipment position.
#4 Avoid bad lighting and reflections
Many photographers would recommend that you use natural light, even for jewelry, but for a professional result, you'll want to create a more controlled lighting setup and use off-camera flashes. If your lighting isn't correct and consistent, your jewelry will look very different from shot to shot. To maintain consistency in your images, try to always use the same lighting.
Also, you want to avoid reflections as much as possible, as they distract from the product and also make your images look less professional.
Be very careful not to create distractions in your jewelry while photographing it, as gemstones and metals are known to be highly reflective, so you could find the photographer reflected in the jewelry.
Removing reflections is a trial and error process when it comes to jewelry. First, you should try to change your position or the jewelry to the light source. Also, you should get closer to closely examine the product and make sure you haven't caught any reflections.
#5 Post-production is key
Poorly edited images destroy a customer's trust in your brand, so spend time editing images, paying attention to detail, and creating templates that consistently crop, margin, and align your product images.
If you don't have the time or the skills, we can help. Simply fill out the contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
