Finally! I'm Happy With My Photos!

After much experimentation : white backgrounds, bright backgrounds, subtle backgrounds and many visits to my local ESK to buy far too many scrapbook sheets and different coloured paper, I've finally found a background that I'm happy with! And I had it at home all along.

I've started using the back cover of an old Reader's Digest Univeral Dictionary - a sort of silvery~grey colour which I think works ok. I know lots of people prefer a plain white background for jewellery but I found I got a lot of glare from the white especially with silver jewellery and it sometimes looked a bit off white. I think the grey sets off the colours of the beads well and makes them pop and I haven't had to edit the photos as much which saves time.

I've also started using a mini tripod I bought from eBay a few years ago which was immediately shoved into a draw when it arrived. I took one look at it and thought I just couldn't be bothered faffing about with it but I've now started using it together with the timer on my camera so I don't have to worry about having the shakes when I'm taking photos. Those photography guides do make sense after all!

Now I just have to find something I'm happy with for my copper jewellery as the grey is a bit dark for it sometimes depending on the colour of the beads. If any of you have any tips for backgrounds for copper jewellery I would be very grateful!

 

Photos - Still Searching . . . . . . . . .

.....for the perfect background.

A while ago I decided that my white backgrounds were boring so decided to try something different. I tried bright orange (see example in my Etsy shop in sidebar), really liked it for a few days then decided that it was a bit much. So I then thought I'd try backgrounds in other colours, maybe a bit subtler.......... I now possess backgrounds in all colours and patterns imaginable but STILL I'm not happy with my photos!

The only thing for it was to consult the Etsy forums where there are lots of threads about photographing jewellery ~ we all obviously think alike! After reading through several the general consensus about backgrounds seemed to be GREY. Yes, grey is apparently the colour to go for. Here's a photo of my earrings using a grey background

I'm not sure about it, it seems a bit drab because of the grey! I know it can depend on the colour of the beads but it still looks a bit dull to me. I've seen so many gorgeous photos of jewellery on Etsy using grey - maybe it's the wrong shade!

I then tried a more neutral background ~ a lightish brown ........

But it still looks drab! Maybe I'm just so used to using white that anything else is going to look wrong!

Here's some copper earrings I used a white background for...

I think these look better although the photo isn't that sharp ~ been fiddling about with my camera settings too much which can affect the sharpness! I've since reset them all back to "normal" so will see if that has any effect next time I use it.

After experimenting I've come to the conclusion that white is best for me, although I may use another light shade if it fits the colour of the beads!

Anyone want a big pile of background papers?? 

If you have any tips or advice please feel free to let me know!

Photo Revamp ~ Opinions Wanted!

Selling my jewellery online means I have to take photos of it and I can honestly say that this is my least favourite part of the whole process! I just don't have the patience for all that fiddling about trying to get the perfect picture and I always look at the end result thinking it could be better.

I generally just switch on my camera in Auto mode and let it do it's thing, however the other day I actually switched it to manual and played around with the settings. I changed the white balance, (I think that's what it's called) and it has made a difference, the photos do seem brighter. Taking the photos in Manual mode however wasn't very successful, even though it was in Macro mode, the camera didn't want to focus every time, so I went back to Auto mode. I didn't need as much light as normal, meaning I didn't have to pull the curtains as far back as I normally do, so altering the white balance has improved things.

I normally use white as a background but recently have been thinking how boring my photos look! So this morning I took a trip to my local ESK where there's a brilliant craft section. I found some plain paper in various colours, green, grey, more green and then I spotted some bright orangey~browny~pinky~purple ( I said it was bright!) patterned paper that I thought might work. It's a bit vivid and colourful but I like it because it's very me and I hope fits with my style of jewellery. I gave it a try earlier and here's the results. Before and after!

Before

After

What do you think? I'd really appreciate some opinions! I'm planning on redoing all my photos, starting with my Etsy shop, but thought I'd do just one before I got carried away and wasted LOTS of time incase I didn't like the end result!