Amazing Tips for Great Jewelry Photography
Jewelry photography is not as easy as it seems until the photographer achieves perfection in taking pictures through proper lighting, sharpness, and exposure. But no need to worry much- it’s not that much complicated as it sounds. If you have experience taking shots in manual mode in your digital camera, you can start taking jewelry clicks through the below-mentioned tips.
Although you can always hire Jewelry Photography Atlanta services to give a professional touch to your photos.
Tips for great Jewelry Photography
Pick a perfect camera
The camera can give you a perfect shot if you manually adjust the aperture and shutter speed. If you are familiar with your camera, you can quickly make the desired adjustments to get the image you will love to see.
In the case of a DSLR or mirror-less camera, ensure that your lens of choice has a wide aperture. Unfortunately, many cameras have a too narrow aperture, making them unsuitable for product photography. It’s recommended to use a lens in the range of f/1.8-f/4 to get the desired outcomes.
White balance setting adjustment
This is the biggest mistake that a photographer can commit if he doesn’t know about white balance adjustment. While doing product photography Atlanta for documentation and sales, it is important to capture all the images’ colors accurately. You can’t submit a photograph of a gold ring looking like a silver ring and vice versa.
Adjust your camera’s white balance until the product image starts looking like they do in reality. You can use a grey card to adjust the white balance for your current light condition or shoot the photo in RAW. Clicking RAW photos allows photographers to adjust the white balance in post-processing without compromising the image quality.
Use off-camera flashes
Many photographers prefer to use natural light, even for jewelry photography. But to give a professional touch to the images, it’s better to use off-camera flashes to get a more controlled lighting setup. Whatever method you choose to click the product photo ensures that the photo gets soft and proper lighting to reduce the shadow effect.
Further improvement in the lighting system can be made by using proper light sources like reflectors or lightboxes. While you are ready to click the product photo, ensure that no unnecessary light source is present in the room to avoid different color temperatures.
Reflection Management
Gemstones are reflective, so probably you may find yourself reflected in the jewelry, and this is something you don’t want. Reflection management is a trial-and-error procedure in jewelry photography. You can put a paper around and at the bottom of your camera lens to block reflections and bounce more light towards the object—hence no need to have an expensive setup. You can use diffused overhead light for getting enough light to elevate your camera with a tripod to shoot product from the bottom.
Pick a nice background for jewelry photographs.
There is nothing bad in showing your creativity in the background. If you want to make your clicks more interesting, then change the location. Just note that placing too many things in the background can distract the viewer from the product image. Keep the background simple and mind how the color and background will interact with the product. Your location should enhance the jewelry beauty, as you might have seen in the photos.
Feature contrasting colors
To add a ‘Wow’ factor in your product image, you can use contrasting color backgrounds by putting them on colored surfaces. Do experiment with the background and see which one will suit best for your idea. You can use a solid color or different shades of the same color to make the photo stand out. But remember, don’t use too much of shades to distract the viewer from the product image. This rule applies not only to jewelry but also to cosmetic product photography.
Clean the jewelry
While taking photographs of your jewelry, ensure that it is clean and polished. Your jewelry may seem clean to the naked eye, but dust particles present on it may become visible in a highly-detailed image clicked from a digital camera.
Unless your jewelry needs a serious cleaning, you can clean it with a damp cloth before taking pictures. Use hand gloves to avoid your fingerprints on the product while handling it.
Focus on perfection
The main aim of your photography is to highlight the special gem of the jewelry. For this, you need to keep your camera on Autofocus. Even in close-up clicks, your focus may remain off; hence verify the same after the photo click. If the accuracy is not attained, re-shoot the photo, verify the focus and lock it.
Final Words
Do take care of the below factors while taking jewelry photographs:
- Adjust the light, lens and background-color
- Pick the perfect camera for the best shot
- Edit the clicked photos with production software
- Practice a lot to attain mastery in photography skills.
All the above tips are valid for jewelry, cosmetic and Amazon product photography services.
