Photography Tips For Capturing Impressive Small Scale Jewelry Images

Jewelry Photography Setup

Earrings are difficult to portray exactly as you would like in a photograph. They are small, requiring the camera to be rock steady as the photos are made, and a shot with a camera that is not capable of macro photography is usually a waste of time because there won't be enough detail.

Planning a shot for earring photography must be based on what a client wants to see. Photographers and retailers often want the jewelry hanging from the ear lobe of a model to give the relevance of size. This presents challenges to the photographer if a live model is used.

The slight movement of a person's head will render a photograph useless, even if you plan to alter the final picture using editing software. Even if you can achieve correct lighting, exposure, and the earrings in perfect position for the shot, movement will usually necessitate more shots to be made than are generally required.

A head bust is often used to give the approximate size of the earring, and there is no attempt made to make the bust appear real. This is mostly for a distant shot, and the main detailed photo is an inset. The two shot procedure usually saves time in the photography session.

Photographing earrings was once done by laying them on a soft background and shooting down on them. Although some photographers still attempt this, it is very hard to get proper lighting and produce the best results using this method. If the jewelry is the hanging type, better photos are made if they can be suspended in some way.

A small gauge of fishing line is one of the best friends for the photographer of inanimate objects. It is barely noticeable even in a macro shot, and it can be removed completely via editing software. The trick comes when trying to get dangling jewelry to remain still for the photo.

One way to have the jewelry turned the exact way you want is by using a clean sheet of glass to back it. When the earrings are hung in the position desired, a vertical pane of glass is clamped strategically in place just touching the backside of the jewelry and keeping it from turning and twisting.

A backdrop of colored cloth can be suspended a foot or so behind the glass to allow color. This has your proposed shot in physical position for the photograph, but you will need to get your lighting adjusted properly before pushing the shutter. The glass behind the jewelry will make it very important to have light coming directly from the sides to prevent a reflection.

The usual front light might not work for this shot, so you will need to experiment to see if it can be repositioned lower and not cause a glare. It will not be possible to use flash on this picture, but if you have taken many jewelry shots, you already know how to control aperture for this kind of photo.

When you have finished your shoot, you will feel pleased with what you have accomplished for your earrings photography if you follow the basic lighting and exposure guidelines for this type of jewelry photo.