Turns out photographing jewelry is not simple.
I was fortunate enough to take a product photography workshop this fall in Portland, OR with photographer Lisa Warninger and stylist Chelsea Fuss. Thanks to the PDX Etsy team for sponsoring the event.
Here are some cat-free shots I took at the workshop.
Indigo Sparkle necklace on model
Indigo Sparkle crocheted necklace in tiny wooden bowl
Who belongs to this? I photographed this beautiful yarn dyed by one of the women in my group, but didn’t get her card.
I was still trying to figure out how to use my fancy DSLR camera.
The main takeaway was to “wrangle” the natural light, use minimal styling, and make your products “sing.”
Still tuning up, but I came away inspired anew!
This is an interesting design experiment. On one hand, the necklace on the model shows a more accurate depiction of the scale of the product (and I like the contrast of the freckles with the bead color). However, it isn’t as easy to see the necklace detail in this photo.
There is more detail available on the necklace featured with the tiny wooden bowl (a great color/contrast, too). But it’s very difficult to get a sense of the scale of the necklace with the bowl, as I immediately think that the bowl is larger than it actually is.
Both are great photos – maybe there is an elegant way to combine the best of both worlds to display your lovely jewelry.
Thanks for those insights, Lisa, I think you are right on. Since I am around my jewelry all the time, I forget that the scale and detail might not be apparent to others.
Your comments brought to mind the product photography in papercutsbyjoe.etsy.com. Joe sells paper cuts, the beauty of which is difficult to depict in a photo. By holding up his thin, delicate items up in front of his workspace when he takes a picture, he manages to show scale, process, and detail all a once. A clever solution that brings his work alive.
I know it looks simple, but it probably took some effort and practice to achieve his solution. I am now on the lookout for other examples of exceptional product photography…stay tuned!