Easy Jewelry Photography with a Digital Camera

How to Make My $15.00 Photo Studio

© by Cheryl Coccaro; all rights reserved

Jewelry photography lighting can be tricky when using a digital camera. But every jewelry artist needs to be able take great photos for their website, promotional materials, and eBay or other auction sites.

Below, Cheryl tells how to make
this $15 jewelry photo studio.

When I first started selling on eBay I needed a better method for taking photos of my jewelry. I used a very popular Rubbermaid (TM) Cake Carrier, inverted it, and cut a hole in the top of it to insert my camera lens. First I tried putting rope lighting inside the cake carrier, secured with plastic ties. Then I tried putting the rope lights outside, on the top of the cake carrier.

This setup was partially successful for jewelry photography, but sometimes my pictures showed a circle of ring lights on the face of my stone.

The $15 Jewelry Photography Studio

The setup I use now is a Rubbermaid (TM) plastic file box with a lid, placed on a table by my back patio sliding door - it's my $15 jewelry photography studio! This is an affordable studio you can easily put together yourself.

For the best pictures using this setup with your digital camera, see Jewelry Photography Success Tips for Your $15 Photo Studio.

These jewelry photos were taken in the afternoon when the light is the brightest. I used no additional lighting and no flash. The only editing done on these photos was resizing.

The file box with my earrings displayed inside,
ready for me to shoot

These next two shots were taken using my digital camera, in macro mode, on a tripod and no flash. I used the self timer mode because all my photos are shaky without using that wonderful tripod:

Commercially available setups like this for photographing jewelry with a digital camera include Cloud Dome and EZee Cube Photo Tent.

I bought the Rubbermaid (TM) file box in Walmart for $14.99, and I imagine it's also available in most office supply stores. All I did was turn it on its side!

More Tips for Photographing Jewelry:

Using Scanners to Photograph Jewelry
Success tips for photographing jewelry using scanners to get clear, artistic, original shots.

Photo Editing for Professional Looking Jewelry Pictures
Easy tips for using photo editing software to put the finishing touch on your jewelry photos.

Best Digital Cameras for Photographing Jewelry
Important digital camera features for jewelry photos. Three of the best digital cameras for taking sharp, professional looking pictures of jewelry.

Easy Jewelry Photography with a Digital Camera
How to make a $15 jewelry photography studio that will help you get the optimum lighting for your jewelry pictures.

Jewelry Photography Success Tips for Your $15 Photo Studio
Eight tips for taking professional-quality jewelry pictures using your $15 jewelry photography studio.

Success Tips for eBay Auction Photos
A picture says a thousand words, and you'll gain an advantage over your competition using these tips for high quality photos in your auction ads.

Tips for Photographing Jewelry
Tips for photographing jewelry with scanners and digital cameras for professional results. Easy tips for using photo editing software for the finishing touch on your jewelry photos.

I hope you'll enjoy building and using your own easy tabletop photo studio for perfect jewelry photo lighting.