Jewelry Pictures

what worked and what didn't - and why

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

Here are some jewelry pictures I've taken of my own work. Although I often use a scanner, all photos on this page were taken with my Fuji FinePix A310 digital camera. After uploading the pictures to my computer, I use PaintShop Pro to crop them so the jewelry fills the frame as much as possible and to make any necessary adjustments for color, contrast, etc.

A black background sets off this jade, green turquoise, and amber bracelet like nothing else can. However, the sterling silver came out a bit bleached. Photographing jewelry on a black background can make it really difficult to get both gems and metals looking good - contrast is the issue here.

I had to try several shots with different lighting to get this paua shell to show its fantastic colors. But in getting the stone well-lit, I wound up bleaching out and cooling down the gold wire (you can especially see that near the top of the pendant). It doesn't look like the deep, warm gold that it is in person. In editing jewelry pictures that combine warm-colored metals with cool-colored stones, it's easy to get the photo too warm or too cool. I need to work on that.

Sea opal glass is hard to photograph without making it die. Here I got its intense blue flash to show, but the glass is dull - its translucent beauty is lost. The silver is also dull and blah. Overall, this photo isn't a pretty one, and the earrings are really unappealing. I think I need to use a more neutral background for jewelry pictures with delicate, light colors such as this.

I propped up the front of this cuff bracelet on a stack of gray suede jewelry tray pads to tip it up at the right angle for this picture. It's a nice, sharp photo - hooray! Also, the neutral gray background doesn't overpower the jewelry - and I think that's what I should have used for the sea opal glass earrings above.

This shot is a bit dark, but I like it anyway - the pendant floats majestically, and the overall impression speaks of mystery and intrigue!

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