Jewelry Photography II

For my jewelry web site, Forms, Reinvented, I wanted to use good definition photos on a classic gradient background with defused lighting, not exactly floating the object but certainly making it the center of attention.

I feel that I made a huge investment of time and money to become as competent as I am in jewelry photography. I researched digital cameras, lenses, light tents, lighting systems and photography software. Then I bought the equipment and constructed the set-up. You can see my present set-up at flickr. Next came many hours learning to use the camera, adjusting the lighting, learning the basics of the software and doing trial after trial.

I have been pleased with the results and all was good with the world. The photos were nice and I would just transfer some over to the Etsy shop. But other Etsy sellers have brought to my attention that, frequently, on Etsy it is the background that sells the object. The background sets the atmosphere and explains to the client what the jewelry will do for them. Will these earrings be fun to wear? Will this bracelet startle my friends? Will I feel elegant wearing this pendant? Is this talisman magically powerful? Will this ring go with my green outfit?

I am including photos of one pair of earrings on different backgrounds to illustrate how the background can change one’s perception of the object. Every person will automatically choose the photo that they like best. So even if it is the same earring in all of the photos the background does make them more or less attractive to us and does influence one’s willingness to buy the jewelry.













Obviously this has complicated the organization of my shooting sessions as I need to change the background several times for each object and not all objects go well on the same backgrounds. Arrrrgh.