Behind the Scenes - Photographing Earrings - Tutorial

One of the most important things about selling your work on the internet is to have good photographs.  We  like to take several photos of each item and usually from different angles so it can take a bit of time.  We even photograph the backs of our pieces to show how they are finished.  We also photograph our work as a way to keep track and document all of our inventory.

For a while I found earrings to be more of a challenge to photograph as one needs to visualize how they look when they are actually worn.  In a past blog post some time ago, I showed one method of photographing them using a photo background as a prop.

I wanted another way to photograph earrings so they looked suspended in mid air but with a clean white background that showed the colors off best and required less editing afterwards.  I saw the frame idea from somewhere on the web a long time ago and can't remember where but it stuck in my brain so I decided to give it a try with my own variation.

To start, I found an inexpensive picture frame mat.   I strung some wire (I used a piece of flex wire) across the opening and then taped it into place.  You can also use string or anything that will hold but not stretch after a while.

I then needed a way to stand the frame so it can be upright for photographing.   I had this box that was the perfect length and placed the lid underneath providing a "pocket" for the frame mat to sit inside.  This is a back view of it shown here.

This is how it now looks from the front.

We have this white acrylic base for photographing and when I stand it up behind the frame mat, it provides a nice clean white backdrop.  White poster board should work as well.

This is how the earrings look when you take a picture up close and then crop after:

Since I now have an open box as part of the prop, I lined it with some cloth and use it for holding all my earring parts between photographing them.