Photographing Outdoors

The weather here has been really fabulous lately.  With the midday being so hot we are thankful for the central air conditioning in our home but the morning and evenings are perfect for sitting out on the patio.  We needed to photograph some of our scarf jewelry for listing on our new website and noticed the lighting on our patio under the shade of our large umbrella was perfect for this.  My set-up was quite simple which was a white tablecloth draped over a garment rack.  We have several of these racks for displaying our scarf jewelry at shows and now found another use for them.

While taking my pictures a few little visitors on our patio caught my eye -- they were the baby chipmunks that live underneath our deck.  I managed to snap a photo of one before he scurried away.

And here are a few photos from today.  These items will be available on our new website very soon.

Faux Red Turquoise Stone Scarf Necklace

Bargello Scarf Necklace

Pink & Purple Scarf Necklace

Photo shoot photos done

We received the photos from our photo shoot and finally found some time to post them on our website.  I am still trying to figure out a way to embed a slide show so will do that later.  Colin MacArthur is a wonderful photographer and was a real pleasure working with him.  We couldn't have found a better model than Tiffany and the three of us had a really fun time that day.

Here are a few of our favorite photos.  You can see more scattered throughout our website, particularly in our jewelry and scarf accents sections.

Desert Reflection

Emerald Forest

"Turquoise" Collection

Country Garden

Medieval Medallion

Soft Elegance Scarf Necklace, Medallion Shawl/Hair Pin

Soft Elegance Scarf Necklace, Spiral Bracelet

Photo Shoot Today

What a day!  Between filling orders this past few week, we were busy preparing some of our jewelry pieces for a professional photo shoot which was today.  Wow!  Things went so much better than I ever imagined they would and we can't wait to share some of the new photos with you but of course aren't ready yet so will have to wait.

Several weeks ago our model, Tiffany and I got together to pick out some clothes from her wardrobe that would look best with the jewelry pieces.  I then tried each jewelry piece on her to see if any adjustments needed to be made so they would fit just right and we wouldn't have to fuss during the photo shoot.

Pieces laid out on trays ready for a quick change in the photo shoot.

It was a fun day and everything could not have run smoother.  We managed to have quite a nice range of our work photographed.  Here is Tiffany, our fabulous model, and Colin MacArthur, the master photographer!  (Check out his website to see some of his past work)

This was the first time we had our work photographed by a real professional and I discovered what a difference it can make.  Colin's studio was really cool.  He had all sorts of different backgrounds that he could easily switch out and a variety of props to add interest to the photos.

It was a wonderful experience watching Colin at work taking all the pictures.  Later we watched him work even more magic after he downloaded the pictures to his computer.  Seeing them on the large screen was even more exciting!

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.

Photo Backgrounds - Black vs. White

I'm always looking for ways to improve the quality of my photographs and recently purchased some acrylic stands as backgrounds, one in black and the other in white.  I really like the white background as the colors really pop and works beautifully in our lightbox so there are no shadows.

The black stand, however, is a whole different situation.  I have to adjust the compensation settings on my camera which is not a problem, however I found the black is like a magnet for any lint or dust and shows the slightest fingerprint or smudge.

The other problem I am having with the black background is the reflection.  While a subtle or soft reflection can be quite nice, this is anything else but.  You can see in the photograph the inside "ceiling" of the lightbox.  I will have to figure out how to work around this problem.  Any suggestions?????

Lend Me An Ear

Good photographs are so important when selling on the internet so I am always trying to improve them whenever I can.  My new lightbox has helped tremendously but I was in need of some good props for displaying my pieces.  I like to present a variety of photos of the item I am selling to show all the angles as well as how it would actually hang and help visualize the size and length.

I recently purchased this display which I thought would be perfect for showing off a choker style necklace as well as an earring.  I was sadly disappointed, however, when I discovered that there wasn't a single type of earring that would fit through the hole on the ear.  The hole was at the wrong angle and the "ear" was too thick for any ear wire to go through.  Since the display is made from plaster, drilling a larger hole was not an option.  The piece sat on my shelf for several months before I finally came up with an idea.

I took some photographs of the display.  I reprinted the picture in life-size on a heavy cardstock and punched a small hole in it.  I then placed my earring in the hole and photographed it again.

  

I like how it shows the proper size and length of the earring and it works for both dangle and post styles. I've learned that if something doesn't work just the way you want it to, it always helps to improvise.