Advice needed for jewelry photographing

[Former_Member]

Hi!

We purchased a velvet necklace display but realized that it picks up all the micro dust that we couldn't even see.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks!

[StuckOnSilver]

Congratulations on launching your shop! Beautiful work.

My suggestions:

Write your policies.
Take photos for all five slots

Your primary photos look cluttered and dark. IMO the black velvet looks the best, but outlines of the octopus are distracting.

All the best!

[MariasWorkshop]

Octopuschic,

I ran into the same problem. There are three ways you can fix this.

1. Before you use your velvet display, use a piece of packing tape to lift up all the dust, lint, etc., that accumulates on your display piece. The debris adheres like magic to the sticky part of the tape. I found that storing it in a plastic bag helps a lot, but you still have to clean it before use.

2. Use a program such as PicMonkey and pay for an upgrade. They have a tool that you can use to "erase" any little flaws that may show up in your pictures.

3. I purchased a black faux leather display. They are not too expensive (about $11.00) and I am very happy with it. They are smooth and you can easily wipe them off to clear any accumulation of debris. I still use the velvet looking display now and then, but the faux leather one is my favorite.

[Former_Member]

Bev and Maria --

Thanks so much for your suggestions and advice! They really help a lot. We will put them into practice.

We opened our shop in November and still a lot to work on. We've also realized that listing items have been the most time-consuming...

Thanks again!

[Former_Member]

I prefer a white display rather than the velvet, it's more expensive but worth it when you have great photos. You can find them on Fire Mountain Gems.

Other than that, I wouldn't use the black background as your main photo anyway. Well, I'm biased in that I like plain white backgrounds as anything else just distracts away from the piece you are trying to sell.

When I sold jewelry, I used a white piece of textured art paper and laid the piece flat. Usually the display was used for the second photo and the main one was just for the close up/detail shot.

This trick worked well, I even made it to the Front Page a couple times (I have a couple listings in my shop for jewelry supplies if you want a visual example of what I am talking about).

Good luck and happy holidays!

[EchidnaArtandCards]

I prefer a white background as well. You can try using a white cloth or scarf and place your jewellery on. Or use a cloth bound mannequin bust.

The octopus shapes are too distracting and takes away from your lovely work.

One of the photos can be how you package your items, such as using the box and placing a necklace in, with a business card or something like that.

[Former_Member]

Thank you Diana and Anita!

We figured the distraction part of photographing on octopus too! Will look into it. We are also trying to find the best background color for our photos.

Happy New Year!

[DelaneyJewelry]

Fun stuff. I have to suggest a white background. Jewelry stands out best that way; check out the big stores like Macy's, Nordstrom, or Pandora.

I love your octopus. I would use it in your banner and logo for branding, but not your listing photos; with the exception of the last photo in each listing to show packaging.

On the jewelry card that goes into the box I would use a mini hole punch at the end of your necklace cuts to give your chain a resting place. It will keep your cards looking nice. And maybe add a piece of tissue paper to cover the fluff.

Keep up the hard work. List new items, set up and post to Updates as often as possible. Once a day if possible.

[nloiscrafts]

Keri....I really love your photos and the way you use your backing, I want to use white for all my products too in order to be consistent, but sometimes it is a really headache when shooting white, transparent or pastel colors. I am still thinking what ways I should do. Any advise?

[Former_Member]

I just bought a little light box studio. I've not perfected it yet and am still experimenting but I have the same issue you do with the velvet display - no matter how much I use a long roller LOL. It is more difficult to meter. I have to work on improving my photos greatly for sure.

[Former_Member]

We've changed the look a bit, what do you all think?

[ClassyClayJewelry]

I think this is better now. I love pictures with a box.

[Former_Member]

Thank you, Marija!

Wishing you many sales in 2017!

[Former_Member]

Much better! Love the plain wood background, works great for bright contrast items like this red stone set:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/486847756/handmade-ruby-teardrop-heart-pendant?ref=shop_home_active_1

and with lighter items, your black background is working, like this one where the focus is absolutely on the item:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/500094491/teapot-necklace-swarovski-pearl-bead?ref=shop_home_feat_2

Great job! Just keep practicing until you get it. This is the same journey most of us have been through.

You should have seen my pictures when I first started - bad lighting, out of focus, I think I had a bright green background for some reason, like a blanket or fabric????!. Horrible, just horrible, lol.

You'll get it. Good progress so far :)

[DelaneyJewelry]

Personally I think it's too busy. There is a lot going on and my eyes don't know where to focus. I do like the wood grain backgrounds best. Keep at it; cute stuff. =)

[JewelMeShop]

You can try cardboard. There are many colours available so you can play with. You can find in white, light or dark grey. It's not expensive and very easy to use.

[Former_Member]

Thank you all for the input. Actually the faux wood grain is the same piece but somehow it showed in lighter and darker hues...

We have designed a new card (the 3rd picture in the listing below), what do you think?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/482658072/running-girl-necklace-for-athletic?ref=shop_home_active_1