Photo backgrounds - thoughts?

[GraniteMountainGems2]

I would like some feedback on my photo backgrounds. I kind of like to "do my own thing", and I liked the idea of the warm brown leather for my horse and nature jewelry, and I've read that it's good to have a photo "style" that people can recognize. Yet on the flip side, it seems most photos that get the attention have simple white backgrounds. I've long admired some Etsy jewelers' photographs, but I can't seem to quite get the same good results. And when I take photos on a white background, I always think they look blah, gray, and amateurish. I'm pretty good with my camera and use the manual settings, just wondering what I haven't thought to try yet.

Here's an example of my staple leather background: http://www.etsy.com/listing/53226324/swedish-dala-horse-large-earrings

And here's a listing with pix I just took yesterday, to experiment once again with the plain white background idea (which even after Photoshop, I am pretty disappointed): http://www.etsy.com/listing/71953310/swedish-dala-horse-necklace-red-cz-cubic

Thoughts? Ideas? If you visit my shop you'll see I've also experimented with a light color tile (not happy), aqua paper for my ocean wave stuff (?), driftwood as a prop and bracelet holder (liked that), and a few other things. :-P Not sure I want to change my whole look to conform to what's popular, but if it means making more sales, I'll try it!

[RobinsArtAndDesign]

You have very pretty jewelry! I like the lighter brown and the turqoise backgrounds, The white backgrounds do look a little washed out. The leaves look pretty but I think they detract from the jewelry a bit. I'm Constantly fixing my photos, too.

[Strungoutjewelry]

the lighter brown background, especially those with the natural lighting & shadows, were the first to catch my eyes. on a visit to your shop, those would be my first clicks! :D

[Former_Member]

I agree, the lighter brown backgrounds look very fresh and provide a natural crisp outline for the jewelry. Lovely work!! You want to highlight your jewelry, and keeping the photos simple accomplish that.

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

My personal favorites are your leaf backgrounds - I think those photos are stunning! Lovely jewelry! Good luck. :)

[Former_Member]

I like the lighter brown better too. If it were me, I would get a nice peice of walnut and stain it a medium ash color -

http://www.hardwoods-inc.com/files/file/Product%20Resources/WALNUT-139S%207-5-07.jpg

[Former_Member]

This one pops out for me:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53095592/turquoise-sterling-earrings-cowgirl

and I also like how you have used the driftwood in this one:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/47343068/horse-rider-bracelet-dressage-harmony

Although I know I am more likely to get hosted in treasuries etc if i use lighter backgrounds, I keep coming back to my dark grey one as I think it makes my pieces stand out.

[DecoratingYourself]

they don't work for me...check out this blog post for help...
http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/03/etsy-shop-sales-stats-daily-views.html

[DecoratingYourself]

sorry wrong post...this is the one...
http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/02/photos-with-personality.html

[efinegifts]

We like the horsehead bracelet on the driftwood and the maple leaf on the maple leaf.
The dark brown looks great on your banner but it does not do justice to your beautiful jewelry. We agree the white looks washed out.

[RaesSpirit]

I love using color. The first thing that caught my eye was the maple leaf on the golden maple leaf background. Also, the horse with the driftwood and rust. I keep trying the white but almost always go back to placing my item on something of color. It seems to bring out the natural color in my piece better. You just have to be careful not to lose the item in favor of the background.

[GraniteMountainGems2]

Oh, THANK YOU so much for the helpful replies! I am very happy this morning to find them. :-) I just opened the links and will check them out next.

I like the wood idea very much (thanks receivingcuddles!). I like that it's a natural material with a little texture. That might be a good solution where all the colors (of stone beads) I'm likely to use will still stand out, and it's not too light or dark. Maybe similar to why folks seemed to like the light brown background? Which I also liked, but being a printed paper caused trouble sometimes with weird effects ("moire"?) in the digital photos, so I gave it up.

Thanks again!! :-) Have some pieces ready to photo, and now I'm excited to try out something new!

[GraniteMountainGems2]

Also, thanks for the kind comments about my work.

I was checking out your shops, and I see some of you use the white backgrounds, and they turn out well! Guess it's just not meant for me.

theori, I love your photos! The dark gray really works with all those sparkly transparent gemstones. Your pix make me want to click on the item! I think another thing I see to try is light coming from other angles than I would normally consider, and I still need to get in closer for that first shot to get people's interest. It just seems a little scary for some reason, LOL!

I forgot about the maple leaves... I like that for jewelry that may be seen as "fall" theme (but only for the pieces that don't also have colored stones). People seem to enjoy using those in their seasonal treasuries. But I'm thinking I should switch the photos around when it's not near that time of year maybe?

[ATwistOfWhimsy]

I've been struggling with photos myself. When I looked at your shop, the ones I thought looked best were the ones with props (driftwood, leaves). The brown looks good too but I definitely do not like the white background. I think if jewelry has lots of shiny beads and crystals, the white works, but not for jewelry like yours with a nature theme.

Most of my jewelry is copper and I used a wooden tray for a background for a long time. Then it began to look boring and now I'm trying to change the photos using tiles and stones. And I want to add more props...just having trouble deciding what looks best.

Beautiful jewelry by the way! Good luck!