The main complaint that most consumers tend to have when it comes to buying jewellery online is the fact that they lack the freedom to see how it will look upon their person. To counter this, some businesses have started marketing their jewellery pieces on models instead of against a while or block coloured background. While this feels like a simple solution, including a model, poses its share of problems and new things that will have to be kept in mind.
If you’re a photographer who is considering working in this field, there are certain things you will need to keep in mind to achieve the ideal shoot. The choice of model will vary significantly across the industry, depending on the brands and jewellers who are involved, their status, and the amount they are willing to spend on marketing their products. With this in mind, let’s get started on a few tips that you can use to kick begin your work:
Table of Contents
Focus on the pieces
The model in these cases is essentially a prop and should never be the center of attention for the photograph. This may seem hard to accomplish, but it is the key to good jewellery photography. The viewer’s eye must be drawn to the jewellery before they look at the person modelling it, but must also view the image as a whole so that they understand how the piece will look when it is worn and the feel and energy that is associated with it. Your primary task is to incorporate the model into the photograph while maintaining focus on the jewellery itself.
Lighting
there are a lot of complications which arise when you are involved in photographing jewellery. Since light reacts differently when it is reflecting and refracting, and there are numerous things which can go wrong, you will need to plan these shoots even more extensively. When you consider the fact that there is also a human involved in the photograph, the challenges to lighting and focus get more complicated. There need to be some reflectors and umbrellas stationed around and continuously adjusted to make sure that the light does not ruin the entire photograph. Keep in mind that if you choose to use flash, it will work differently on the jewellery and the model and both will have to be kept in mind simultaneously. Some errors can be fixed in the post-production stages, but it is better, to begin with, a good set of photos.
The Model
When you have a shoot that involves models, how you treat them and explain the shoot to them becomes vital. Some photographers manage models well, and there are those who simply bark orders and tell them to move a fraction to the left or right. Treating the models well will always get you better pictures since they will be more willing to cooperate. Moreover, with jewellery, the model will have to understand that they are not the center of attention for the photograph. It can be a little hard to comprehend posing which doesn’t take away from the actual focus of attention. In the case of faces, the expressions will have to be suitably muted or will have to depict the meaning or vibe that the jewellery is trying to associate with. None of these is easy tasks and must be greatly respected.
Mood
The model is necessarily a part of the photograph to convey the mood and feels that is associated with the jewellery. Keep this in mind when you are shooting, and direct the model accordingly. There are some ways that this can go wrong, but a little experience goes a long way in this field, and the learning process is very fast. Lighting, the posture and stature of the model, the expressions, location, focus and blur, and the colours can go a long way towards making the entire shoot a success.
Hopefully, this has introduced you to the basics of shooting jewellery with a model. Good luck and happy shooting!