Jewelry is the most valuable possession a woman can possess. Its beauty in photographs lasts indefinitely from the moment it is captured.
While doing jewellery photography, the most common issue that most jewelry photographers face is REFLECTION. This is because many stones and metals are highly reflective. Sometimes it may also reflect some human figures and even your camera; you do not want such blunders in your jeweler.
Therefore, to avoid such unwanted reflection in your jewellery photography, one must find ways to prevent reflections while doing jewelry photography. Unfortunately, escaping reflections in jewellery photography is a trial-and-error theory; there are not many theoretical ways to avoid reflections in jewellery photography.
Still, if we know the right direction, then it is most probable to get the results.
So, in this article, we will go over some fundamental concepts to avoid reflections in jewelry photography.
Table of Contents
1. Change the position of the jewelry
The first attempt in avoiding reflection in jewelry photography is to change the position of the jewelry.
2. Change your position
Sometimes you may try to move slightly so that the sunlight is behind your shoulder instead of shooting directly into it. This can help to reduce unwanted reflections.
Some jewelry has glasses; in the case of glasses, consider having your subject angle their head slightly away from the source of light to reduce the chance of reflections on their lenses.
3. Snap-on the go in natural light and avoid camera flashes.
Sometimes it’s preferable to take a picture when someone is wearing it and is in motion. This keeps the picture original and looks natural. Also, the chances of reflection are less. Finally, it will help you to capture the true essence of priceless jewelry photography.
4. Shoot with a diffuser
Consider filtering the light if strong sunshine causes reflection in your close-up shots of the jewelry. Bringing a diffuser or even a large white sheet with you can help soften the harsh sunshine
5. Shoot using a reflector
Use a reflector or a fill flash to bounce the light back onto your subjects, filling in any dark shadows.
6. Consider using a polarizer
A polarizer can significantly minimize glare and reflections while also producing brighter, more vibrant colours. Try putting the piece of jewelry on a circular polarizer can also be helpful. You can use this filter to place the polarized section over glare-prone areas and the non-polarized section over the sky, preserving the rich colours.
7. Utilize a Lens Hood
A lens hood can help reduce lens flare, which is one sort of glare. These hoods are made to keep sunspots at bay while letting in as much light as possible. Using a different focal length on your zoom lens is another simple approach to reduce the impact of sunspots in your photo if you have one.
8. Use the Proper Props
Props have a lot to do with jewellery photography as one cannot hire models every moment. They want to shoot a piece of jewellery. But instead of the jewelry, does the prop start producing reflections?
The answer is quite simple. First, adjust its position and if still, it is causing reflections, then skip it. Do not forget that if the props reflect beside the jewelry, it can draw the viewers’ attention away from the main jewelry.
9. Take more than one shot with different exposure.
When you struggle too much to eliminate the reflections but do not get any results, consider capturing two photographs with different exposures and blending them to produce a composite image. One image should be exposed for the highlights, while the other should be exposed for the remainder of the scene. Just make sure you use a tripod and take all your shots in the same spot. Then, using layers in post-production, blend the two.
10. Manage the reflection in post-editing
When you try to manage glares and reflection but end up with little or no result, then you might be able to remove the glare in post-production as a final option. While you would not be able to accomplish this if the glare is blocking the subject’s face or a critical part of the image if it is off to the side, you should remove it with the mending and cloning tools quickly.
Utilize the reflection:
If the reflection is not destructive, you can utilize it to bring perfection to your jewelry photography. Like the one shown in the jewelry photograph below:
So, now we have all the best ideas to avoid reflection in jewelry photography. Let us now try the methods which were listed above based on the requirements and situations. All you need to do is focus and not do anything that is not usual while taking jewelry photographs. That is the secret behind the success of every professional photography of splendid pieces of jewelry.