When it comes to jewellery photography, the only thing that comes to our mind is a beautiful piece of jewellery placed on a simple mono-colored background. We never think of it in detail but, there are few people who have to think of all the details and materials required for a jewellery photography and those are the jewellery photographers.
The jewellery photographs are usually taken for the ecommerce website who specialize in jewellery products. And other occasions like the engagement and the wedding is where the engagement and wedding jewellery photography takes place. The photographers who had been work on the jewellery project know exactly what it takes to get a beautiful picture of the jewellery.
To all the newbies in the town who are not unaware of what materials are needed in order to get a perfect jewellery shot, we are here to help you out with this article. Here, we will guide through all the materials that you need to get that one perfect shot of jewellery in lesser time.
Let us get started
Table of Contents
1. DSLR Camera
The foremost requirement for any genre of photography is a camera, if you do not have a camera with you then there is no point in photographing jewellery. So, make sure you have a DSLR camera in your hand. You should not only have the camera along with you but, you should also be familiar with its working and functions. For jewellery photography, it is very essential that you know the manual mode of your DSLR camera thoroughly. Owning a camera and knowing the camera are two different things and what you required for a jewellery shoot is knowing the right DSLR settings.
2. A Window
Now, you might wonder what is the need of a window to shoot jewellery? Well, let us help you there, the jewellery shoot mostly takes place indoors and the light is not sufficient. The first thing that may hit your mind in absence of light is ‘use of inbuilt flash’. This is completely fine if you are a professional photographer who owns a studio and all the gears but if you are not let us tell you that it is a bad idea. The use of inbuilt flash will result in harsh shadows which are not at all pleasing to see. This is the case where the day and natural light coming from the window helps. The sunlight will make your pictures look natural without any shadows. Also, if you do not want the light to directly hit the jewellery, you can cover the window with a white sheet or you can make use of a light diffuser.
3. A White Paper
Shooting jewellery is not at all easy and the reflective property of few pieces of jewellery makes it even tough. The reflection coming from the jewellery means it will naturally absorb all the other colors around it, so it is recommended that you use a white DIY background for shooting jewellery. This is will help in not changing the color of the jewellery. We do not recommend using other colors because they absorb light whereas white will reflect light. Advantage of shooting jewellery is that you do not need to change the backdrop again and again. Here, you just need to fold a piece of white paper into half and use it as a backdrop. Jewellery photography is difficult yet simple when implemented correctly.
4. A Mannequin Bust
You may have noticed many jewellery shops showcasing wedding jewellery on a black mannequin bust, it looks beautiful and catches your eyes. But, as mentioned earlier use of the white background enhance the beauty of a jewellery piece. So, it is recommended that when you use a mannequin as a prop for your jewellery, use a white colored mannequin. If you have a black color mannequin it is also fine, you can just cover it with a white cloth for better jewellery pictures.
5. A Cardboard
What to do when you do not have a mannequin? As a photographer, you should not only just click the pictures but, also showcase your creative side. Make your own props when there aren’t available any. You can easily craft a mannequin using a cardboard. Take a cardboard cut it into a square, paste a white paper on it and lastly cut two vertical slits of few cms on one side of the cardboard. Make sure the slits are at a certain distance from each other. Your very own easy mannequin is ready. Now. just grab your necklace, tuck either end into the two slits and using a tape, stick the chain at the back of the mannequin.
6. Blu-tack, Glue Dots Or Double-sided Tape
While performing the jewellery photography, it would not happen that you only get bigger jewellery, there would also be many small pieces of jewellery like the engagement rings. And there would come a time when your client request for certain angles of the rings. Here, the things that can come to your rescue are blu-tack (reusable adhesive), glue dots, or a double-sided tape. You can place the ring in horizontal position with the help of these materials. This will help you get a perfect ring shot.
7. A String
What does string had to do with the jewellery photography? Well, a string works as a magic element while shooting few jewellery pieces like dangling earrings. How can you use it? Just tie the dangling earring to the string and then place the string ends into the cardboard slits and tape those at the back of the cardboard. This can be a time-consuming process but it is worth giving a shot. A little tip here is that, click the picture of the earring when it stops moving ow when it is still.
These are few and essential material that you should own as jewellery photographer. If you want to know more about the jewellery photography tips, you can visit this blog at pixc. Also, if you any ideas and tips that you would like to share with us do let us know in the comment section below.