Whether you’re a professional photographer, a jewelry maker or a miniatures’ sculptor, these tricks will help you highlight the items you are photographing and make them stand out from the crowd.
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1. Textured Wall
Sometimes a bare wall is all you need to make your photograph pop. When photographing a transparent item, this is a good way to highlight its transparency. The more rough the wall, the better. Make good use of light and shadows to reveal the smallest details. In this example I’ve photographed a glass necklace at the balcony of my house.
2. Decorative Plant
All houses have at least one small or large plant decorating some corner. Make it your best pal during photoshoots! Especially if you are going to photograph a miniature animal or any nature inspired/related item. Plants and leaves have interesting textures and their green tones are calming and friendly to the eye. You can easily compose beautiful arrangements by hanging earrings or other jewelry from branches or by just placing the plant to the background of the scenery. In this example I’ve placed the little squirrel to his “natural environment”.
3. Table Surface
A textured table surface can work really well when it comes to jewelry or small-items-photography. Especially a wooden table gives a natural look and feel to the product. Make sure to make good use of natural light and avoid using flash on your camera as it may reflect on the table surface and ruin your photograph.
4. Fabric and Lace
Sometimes all you need to do in order to achieve the perfect jewelry photograph is to dig deep into your wardrobe! Look for laces, silk, knitwear and any fabric that has an interesting texture. Most of the times monochrome colors work better than multicolor or florals. Just make sure that the fabrics you use are well ironed and not wrinkled. The best practice is to take in consideration the character of the item you want to photograph and choose the type of fabric accordingly. In this example a very feminine floral pendant is posing on top of romantic white lace.
5. Ceramic Tile
Ceramic or concrete tiles can also come in handy when you photograph small items or jewelry. Prefer tiles with matte finish over glossy ones, as the later might reflect the light and ruin your photography. There is literally a great variety of tiles to choose from. You can either buy one or two or make use of your house tiles. Prefer those tiles that are near a french door or at your balcony in order to make good use of sun light.
6. Self adhesive Decorative Foil
Do you want to achieve a natural look-and-feel to your photographs but without having to spend much money or having to carry around a fragile and heavy surface such as a ceramic or marble tile? Then this solution is for you! With the use of self adhesive decorating foil you can achieve natural look in the color tones of your preference.
7. Books
Have you ever consider your books as the ideal photography background? If not, it’s time to appreciate all the possibilities they offer! Whether you choose their covers, pages, spines or texts as a photography background, books can highlight and give charm to every small item or jewelry. For a more vintage look, you can use an older book with yellowish pages and/or leather cover. In the above examples I’ve used a Greek copy of Sherlock Holmes and a tiny French-Greek dictionary. Just remember, if you choose to photograph your piece on top of a texted page, read the text prior to photoshooting. You really don’t want your beautiful photograph to get ruined due to an indecent word hidden somewhere in the background
8. Textured Paper
Paper can add character and is the most affordable and easy found material. You can choose from a huge variety of colors and textures and cut it to the size you want. You can even use recycled paper for a more natural look or even make your own recycled paper.
9. Cat Model
If you are the proud parent of a cat, you can ask for her/his majesty assistance in photo shooting. Before using your pet as a model, make sure that it feels comfortable with the procedure and never force it to do anything that makes it feel uncomfortable or causes it pain. Also, beware to NEVER leave your pet alone with jewelry or other small items as they may pose a choking hazard to them.