Recently I came across a lot of comments on taking pictures in the winter season, and how much of a pain it is to do it properly and within the time you have. I wanted to write a post to quickly show you HOW I shoot my pictures for XOXII | Shop
I have put a lot of time and effort in photographing jewelry in the beginning, now I shoot my jewelry like a breeze… Well that might be a little exaggerating… I guess it’s still taking time and effort but it goes a lot faster. I use a semi professional SLDR camera the Nikon D70s. I bought the camera years ago because I love photography. Now I mainly use it for photographing my jewelry.
I find lightning the most important factor when photographing products, without light you would have a black picture right?!. So if the lighting is bad you can spend hours in Adobe Photoshop trying to edit the pictures but it will not come out great, and has taken a lot of your time. So since I do not have the best lighting equipment, and I love natural light. I take most of my pictures at my window downstairs. It’s far from perfect. I have a tiny space to work with, a glass window that is in the way all the time, people walking past the window or stopping to see what I’m doing. And of course the light changes with the weather so it can change by the minute (definitely in the Netherlands).
*The window downstairs and my setup, where I shoot all of my jewelry pictures. (simple right?)
But I do not want to complain to much. Because after some practice and experimenting, the pictures now always come out great, with minimal materials at hand and a lot of DIY creative thinking. Taking the time to get to know the camera/lightning and finding the best spot in or around the house saves you a lot of time in editing after wards. Now I don’t have to adjust anything in Adobe Photoshop, except for sometimes a little cropping or some extra brightness (especially in winter season) to make the piece come out better.
Still lighting is not the only thing that is important. The setting and decor also deserve big credit. I started out with just some vases and a few old books (books are really great to get romantic old looking photo’s) and I tried to find my own style, I tink I kinda found my way and you can clearly see the difference in my earlier pictures and the ones I shoot now. Now I use a few different backgrounds. I use scrapbook, textured, grungy to clean natural toned papers. I buy them at the local craft store. And mostly I add a vase, plate, photo frame, or elements of nature like flowers or branches to hang my jewelry from. I’m always on the lookout for trinkets and treasuries to use in my pictures.
*My setup and use of different kinds of background sheets.
*One of my first pictures I made from my jewelry. (more classical and romantic)
*My more recent style of photography (at the window ;D )
Tips:
- Keep experimenting with light, backgrounds, placing of items etc.
- Try to take your pictures in daylight, don’t have time during the week try the weekends. Don’t use a flash light (or keep it at a minimum).
- Try to find the best spot in the house for your lighting (it might not be the most convenient one though)
- Have patience and take your time to get the result you want. ( I know, this might take you some weekends to master)
- Take a look around the web and magazines what has been done, it can give you a lot of inspiration. Use the inspiration to find your own style and keep it close to yourself.
- You do not need an expensive camera to make beautiful pictures.
- Learn how to use Adobe Photoshop (at least some of the basics)
*Curious cats that always come to take a look… (This is my cat called: Pepper)
Thanks for reading!
I’m very curious how YOU take your pictures or if you have any questions about this post, please leave a comment below.
Hello, my name is Suzanne Marije, a jewelry designer.
Besides making jewelry I love photography, cooking, graphic design, traveling, a really good cup of coffee or two, going for a walk, and of course my boyfriend and cats! 
