No Jewelry Inspiration? Shoot!

Silk flowers, hide, velvet, tripod

Sometimes, I just don't have the creative juice to create jewelry. My muse had taken her glass of wine, and left the building. These are good times for me to catch up on the other jobs of a jewelry designer. One important job is photographing the pieces. I tend to procrastinate, and items pile up. It happens that I sell or consign pieces, and never photograph them. That is not good, because it makes it hard to book keep, and track clients. "Remember that coral necklace I bought last summer?" Nope!

Druzy agate slices and quartz crystals

Taking good photos is more difficult than you might think. Not just any time of day will work. Full sun is too bright, and the glare can make the colors disappear. Night is bad, too. Artificial light is brassy and it's difficult to get warm tones. I like a cloudy morning, or just after daylight on a clear day. I shoot in front of a south window, with electric light on too. I will set the jewelry up, and shoot both with flash and without. I can sort out on the computer which has better color. Another important thing to consider is arranging the pieces. I use a hide, black velvet, some silk flowers, and other props to make the photos pop. It is important to make sure that the links are all flat, and that the earrings are straight, etc. Nothing is more frustrating than shooting for an hour, then realizing that I have placed a pendant backward, or earrings mismatched.
In these photos, I have featured several new pieces with natural druzy agate slices, and quartz crystals set with stones and glass.

Freshwater pearl strands with a dragons blood jasper, beach glass

One of these necklaces is a cameo that I created out of polymer clay, then set with a copy of an old stamp from the 1960's. For over 20 years, my mother worked for an oil services company. They got mail from all over the world. Mom saved the envelopes with colorful cancelled stamps from all over. I now have that collection. This beautiful stamp is from Japan, it's a scene with a graceful geisha surrounded by cherry blossoms. The pendant is set with steel hearts and stones, enamel beads, crystals, and glass. It has a fun and nostalgic look.

Close up of the pendant

Pink set with old stamp pendant

                                                                                        

Pebble

Rocky!!

Buddy

As always, I have to thank my dedicated staff pictured here. Buddy the saint, Pebble the diva, Pepper the director, and newest on the team, amazing Rocky. He is the supervisor. Nothing much gets past his scrutiny. If he doesn't like a piece, he may dump all of my material on the floor. I work hard to make sure he's happy.

Pepper