Necklace stands

If you are wanting to photograph your necklaces, especially for selling, I highly recommend using a necklace stand.

Especially if you don't have a model/aren't comfortable photographing yourself wearing the necklace, it's a really big help. Even the most lovely photos of a necklace laid flat won't help the viewer understand how long the necklace is, how flexible, where it lies on the neck. 

Example: the first two photos I took on white muslin, and they are really beautiful. The colors show well, and the photos give a wonderful idea of the textures and the beauty of the beads.

However, they don't show what it would look like on a person. Here's where the necklace stand comes in:

Isn't that much nicer? It isn't an attention grabbing photo, and you can't see the details of the necklace, but for someone who is interested and wants to know more about the necklace, it provides that information. Without it, the viewer might be left wondering how to tell what it would look like, if it would be too short, too long, etc. 

I got two of these stands the other day from Michaels, for 7 or 9 dollars each (I forget). I got this one in a neutral linen, and one in black velvet. Although the black really makes some of the colors pop, it's kind of impossibly to photograph without looking dusty. So that one's on hold for now, until I figure it out.

Road Trip: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

This will be the last post from our road trip that's this long. The National Park was just so wonderfully lovely I couldn't help taking so many photos. And the sky!! Such gorgeous long views and incredible clouds. Enjoy!

Model photo shoot

A while ago I posted this about my explorations of getting good photos of jewelry without any fancy equipment. I also promised that I'd post about my outdoor shoots with someone modeling said jewelry.

It didn't really work. I've come to the conclusion that I need to find someone who is either ridiculously photogenic, or has some modeling experience before I try to get some really good photos of jewelry/hats/scarves actually *on* people. It's very hard. Not only do I have to figure out how to put into words what I want out of the photo (very difficult), my 'model' also has to be able to interpret it in the same way I meant it, and then give me that expression/pose/mood (extremely difficult).

So I will not be posting any photos of my attempted photo shoot. They're really not that great, but also not bad enough that there's anything you could learn from me showing them. Instead, I will just talk about my discoveries on what I need to do differently.

I really need a nice big blank background. I did some searching of product photos on Etsy and other places, trying to decide what it was that I really liked about the good photos. Some of the outdoors/busy background photos are really lovely, but they're usually showcasing entire outfits, and are quite obviously taken by professional photographers/models (at least the ones that are my favorites). On a more do-able level, something with a blank background - not necessarily white, but light colored - seems to work well.

Something about a very neutral background lets you take photos that focus visually on the item you're selling, and are easier to manipulate on the computer to make the colors of your item correct.

Also, children. Small kids modeling hats are adorable. And they instantly make anything look ten times sweeter and more adorable..

Moral of the story: I need to find (not necessarily in this order) a large blank wall of a pleasing neutral shade, a smiling photogenic person who maybe has some modeling experience, and an adorable child.

Any takers??