Jewelry Photography-Tips and tricks

Carol Dekle-Foss

While taking photos to fill my website for this holiday season, I thought what a perfect time to do a post on jewelry photography. If you struggle with your photography, don't be too hard on yourself.  Jewelry photography, or macro photography, is one of the hardest things to learn. Even for professionals! 

 Here's one of my very first photos posted to Etsy back in 2011. And I thought this was good! Oh my. You can't see the details in the pendant, the background is distracting and there is no focal point to the image. It's hideous.
 
I tried EVERYTHING back then to get good shots. All sorts of backdrops and props, shooting inside and out, different cameras..etc etc. Finally, I've reached a point where I feel SOMEWHAT comfortable with my photography. It only took me FOUR years! 

As a visual type, I had a difficult time grasping photography basics and how each camera setting affected one another. With the below cheat sheet I had an aha moment. 

 

Thank you Miguel for this helpful guide! I printed it out and kept it wherever I took photos to remind me how each setting worked. Keep in mind, even if you only have a basic camera, it's bound to have one or two of these settings that you can play with. 

The two most important settings I look for when taking pictures are APERTURE and ISO. Let me SHOW you why. I only changed the aperture on all the below photos and let the camera decide for the rest of the settings. Also, no flash. Never...ever. It flattens your image, gives it harsh light and icky shadows. 

Looking at this photo, you can see shooting at f/2.8, which is a large aperture, you get a shallow depth of field. They call it a large aperture, because if you look at the cheat sheet, you can see the hole is wide open and allowing more light in. THAT took me awhile to understand. 

Okay, now the important part. If more light is coming through that little hole, then the ISO can be lower which gives you a CRISPER photo. So looking at the photo shot at aperture f/8, there was enough light in my lightbox for the camera to still choose an ISO of 100. At f/8 there is a deeper depth of field, so more of the background will be in focus. Not a bad setting for jewelry, as long as you can maintain a low ISO setting with enough light to maintain a crisp photo.

With the aperture set all the way to f/32 you get a real deep depth of field. Unfortunately, because not a lot of light is coming through that little hole, you lose the crisp ISO setting and start to see YUCKY noise.

I added a dark background here so you can see how lighting affects the ISO. The background made it darker in my lightbox, so when shooting at an aperture of f/32, the camera chose a higher ISO of 2000. If you compare the first photo to the last, you can see the noise or graininess. Bleck.

So there you have it. One little piece of the photography puzzle to help you with your jewelry photos. I hope that sheds some light, ha... on how aperture and ISO work together. I encourage you to play with your camera's settings, and see what changes you can make to your photos.

I have one more little trick to share. Do you like to hang your earrings for visual effect? I like the look, but what happens sometimes is you get shadows that hide the details, like in the below photo. Here is a way to prevent that.


 I picked this tip up from a post on how to make your silver jewelry shine. It works great to prevent shadows as well.

By using a reflective surface you can bounce light back up to highlight your jewelry and avoid shadows. 


Pretty clever! You can make your own reflective surface using aluminum foil as in the post, or purchase some from a craft store. Here is some from Joann.

I hope this information will be useful to someone!

If you have any tips or tricks you'd like to share, we would love to hear from you!

What is IFTTT?

Carol Dekle-Foss

  I was inspired by both MaryAnn and Karen last week to link my Facebook page to twitter. I was so happy with this discovery, that I began to wonder. Could there be a social media management tool to link my other social media sites? That would be amazing, and a major time saver. It might even motivate me to post more.
So after a few hours sifting through google, I found IFTTT. "If This Then That. It works by automatically connecting platforms and services across the web. 

There are so many social media sites right? Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google+, Youtube, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, etc etc. Oh, and let's not forget blogging. One would need a clever marketing team to keep up with it all!  IFTTT helps tame the social media beast by using different 'recipes' that you create tailored to your needs and how you use the web. Let me share with you some of my recipes and my new social media strategy using IFTTT.

First, I just started using Hootsuite to post to my facebook page, twitter and Instagram. They only allow three social media sites for free. And that is where IFTTT can help. You create your recipes with hashtags to share to other platforms. Here is a screenshot with the recipes I am currently using.

The first recipe is a post from Instagram to my Instagram board on Pinterest. So now when I post to Instagram with the hashtag #terrarusticadesign, it publishes automatically to Pinterest. Love it! The second recipe is a post to Tumblr, and the third to Flickr. With Hootsuite, and IFTTT, that is SIX posts in just one step. How cool is that?? Unfortunately, IFTTT doesn't have all social media sites, like Google +, but I think they are adding more all the time.

I am in no way affiliated with IFTTT, I just love how helpful it is and thought I would share. It's a great tool that you can tailor to your own needs with many options. Their platform is also easy and fun to work with.

So what is your social media strategy? Do you use any social media management tools that work for you? How do you deal with all the social media options, and which ones do you prefer to use? I would love to hear your thoughts!

More Peruvian adventures and giveaway announcement

Carol Dekle-Foss

Winner announcement at bottom of post

Did you think I was done boring you with Peru? Nope, not by a long shot. In fact, I just have to share with you my most amazing day! First of all, my son had one too many pisco sours, and the next day was nursing a classic Peruvian hangover. He was down for the count. Our day was supposed to be spent together exploring Lima's oldest district, including a stop at a mineral museum and a handmade marketplace so I could shop for cabs and beads. So let me ask you, would YOU venture out alone in a country known for express kidnappings of tourists to buy beads?? Would I? You betcha! Even the hotel manager looked a bit nervous as I explained my plans for the day.  Okay, maybe not the smartest move, but man did I have a blast! 

My first stop, Museo Andres Del Castillo.

This place has amazing specimens indigenous to Peru. The only problem is they don't let you take photos of the them. DANG! I wanted to share them with you! You can see a few on their website, and I added some to my pinterest board here. They have a gift store, so I bought these two as small ones as souvenirs.

Sphalerite and Rhodochrosite on the left and Azurite on the right. I could have stayed here all day, but I was on the hunt for beads and cabs! 

While making my way through Plaza De Armas, I noticed crowds of people huddled in corners with different music playing. 

I was able to capture a little of the entertainment for you. Keep in mind I was constantly looking around for would be kidnappers, so the videos are fair at best. They are short videos, less than a minute.

You have to see how she dances at the end of the video. So adorable! 

I love this ladies confidence. Are those mimes in the background? I have no clue what that was about.

My next stop, Centro Artesanal Santo Domingo.

 I was determined to find a cabochon dealer here.

Score! Right when I saw this place I realized I didn't bring enough soles. Damn! Still kicking myself for that one, but here is what I could afford.

Lapis Lazuli, Chrysocolla, Amazonite, Peruvian opal (my favorite), fluorite, and citrine cabochons. Umm..I need to go back. I found a few more stores after I left this one with even more cabochons. Anybody want to go to Peru with me??

Once the sun started setting I hightailed it to the bus and made my way safely back to the hotel. My loot safely tucked in my bra;)

Peru is so rich and steeped in tradition with symbols and colors that overwhelm and excite at every corner. There was one symbol that kept jumping out at me though. The crescent moon in this shape. 

I did some research on the moon related to the incas and they worshiped the Inca goddess, Mama Quilla, or mother moon. When the spanish conquered them in the 1500's and converted them to catholicism, they still included symbolism of her in their artwork. Such rebels.

Being a moon lover myself, I designed this necklace with Mama Quilla in mind.

Made with black onyx, peruvian opal, and one of my porcelain handmade cabochon moons. Listed here.

Finally, the giveaway announcement.

Congratulations Sharlyn Premuda, you are the winner! I will be contacting you on facebook for your mailing info.

Thank you everyone for reading!

Peruvian adventures and a small giveaway

Carol Dekle-Foss

Recently, my son and I spent a week in Peru visiting friends and exploring ancient cities and ruins.  We had an amazing time and wanted to share with you some of our favorite photos. Included, are random shots all over Peru, amazing Pre-Columbian jewelry photos from Museo Larco in Lima, a metalsmith workshop in Pisac, and the salt mines of Maras. This post may be a bit long, but I hope it inspires you!

 First up, these amazing walls in Cusco called Sacsayhuaman.  We thought we would have a better understanding of how they were constructed if we saw them in person. Unfortunately, they baffle us even more! How in the heck did they construct them? Our guide showed us this drawing. 

I was like...

Bftt..please. They got THESE detailed corners using a wooden form and chisels? Right.

 I love that they are such a mystery! I think one day we will discover how they did it, and I don't think it will be aliens! Here is a video that brings up some interesting points on how they were constructed if you're interested.

Okay, on to some very cool jewelry. We visited Museo Larco and were amazed by the beauty of the surrounding gardens and also the artifacts.

 

 Pre-Columbian societies in Peru used gold, silver, copper and bronze metals not only for adornment but also for tools, and decorative objects. Below are beautiful examples of carved pendants and beads, repousse metalwork, and the lost-wax casting technique.

 Amazing owl necklace!

 Beautiful inlay!

The museum also has very fine examples of Pre-Columbian weaving and pottery that you can check out on their website. There is also an erotic pottery section that left even me blushing. Very graphic! If you're curious, just google Moche erotic pottery. Don't say I didn't warn you! 

I loved the people of Peru and tried to capture them as best I could.

They pose for tourists for soles in return.

 This adorable young boy posed for me so patiently.

We also visited the Pisac Market in the Sacred Valley.

 We had a fun time meandering all around the cobblestone alleyways and checking out the handmade goods.

The highlight for me in Pisac was a silversmith studio, where they showed us how their jewelry was made and what materials they use.

 A Peruvian metalsmith hard at work.

They inlay with lapis lazuli, chrysocolla, abalone, spondylus shell and more.

The Tumi is a ceremonial knife that was used to sacrifice animals to the god Inti. Now the symbol is used for decoration or worn for good luck. 

Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship. Yep, this place took quite a lot of my soles.

I would have to say my most favorite place of all wasn't Machu Picchu, but the salt mines of Maras. 

The salt mines are remnant of the Inca period, and have been producing since 1450 AD. A tiny spring, the only one in all of the Andes, feeds the salt ponds.

A Peruvian woman hard a work on her salt pond. Each one is owned by a different person.

To thank you for reading through all my boring vacation photos, 
I have a tiny giveaway for you!

I purchased these beads from Centro Artesanal Santo Domingo in Lima. They include hand painted ceramic beads, red jasper, angelite, serpentine, and huayruro macho seeds, that are supposed to bring luck to the wearer.

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment as to what you found most interesting about this post or what you find most interesting about Peru in general.

Thank you for reading!