How good are your camera skills on a scale of one to jewelry photography? Let's see. Do you know how to use your camera to achieve professional results? Would you say you’re skilled in Photoshop? If your answer is yes, you’re a decent photographer.
Photographing jewelry is a challenge. Fortunately, we have some ideas to help you take professional-looking jewelry photography at home.
In this article
1. Use a Smartphone for Jewelry Photography at Home
Let us share some good news—you don’t need a $3,000 Nikon. You can create stunning jewelry photography with an entry-level camera such as a $500 Canon. Can you avoid buying a professional or semi-professional camera altogether? The answer is yes.
As long as you know how to use its full potential and upgrade it through post-production, a better camera phone will do the job incredibly well. Some examples include:
- Samsung Galaxy S23 & S23 Ultra
- iPhone 14 Pro & Pro Max
- Google Pixel 7a & 7 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy A54
Samsung Galaxy is the best camera phone currently available, and it’s around $1,000, depending on the model. Sure, you can get a semi-professional camera for less money, but you can’t get an excellent smartphone and a top-notch camera for less.
2. Take Shots Next to a Natural Light Source
Good lighting plays a critical role in photography, but it’s even more important when photographing jewelry. Because the subject is often tiny, intricate, or reflective—sometimes all that at once—finding the best light setup will take some experience.
Should you use a natural light source or artificial light?
That’s a difficult question to answer. The best light source for jewelry photography at home is one that helps you avoid “hot spots” and deep shadows.
So, whether you choose natural or artificial lighting, ensure the light is not direct. You can shoot near a window but far enough to avoid shadows. Light tents and boxes can help create perfect conditions, and you can even DIY them at home.
3. Use an Intelligent AI Tool to Create Polished Images
Did you know you can use an online AI tool to create studio-quality product photographs from scratch? Wondershare VirtuLook is perhaps the best addition to a beginner’s photography suite, and it requires as little technical knowledge as a walk in the park.
To create jewelry photography at home, you only need to open an account at Wondershare VirtuLook and follow the instruction to log in. Here’s a quick guide:
- Step 1: Go to Wondershare VirtuLook and click Get Started.
- Step 2: Take a couple of jewelry photos using the camera you have at hand.
- Step 3: After you log in, click Try-on generation feature from the left sidebar. Then click the Step1 option to upload the product image followed with Step2 to edit the file.(If you prefer product photography with no ai try-on model, but only generating different background for the product, you can choose the Product photo generation feature.)
- Step 4: Now, you can use the settings placed on the working field to generate an ai try-on model to wear your jewelry, and select one background template for the product. Or you can click Custom Editing to customize the jewelry photography by telling VirtuLook AI that what kind of jewelry image you want to generate. If done, click Cast the Spell.
- Step 6: Wait a few seconds to let it complete.
Wondershare VirtuLook can create professional-looking photographs in 4K. The best part is that AI-generated images need no editing, and you can use them immediately.
4. Experiment With Different Positions and Props
Every photography enthusiast knows about the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Ratio. While you can’t do much about what’s considered ideal regarding composition, you can always experiment with different positions and props while shooting jewelry.
You can use necklace stands, ring holders, and mannequin busts to elevate the scene rather than just leave your jewelry lying flat on the table. Jewelry boxes and acrylic blocks are popular choices, too, as well as natural props such as pebbles, leaves, or fruits.
5. Get a Macro Lens
Unless this is your first photography lesson, you know that camera lenses are the key to creating professional-looking pics. Different lenses can achieve different styles and esthetics. When it comes to jewelry, the best option is a macro lens.
As its name suggests, this camera lens allows you to photograph tiny objects in great detail from a close distance without zooming in.
If you’re shooting jewelry on a model in a lifestyle setting, you can use a standard lens closer to the viewer’s eye. You’ve probably used this type of lens before without thinking about it. It’s easier to use because it doesn’t create any distortion.
Read more: best lens for jewelry photography
6. Create Diffused Lighting
We mentioned earlier that jewelry doesn’t mind natural light as long as it is not too close to it. However, there are other ways to harness ample sun and daylight.
If you’re shooting inside, opaque white paper is your friend. You can use it to cover the window, which helps create natural diffused lighting, and tape it to the shooting table to reflect the light. To reduce shadows and make diamonds sparkle, use fill cards.
If you’re shooting your jewelry outdoors, you can achieve the same diffused effect if you pull up a white tent, a big umbrella, or a large sheet over the table where you’re photographing.
7. Use a Tripod
The more delicate the jewelry, the crisper it has to look. To achieve a polished, sharp image the way professionals do, you need to master a few technical tricks involving a tripod. Don’t throw money on anything fancy—a $20 tripod from Amazon will do the trick.
Using a tripod will allow you to be very precise with the aperture (depth of field), which affects the sharpness of the image. It is also impossible to shoot at lower shutter speeds without the stabilization of a tripod, and that’s crucial for avoiding noise.
8. Find a Good Background
The solid white background has become synonymous with product photography thanks to marketplaces like Amazon and Facebook. Is it the best and only option for a jewelry photographer? Of course not. Here are several other ideas for inspiration:
- Solid backgrounds look clean and elegant, but white is not the only acceptable choice. If you’re shooting ecommerce pics for a website, you can choose soft, pale, and pastel tones that set the mood, reflect the brand, and let the jewelry shine.
- Contextual backgrounds can help you create gorgeous lifestyle photos, establish a context, and target the right audience for the jewelry you’re shooting.
- Black is another solid background for jewelry photography, but it creates a diametrically different atmosphere than white or pastels. It creates a dramatic look ideal for colorful gemstones and precious metals.
- Textured backgrounds like sand, concrete, marble, stone, and fabrics can help you find a perfect middle ground between solids and contextual backdrops.
- Skin is a gorgeous background for jewelry photography. While many professionals use mannequin busts, the beauty of real-life models is unmatchable. Skin’s complexion and texture can help set moods and tell unique stories.
9. Get Creative
Did you know that you can use fishing wire to make jewelry float in the air? That’s just one of many creative jewelry photography ideas that you could try to make your photographs stand out.
If you want to get creative with jewelry photography, take some time to play around with lighting, background, and props. Editing plays another crucial role in a photographer’s creative process, which brings us to our last tip for jewelry photography at home.
10. Retouch Photos in Post-Processing
Do you think Photoshop is tricky to master? Then you still haven’t tried photographing jewelry. We won’t lie to you—it’s one of the most challenging types of photography and requires editing software in post-production.
Unfortunately, when it comes to this one, post-processing is not a matter of choice. Background and imperfection removal, adjustments to lighting, reflection, and contrast, and resizing and cropping, are only some things you’ll have to learn to do.
Conclusion
More often than not, jewelry photography involves dainty objects with irregular shapes and textures and highly reflective surfaces. Unless you’re a decent photographer and know how to edit your photos, it’s best to outsource this process to a professional or AI.