Tips From A Pro – Allyjoy

What a treat! Our team received some great jewelry photography tips from a reader of HandmadeMarketing.org. Trust us, this will be your one-stop-shop for photography tips when posting your newest handmade craft item.

(Don’t worry, there is a “photography for dummies” version at the bottom!)

Read tips from Allyson Dufour Photography (check out her Etsy shop “allyjoy” here):

“The way that I photograph my jewelry is very time consuming and I use professional equipment,” writes Allyson. “I have it and I know how to use it after all these years as a photographer. If you are interested in my time consuming techniques… here goes (then, I will give you an abbreviated version that you can use for yourself as a normal artistic person).“

“I have portrait soft box lighting that I place in a “V” formation relative to my jewelry item for even lighting or just use one from the side for more dramatic lighting to show the translucence of a particular type of bead to make it glow,” explains Allyson. “I have the jewelry on a vellum scrim over a table attached to a backdrop support (a huge set up – because this is what I own for my portraiture business- not necessary for shooting jewelry, mind you).”

“I use a professional digital SLR on a tri-pod set at a shallow or deep aperture depending on what I want to accentuate in the particular shot. If it’s the clasp, I set the camera to 2.8. If I want to show the entire piece from a low angle, I might set the Aperture to 21 to give me more depth of field and clarity.“

Allyson continues, “I always use self-timer to avoid any camera shake…even pros have hands that shake! I shoot in RAW also known as CRW format. I do this so that I can correct the color from my hot tungsten lights back to a more neutral light color. You cannot properly correct lighting colors with .jpg format. I never shoot in .jpg (another reason why I am married to my computer!) The price I pay for being a perfectionist is great…believe me.“

“I crop into a square, some shots can’t be cropped the way that I want them, so I make a new document in Photoshop CS3 (my software of choice),” writes Allyson. “I sample the background color from the photo onto the new document (which is set as a square) select, copy, and paste the jewelry onto this new document and then blend the edges to make it appear as one photo with the bandage tool.“

“Am I killing you, yet???“, continues Allyson. “Then I flatten the layer and save it as a Tiff, resize for upload to 72 DPI at 700 pixels and it’s ready to transfer to etsy. Whew!“

Whew is right! If you can follow that, definitely do – Allyson’s photos are great! If not take a look at the “photography for dummies” version…

“Use natural light that is diffused sunlight,” says Allyson. “If the sun is harsh you can soften it by taping a large piece of tracing paper or vellum over a brightly lit window. Use a solid background on a table and set up a tripod. Use self-timer and make sure your focus is sharp. Try to shoot from different angles and make sure you show the item to it’s best potential to make it appealing.“

Anyone can follow that, right? Allyson’s tips are awesome, but if you find you need some extra Photoshop tips, you can contact her directly and she said she would be happy to help.

Thank you AllyJoy!