How to Photograph Jewelry for Online Sales

Learning to professionally photograph your jewelry can mean the difference between selling an item for your desired price and one that's barely adequate. That's why it's so important to master the art of jewelry photography if you want to be a successful online seller.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• digital camera
• tripod
• photography lamps or table lamps
• fluorescent daylight bulbs
• light tent
• photo editing software
• display for jewelry to be photographed

1. Designate a corner of a room to set up a small area for photographing your jewelry. Move a large table into the room and use this as your base for jewelry photography.
2. Set up your light tent on the surface of your table. The light tent helps to diffuse the light, eliminating shadows and reflections during photography.
3. Set up your photography lamps or table lamps along the outside of each side of your light tent and in the back of your tent so it shines through the tent. Be sure you're using fluorescent daylight bulbs to eliminate shadows.
4. Set up your tripod and place it in front of the opening of your light tent. Your digital camera should be firmly locked onto the tripod.
5. Arrange your jewelry on your chosen display and place it inside the light tent. You may have to experiment a bit to determine which display method gives the nicest result. You can use a background against the back wall of your tent to serve as a seamless backdrop.
6. Position your tripod so your camera is looking down slightly onto the jewelry.
7. Take your photo.
8. Use photo editing software to make any necessary adjustments and remove imperfections.

Tips & Warnings

• To get best results, use a camera with at least 5 mega-pixels. It's also best to use a camera that allows you to make adjustments in aperture size and shutter speed to allow you more creative freedom.
• It may take some experimentation to get professional looking photos. Jewelry can be difficult to photograph.