12 Tips When Taking Photos Of Jewellery On Your Phone

Taking photos of your handmade jewellery isn't as easy as it seems, it can take a lot of patience and practice to get that perfect shot.

Today we want to share with you simple tips and tricks to make sure you get the best quality photo using your smartphone. The benefit of using your smartphone is that you're more likely to take more photos if you're not used to a DSLR camera, you can take photos quickly and get them online in no time at all.

You definitely don't need a DSLR camera to stand out in the jewellery world, phone cameras provide a brilliant budget-friendly alternative and they can be just as great.

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Make use of natural light

If you're limited by resources such as a lightbox or additional lighting, make the most of natural light when taking photos of your jewellery. The best photos will be when you take them in soft diffused light, so avoid taking photos in direct sunlight. Set up near a window, where a nice amount of natural light will be shining through. Avoid taking photos in the evening as there won't be enough light to create a crisp image and will result in a pixelated image and even more so when you come to brightening it during the editing stage.

Don't use the flash

Many people assume using the flash on your phone will enhance the picture quality however it can have the opposite effect. Using the flash will flatten the image and won't show off all the wonderful sparkles and details of your piece of jewellery. Natural light will add more depth to your piece, allowing people to imagine the jewellery in real life.

Keep it stable and buy a tripod

Many smartphones have stabilisation, which stops the camera from shaking from an unsteady hand. If you are unstable while taking a photo, you are more likely going to end up with a blurry photo. Investing in a little mobile tripod is a brilliant way to avoid this and get a crisp and detailed photo every time. This is also great if you want to take videos or photos on a timer of yourself at work in the studio and to capture behind the scenes action - great to share on social media!

Keep your distance

Although you usually want to have a close up of your finished piece of jewellery, getting too close to the piece with your phone camera can reduce the quality and you will usually have trouble focusing. Leave enough room to focus on your jewellery to create a high-quality image.

Don't use the zoom

With most smartphones, you can zoom into the subject but this isn't recommended as by doing so you will lose the quality of the image.

Use a macro lens

When photographing jewellery, it can be hard to show off the natural beauty of the piece such as the stone, colours or details. As jewellery is often so small, it can be hard to capture it in a photo and that's where a macro lens comes in. There are many macro lenses to choose from which clip onto your phone, providing an optical zoom without losing any quality.

Stay in focus

Blurry photos are a common occurrence, the last thing you want is to have a focused background and blurry jewellery! On most smartphones you can tap the screen to focus on an area you want to be in focus.

Take lots of photos

You know those beautiful photos you see on Instagram? Well, that was probably the tenth attempt! Not every photo is going to be perfect, so take as many photos as you can of the piece of jewellery. Sometimes the lighting won't be quite right or the positioning of the piece isn't how you'd like it. It's all about experimenting with different styles and locations to get that perfect shot.

Use simple backgrounds

Your piece of jewellery is the star of the photo, so try not to overcomplicate the photo with too many props. Take a minimal approach, using simple backgrounds such as a marble tabletop. Once you become more confident in the photos you're taking, you can experiment with different backgrounds.

Edit your photos

Once you've taken the photos you need, unfortunately it doesn't end there! To get a brilliant photo to use on your website or social media, you want to edit them to increase their quality. Many smartphones have an edit function on photos, where you can edit the brightness, crop and rotate the image. You can also download many free apps which will help you edit your photos, or even add a filter which you can use on each of your photos (this is great if you want to keep a consistent theme on your Instagram). Apps we recommend include VSCO, Snapseed, Pixlr, Lightroom and Afterlight.

Clean and polish your jewellery

Always make sure your jewellery is free from dust, hairs, scratches or dirt as this can be hard to see with the naked eye but can really stand out in a photo.

Gain inspiration

Taking photos of jewellery isn't an easy thing to grasp, so practice definitely makes perfect! It could be that your positioning isn't quite right or you don't have enough light for the photo. Gain inspiration from other jewellers by looking at their jewellery and search on Pinterest for ideas on composition and styles which you might like to use too.