In which I try (and fail) to get good studio quality shots on a jury-rigged stove top

As some of you know, I’ve been obsessed recently with making jewelry. I’m really still learning, and that goes for every aspect of making and displaying jewelry, including how to take decent photos of my work.

Everything I’ve read says to sell your jewelry online (which is a highly saturated market) you really need awesome product photos. Especially if you want to sell your jewelry on Etsy.

With limited lighting, no budget, and no props, my photos haven’t been magazine showstopper quality. Today I thought I’d try a different set up in the house and just play around and see what my camera was capable of.

Here’s where I set up my little photo shoot:

My studio…my stove top. My background? An old sheet of watercolor paper. My lighting? an old fluorescent overhead light and a couple of flashlights. Am I doomed to failure? Probably. Will I try anyway? You betcha.

Some of the halfway decent photos (with a mid-shoot interruption by Billy who insisted on posing too):

As you can see, my results still missed the mark as far as magazine-feature-ready quality. My next step on this learning journey is the get some pretty props (like fabric swatches, silk flowers, a nice display stand), build myself a light box, and buy some clip on work lights (which I need anyway for my desk).

All in all, not a bad shoot. I had fun (who knew arranging and photographing still lifes was entertaining?), and got some decent photos to list these earrings for sale in my Artfire store. If you’d like to see how I should have set this photo shoot up, please check out the additional reading links below.

-k.

Advice on Photographing jewelry:

Here’s an awesome blog post I wished I’d read BEFORE I started this shoot today:

More Photo Tips on Shooting Jewelry

And more advice:

How to Photograph Jewelry

Etsy Success: The Right Camera

DIY $10 Macro Light Tent For Handmade

How to Photograph Jewelry

Photographing Jewelry with A Scanner

Some good Videos on Photographing Jewelry:

Earrings & Jewelry Photography

Setting Up a Home Photography Studio

Jewelry Photography : Sweeps & Plexiglass for Jewelry Photography

Photography Tips for Shooting Jewelry Part 2

There’s a really unique giveaway happening over at the La Cravate Du Chien blog.

Daphne, the artist behind La Cravate Du Chiene on Etsy, is giving away this absolutely wonderful and whimsical brooch:

To win, you need to:

1) Be a follower in her blog and
2) Write a little scenario in the comments on about what is going on in this house.

The best scenario wins.

Not only is the brooch darling, I simply love the creative approach she is taking to her contest. The entry deadline is May 15.

All of her work is just adorable, eyecatching, unique and wonderful, and I highly encourage everyone to check out her Etsy shop.

Here’s a few more examples of her charming work from her DeviantArt Gallery:

Sudden rain - ORIGINAL ILLUSTR by ~la-cravatte-du-chien on deviantART
Titanic Earrings by ~la-cravatte-du-chien on deviantART

Black Sheep Brooch by ~la-cravatte-du-chien on deviantART
Spring Dresses Earrings by ~la-cravatte-du-chien on deviantART

-k.

In which Karyn teachers herself to bead…

… and realizes her digital camera has a sepia setting…
Okay, seriously. There is something wrong with me. I don’t need another hobby. Really. It’s like a sickness. Hobbyitis. And it’s terribly catching. Read further at your own risk…

Let me start by telling you how this happened.

Have you been watching Pawn Stars on the History Channel? No? Well you should. It’s a fun show that follows a family owned pawn shop in Vegas. People bring in all kinds of interesting items to pawn or sell (mostly sell), and because it’s Vegas, and TV, we’re talking REALLY interesting items.

My husband and I are hooked on it. So much so, that we decided to go check out the pawn shop just down the street from us. I haven’t been in one since college, when I had to pawn things like my guitar (sadly, I never got it back) and jewelry (which I did get back) to make rent and various other utilities.

Now, before I get to the pawn shop visit, earlier that day I saw a news item on one of the online tabloids that Project Runway’s Gordana Gehlhausen allegedly ripped off a necklace design from celebrity jewelry maker Michaela Kuechenhoff. I like Gordana from PR, and am hoping this is a lie. Anyway, so I go to check out this Michaela Kuechenhoff’s jewelry and I learn that she’s using recycled and vintage materials and turning them into new pieces. Well, cool, I thought! (Although, I’m not totally on board with her design style, but that’s another blog for another day, right?) And I’m sitting there waiting for my husband to wake from his nap so we can go to the pawn shop and I think to myself, I bet I could find all kinds of hideous jewelry there that I could re-purpose, right?

The idea took hold like a fever. Off we go to the pawn shop, and I buy a couple of the ugliest costume jewelry necklaces you can imagine—broken, fugly (I should’ve taken a photo! Darn!) pieces and a couple pins that have good bones but have seen better days (and yes, I paid too much for them). Then I hit up Michaels craft store and went crazy buying findings and tools—just grabbing anything that looked important, because, you know, I’ve never ever beaded before in my life! LOL.

Now, to top it all off, the owner of the pawn shop literally just came back from a trip to Vegas where he met the guys on Pawn Stars and just the day before, put photos of him with Chumlee and the Old Man up on the wall! I talked his ear off about the show, and he dished on meeting them, and I took this as a sign (I’m big on signs) that the beading gods were smiling on this new artistic exploration.

I spent the evening pulling apart necklaces and looking at YouTube videos and blogs to figure out just what the heck I was supposed to do with all the stuff I bought.

As you can see by my photos, my work is definitely beginner level. But I have to say that not only was it totally relaxing, it was such a relief to be tinkering with my hands on a crafty project that was totally just for fun. I didn’t have to use my left brain and make up words. I didn’t have any pressure to make something look good to stick on a t-shirt, or to please a client. It was the same pleasant art zen I get when I used to take pottery lessons.

And although I have much to learn about beading, I can confidently say that these two necklaces are a zillion times prettier than the ones I pulled apart to liberate these beads from.

I’ve already got big ideas about polymer clay beads, and found objects and I’ve even started making my own paper beads!

The last bonus about this new pastime? My husband LOVES (and I mean really loves) going antiquing and checking out garage sales. He is so flipping happy that I’m suddenly enthusiastically on board! I am trying not to buy any new beads (which is seriously hard, BTW. There are so many gorgeous beads out there!). Instead, I want to reuse old beads. The uglier the necklaces I find, the better!

Now I can’t wait to go digging through garage sales and local antique marts.

k.