Product photography

Photography is something that I picked up as an interest from my dad; almost 30 years ago when he used to have a russion camera with film. Yes; back in the day film photography was the only way to capture the world. Looking back it almost feels as if i was using one of those first generation cameras with plates…you know what i am talking about …like the ones you see in the silent movies. Anyhooo….

Apart from landscapes; and animals; and occasionally humas; I also do product photography for my arisan jewelery. Yes; I dable in a bit of handmade jewellery; especially wire wrapping; but also crochet items. You can see what I make on my Etsy shop or Folksy.

Of course if one wants to make some sales one must also figure out how to phototgrapy proucts. To this day i have not figured out if I prefer my pieces on a black surface; or a white one; nor am I sold on having a busy multicoloured background.

Here are some images to give you an idea:

I prefer a clear image where the item is visible; however my brother who is a painter (a very good one by the way) he tells me that the images look super clinical. On te other hand sites like Esty and Folksy do ask that clean images need to show off the product details so buyers can see what they buy; and in the next phrase they ask that we upload “life style” images so buyers can get an idea of what it looks like worn.

Both photography styles are tricky to achieve. A white background as we know is never white; and photographing jewellery worn by a human is also ticky. The camera focus is tricky to achieve; and details could be lost if not framed correctly.

And of course once these images are captured; there is the trailing through each image and decide which will make the cut and which will be deleted; how to edit them in a way that creates a visual spectacle and also atrracts buyers to the shop.

In the old days of photograpy all this would be difficult to achieve; in today’s digital world; life is much easier – we can re-take the image hundreds of times with limited cost. Yes; i do hear the professional photographers saying – but it costs time; and energy; and…Well, time is relative; however creating that image/that look that speaks to you is worthwhile.