If you are in the business of selling jewelry products, you know too well that aesthetics is everything. There is no room for inelegance in this respect, knowing that customers should be always looking up to your brand.
This is why jewelry always looks stunning and shiny in ads and catalogs. And this surely inspires you as a small businessperson running an online jewelry store. Now that you have outsourced digital marketing to an SEO agency, it’s time that you focused on making your products look good. Photographing jewelry is not as easy as many would assume. And if you want to go full-on with it, there are some mistakes that you will need to avoid:
Mistake #1: Dirty Jewelry
Dirt and smudges are usually overlooked by amateur photographers and even by the business owners themselves. And if you do not take action regarding this, your item will look awkward once its picture was uploaded. So the first thing that you need to do is to clean and polish your jewelry items. You can rely on post-processing techniques, but do not overdo it, as the jewelry might end up looking fake.
Mistake #2: No Cohesive Art Direction
Your jewelry photographs should follow a specific theme or art direction so that they will have one cohesive look when they’re launched. When you have art direction or an aesthetic theme, you will have a concrete idea of the kind of props and background that you will use. That way, the photographs will also look interesting.
Mistake #3: Distracting Background
You have the freedom to design the background and use some props, but do not overdo it. Otherwise, your photographs will look cluttered. When that happens, the focus will be taken away from the pieces that you are selling. As much as possible, use minimal props and choose colors that make the hues and qualities of the jewelry stand out.
Mistake #4: Not Using Macro Lens
If you are doing the shoot yourself, make sure that you have a macro lens. Some people just depend on their kit lens, thus being unable to show the close-ups and details of a jewelry piece. With this, the product ends up looking cheap. Using macro lenses will allow you to zoom in on the details of the product and capture the item’s real-life glimmer.
Mistake #5: Not Controlling the Reflection
You may not realize it, but your jewelry can reflect on the photographer, the set-up, and the camera. You do not want your customers to look at these reflections, so make sure that your set-up is designed to minimize reflections. A quick solution for this is the usage of double overhead lighting set-up. If it’s too late for you, you can have the photographs edited at the post-production phase.
Keep things easy and simple
Generally, the rule is to make sure that the set-up and setting are simple enough so that all focus will be on the jewelry. A photography set-up meant for this type of product can be complicated and stressful, so if you do not want to deal with unnecessary problems, it would be wise to hire a professional.