Before & After – Wine Glass Charms

I got a comment from Becky (Etsy shop theMonkeyButtons) about her wine glass charms. She says: “I have a hard time with black and white objects. I can only get the black or the white to look good in any picture. These are also made with carved mother-of-pearl buttons, and I can’t get the details to show well because they are slightly shiny.” Specifically, she was referring to this set, which includes the following listing photo:

It’s actually quite a nice shot, as are all the others in the listing. Becky obviously has good technique and understands how to control depth of field. But I think that the lighting is just a bit too yellow and warm to capture the true colors and details of the buttons. So I thought I’d try for a more dramatic look and avoid the influence of the tablecloth.

First up, a very simplistic shot taken on a reflective white background (click to zoom):

Same concept, different charms:

Same concept, different charms, and a cork for added interest:

Now for a few on a reflective black background, again with emphasis on the details of the buttons and wire wrapping:

This time, the entire set hanging in front of a flat white background:

Less attention on the charms, more on the setting:

Now for something completely different, a little post-processing to give this shot an aged, vintage look:

That’s all for this post. Click here if you want to see a few more photos, and be sure to check out some of the other cool items in Becky’s shop.

Next time — Glass Marble Pendants.

Before & After – Rectangle Hoop Earrings

Annette (PreciousMetalsWire) took me up on the offer that I made last time for a free studio session for one of her items. She chose a set of sterling silver rectangle hoop earrings, and says “silver earwires are a pain to take pictures of, because they always looked washed out to me.” Here’s one of Annette’s photo of this item: I think Annette was being a bit too hard on herself. That’s really a pretty nice shot – good focus, no camera shake, proper exposure, realistic colors and an overall good representation of the earrings. But since I made the offer, I thought I’d give it a go and see what else I could come up with. First, a simple shot with the earrings suspended in front of a plain white background (click to zoom): Next, a close-up against the same background: Then, for a more dramatic effect, the earrings laying on a reflective black background:

And for a totally unexpected and fun look, and to show some sense of scale, a caffeinated shot:

There you have it. A variety of photos that I hope show off the beautiful simplicity of Annette’s earrings. Click here if you want to see a few more.

Next time — Art Deco Wine Glass Charms.

Free Product Photography Studio Sessions

Important Update 10/10/2012 – Thank you all for your interest in this special offer. Unfortunately, the “limited time” has expired, and I will no longer be offering this service.   

That’s right … FREE! For a limited time, I will be offering free photography services to a few readers. If you would like to be considered, the following requirements must be met:

• You must have an active Etsy shop
• You must pay for round trip shipping of your item
• You must grant me permission to use both your original shop photos (that you took) and the new photos (that I take) in a future blog post

Here’s what you’ll get:

• About five unique digital images that you can use, without restriction, in your Etsy shop, Facebook page, website, etc.
• A feature in a future “before and after” post on this blog (with a promotional link to your Etsy shop)

If you would like to be considered for this free promotion, simply comment on this post with a link to a particular item in your Etsy shop that you would like me to photograph.

That’s all there is to it! No fine print!

By the way, check out these two posts if you want to see what I have done for a few other readers:

• https://gpix.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/the-stained-glass-challenge/
• https://gpix.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/creative-lighting-made-easy/