Photography – Tips, Tricks: Etsy Metal Blog Carnival

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

This month’s topic: “Photography – Tips, Tricks.”

This month’s topic made me giggle just a little bit because most days I feel like I should write a book, “Photography – Tips, Tricks on what not to do”. I feel very proficient in the what not to do department. But every so often (like 2 out of 100) I feel like I get a good shot. If you want to see what not to do, check out my flickr feed on the right and go back to my earliest photos…yuck.

Everyone told me to use natural lighting. The problem with that is that 1. my studio is in the basement and natural lighting is quite scarce and 2. Natural lighting does not adhere to my schedule. It took me a long while to get my lighting down and I still struggle a little. But I think I have found a solution that works for me. I invested in 3 table top photography lights that seem to do the trick.

Another tip. When photographing shiny things, do not wear brightly colored clothing. Ask me how I figured this one out. I spent a good 2 hours taking photos and when I uploaded them I realized they were all slightly a lovely shade of purple. White backgrounds will also reflect this color and it is just easier to avoid the problem in the first place, than trying to edit it out.

One trick I have found that really helps certain pieces in a close up is to reduce reflection by using a piece of white card stock and positioning it so that the piece is reflecting just the white card. This sometimes ends up being a little difficult using the camera with one hand and holding the paper just so with the other, but certain shots look much better when using this method. The white card can also bounce back some of that light and make the piece pop. Make sure to use good paper meant for photography. I have found that most typing paper is a slightly on the cool side and gives a blue cast to the photos. I have found some water color paper is a good match and it helps if it is a little thicker so you can easily position it with 1 hand. The image below was taken with this technique.

The think that has helped me the most is to just keep taking photos. I like to jot down some notes on what I did during that session and then after editing I add to the notes on what I need to change or what worked well. I feel like taking more and more photos has helped me improve a lot since the beginning.

Check out more photography tips from the talented artists below:

1. Lou Hunter: http://peculiarforest.blogspot.fr/
2. Laura Jane Bouton http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/
3. 2Roses: http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
4. Chrysoula: http://jewellietta.blogspot.gr
5. Nodeform: http://nodeform.blogspot.com/
6. Deborah Lee Taylor: http://www.e5jewelryblog.com
7. Evelyn Markasky http://www.evelynmarkasky.com/blog.html