The Jewelry Game

[Cudedog]

Anne your work is really beautiful!!! Are you also a photographer, your photos are amazing.

Thank you so much, BJ.

Yes, I take all of the photos myself as well - I find that taking the photos is a major pain, and my least favorite part of the entire process!! Sometimes even now - especially so when I first began with Etsy - it takes longer to get decent photos of a piece than it sometimes takes to make that actual jewelry piece.

When I started on Etsy, I was taking photos with my camera phone - the photo quality just wasn't good enough (the quality range was poor to crap ), no matter how hard I tried. Finally I switched to an old DSLR camera that I have had for years (and never really learned how to use!) for the photo part. After a LOT of trial and error, these days my photos are a little better, and I have learned the hard way that it is best to take the photos outdoors, with natural light.

For some reason I have never been able to figure out, taking photos indoors and/or with my camera phone makes the copper (most of my pieces are made from copper) look like wrinkled dirty leather - or sometimes just dirt!! .

Selling online is 99.9% photo quality, using the old DSLR and natural light the copper will - sometimes - show a bit of a shine (if I'm lucky - the copper is always polished and shiny, but often this just doesn't show in the photos).

What I do these days is take about 50 (yes, fifty!) photos of a single jewelry piece, with the hope that I will have at least 10 "good ones" (of the fifty) that are useable for that particular piece. Success? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes NONE of the fifty are any good, I will just throw up my hands for the day and try again the next day.

There are a couple of jewelry pieces in my shop - LOL, I'll not tell anyone which ones - that I have never been able to get decent photos of, despite multiple sessions of "try" on different days, and taking literally hundreds of photos of these specific pieces!

Once the photos are taken, all 50 photos must be reviewed, and then 10 photos must be chosen from the 50. It can take a bit of time!

I looked again and bought The Eye of The Storm. It was a toss up with Craters of the Moon. So many beautiful ones it was hard to decide.

Eye of the Storm


Craters of the Moon

Oh, BJ, thank you so much! "Storm" is an unusual pattern natural Bird's Eye Jasper stone - LOL, it was not one of the "problem" pieces I mentioned above.

You have totally made my day. Your new necklace will go out to you on Monday via First Class Mail, with Tracking. I will give the copper an especially good polish before I put it in the mail.

A great way to start my weekend.

Thanks again!

Anyone hear from Shirl? I'm starting to get worried.

Anne

[Redetotry]

I agree about the hassle of photos Anne. I used to sell on eBay and know how important the photos are. Looking forward to getting my 'Storm" The stone was what attracted me. I like the shape too as I often use my jewelry as a pendulum.

[snowball]

Is Storm one of the last ones you did??? if so I was going to go and take another look at it
serves me right for being so slow . have you thought about getting a mannequin bust that you can "pose" it on perhaps the pictures would be easier then perhaps not
sheila

[Cudedog]

Is Storm one of the last ones you did??? if so I was going to go and take another look at it
serves me right for being so slow . have you thought about getting a mannequin bust that you can "pose" it on perhaps the pictures would be easier then perhaps not
sheila

Thanks, Sheila. "Richard III" is the most recent complicated necklace that I have completed; "Dragonflies of Spring" (with tiny copper dragonfly beads along one side) is my most recent necklace of a more simple design.

Actually, I do have a mannequin bust that I use. It is a full-size, "department store" type thing that I bought used quite a while ago. I don't take all of the photos using the bust; but at least one photo (generally out of ten) of the "series" of a jewelry piece is taken on the bust.

I think the "bust" photo of "Richard" came out well; I tried to post the photo here, but it was just too large so I took it off again. Here is a link to the photo instead:

https://i.etsystatic.com/33611337/r/il/cc3a70/4890299402/il_794xN.4890299402_5ca4.jpg

For this photo I simply wrapped the mannequin in some gray fabric that I have, and then draped a pair of gold pants (LOL - that I generally wear at Christmas time!) over the bust's shoulders, on top of the gray fabric. Easy!

Before I had the bust, taking decent jewelry photos was merely impossible. With the bust, taking photos is simply difficult. A step up!

I am still working on my photo-taking skills; I think I am definitely better than I was in the beginning - but I still have a long way to go. It is a very steep learning curve, and I am still hiking up the mountain.

Anne

[monik7]

I really like your “Richard III” Anne. I’ve been fascinated with Egypt and its history since I was in about 7th grate. The stone in your “Richard III” reminds me of a scarab beetle that is seen often in Egyptian history, art etc. The scarab beetle was a symbol of the sun god Re, the cycle of life and of renewal and rebirth. Love your work.
Sandi