[matthew]

My fiancee is a jewellery artist, and has recently started a shop listing on Etsy, which is a marketplace for things handmade. We've been collaborating on the photography: she creates the subject and gives me some guidance, and then picks the photos for her shop once I'm done. Each piece has four photos plus an image of the finished presentation, and it's been an interesting challenge to strike a balance between creating enough variety and keeping a consistent 'look'. And of course, the photos have to be practical, since they're showing an item for sale.

Penny's shop is here: thepolishedpenny.etsy.com. We'd both be interested in any feedback on the presentation of the shop or the photos as sets, and there's more being added every day or two.









These are three of photos from my most recent shoott, and they give a sample both of Penny's work and how I'd like to capture it. I'd really appreciate any feedback on these, and since I'm not a huge fan of all of them, please be honest and don't try to spare my feelings. Anything is helpful, from specific points to more general thoughts - while I won't be re-shooting these, I still have plenty of opportunities to improve with upcoming shoots.

Thanks!

[matthew]

Just for fun, here's a setup photo from the last shot:



My main light source is on the left. I have a large sheet of slightly translucent Coroplast - the corrugated plastic that's often used for signs - that works as a diffuser, and the far-left is the mat board that I use as a reflector to bounce the light back to the plastic. (There's some along the top as well.) Light is coming from an SB900 and SB600 set to fire +1EV. The shooting area has a sheet of white Bristol board at the base and two pieces of white Foamcore taped into a self-standing "L" to complete the bright workspace. I also have a small card of black Coroplast that I use to create contrasting reflections; I used the same stuff to make a grid for the SB600 that I'm using to highlight the background. Like the grid, almost everything is being held together by black masking tape.

The background is a 12x12" square of art paper from the local crafts store, which is clearly indispensable for my photography. It even supplied the dinosaur stickers that I use to individualize my SB600s, which are set to different groups. The gridded light is set at 0EV, and then I'll control the exact balance of the exposure with the compensation on the camera. Nikon's CLS is amazing, even if I did need to use some scrap mat board to block the direct light from the on-board strobe. It's not supposed to contribute light to the exposure, at these short distances and with such reflective material even the final trigger signal is enough to affect the image.

The model of the Eiffel Tower was bought specifically to use as a prop. Penny found it in one of the local stores - it never would have occurred to me.

Off of the lower-right side are other things that I can't work without: my colour chart, clamps, a set of coin tongs for positioning the jewellery, and one of the many 2010 pennies that I use for a size reference in some of the shots. In the background is my computer, which I use with Lightroom and twin monitors, and the top drawer of the filing cabinet is full of the proper light stands and umbrellas that I hardly ever use.

And I almost forgot: the camera is a D700 with a 105VR Micro attached. I shoot hand-held at f/8-16, iso800 to 3200. The table's accessible from three sides, so I can move as I need to as I change the setup. I do have a tripod, of course - you can see it leaning up against the wall on the right side of the photo.

[Irma]

Thanks a lot Matthew for let us see your work and learn from it.

I did some pictures of jewelry myself and I know how difficult sometimes it can be. Specially the lighting.

#1 I like your composition. I think it works very well but I think to have the whole piece sharp would look much better. I found difficult to make my pieces sharp with a macro lens. I actually use my P&S camera to get them sharp. As you will use them for web. I think going a bit far from the piece to get more DOF and then crop might also work.

Delivers the idea of elegance.

#2 I find the background hard, distracting, too bright. I see the idea of the red circle but to me it doesn't help to balance the image. I would expect to have a contrast in forms, If the texture of the piece is important then I would suggest to make of it the most important part of the picture. The light to get the texture is a bit too hard, I think.

#3 I understand the idea of the repetitive pattern in the earnings and the background but I see it a bit unbalanced, and chaotic. There are enough lines and to my
eye the lines in the background (shadows) are too much. I would suggest for this one a very symmetric picture without shadows in the background. and the earnings very well lit so the shapes of the earnings are more distinctive. Maybe in this one you might like to try the reflection in the earnings in pink or another color to compensate the green?

I also think that neutral colors, or earthy colors are nicer in this situations, because we, women, tend very much to go by the colors we like. Even if we like the jewelery just because they are against a color we don't like, we don't see ourselves connected with them, we would think twice to buy them. That is why many pictures of jewelery are against white or black background.

Using in the background or props for the shooting colors of this season would be even better. Here is a nice color scheme for fashion spring 2010. They are really nice colors.

http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--In...-1976.html

I hope you find my comment useful....

[Irma]

Forgot to mention...

I see you are working mainly with reflective light. I would give a try with diffused light balanced enough to bring the texture of the pieces in detail. I say this because
I see the texture in #2 more as a pattern of highlights and shadows....

[NT73]

I am glad you said don't spare your feelings.
In the shop, I did not like the first row. To me it comes across as something sat on a rusty steel bar. And I visualise earrings on a gentle setting. Soft like an ear. A piece of velvet/ felt/ feather down / cotton wool.
I like the one on the wavy chrome thing. And most of what is left after the first row.
I dislike the eiffel tower arrangement as it is distracting from the earrings. Maybe if you showed all the tower it would look better. The jewellry itself is fine.
The first of your three shots here is my first preference. More like that.

Bear in mind it is easier to criticise than praise, and maybe variation is the way to go . We are not all alike in our tastes

[Wedding Shooter]

HI Matthew - I feel your backgrounds are too busy or the things the ear rings are hanging on feel strange (like the rusty looking bar).

I think you also have the bar straight in all of the shots or all on an angle - especially if the shots are on the same row.

As to the three posted the first attracts me the most - but I would also like to see all of it in focus.

[Zig]

Matthew, I bet you've thought, "why do we do this to ourselves?" My heart is with you in terms of the time, hard work, physical contortions, exposure headaches...let alone the agonising over composition, appropriate textures, whether to shoot similar backdrops for "themed" pieces, and a plethora of etceteras.
I think your fiancee should buy you a big bunch of flowers(or the manly gadgety equivalent) for even engaging with this project.

Do you know, I can see the thought and care you've put into these: using objects that cast shadows mirroring the lines within the product: as photographs, when viewed full-screen, these are lovely..and their relationship with their environment really does suggest so many marketable features of the jewellery. They suggest the wearer of the pieces will have appropriate "class", will be cosmopolitan,well-travelled, refined, creative. Lovely shots in my opinion.
However(the "however" paragraph ), as thumbnails on a product site, the products themselves are not so impacting and frame-covering as to immediately engage the eye: it may well be more eyecatching(and easier) to have the immediate thumbnails as tightly-cropped, evenly-lit pieces against a black non-reflective background? This would give the online viewer a sense of uniformity and be immediately engaging to them. Also, given that the pieces themselves ARE worth looking at without flammery, trust the pieces themselves to do the engagement: if the viewer likes them, they'll click on them...then they could see insets/ "art" photos which then inject mood, texture and which suggest further nuances about the viewer.
Having a look at the site, the varied pics do give a fresh and different feel...but the immediate impact on the eye suggests(to me) something vague, clean and "lifestyley": the size of image might suggest even a lack of confidence that the jewellery pieces can "stand up for themselves", and need a "lifestyle backdrop" to nudge the viewer into wider considerations rather than immediately getting their attention on the pieces themselves. A tight-crop, uniformly-lit-on-black would reveal the pieces in their standalone strength..and automatically provide pleasing continuity for the viewer. Now that the viewer is engaged, a click could lead to an enlargement/inset of the original and at this point also to your more creatve shots(and they're darn good, IMO)
Righto, if you're still awake, the shots above: the first 2 are excellent: an inset of the 1st piece's "business end" might take focus away from the ear-hook bit!
#2 is excellent, really cleverly done and definitely a "Matthew" piece.
#3: almost as good, lovely repeated motif and really classily suggestive: yet the top and top left are a bit distracting, and some more light from the right is needed(though I realise the effect this would have on the shadows).
On the site, the teardrops, swizzle sticks and holy discs are beautifully-crafted photos and really thoughtful: I think your use of colour is excellent..in fact, I've not seen you explore colour so well before(shape and line yes, but not colour). The inclusion of "hanging bars" for the items sometimes is great: the zigzag one is lovely...but sometimes the straight bar is clunky, dark and imposing.
Hmm...overall, I wonder if you've tried too hard and looked too close and perhaps drawn short of allowing the items to speak for themselves, in terms of what the audience and viewership actually requires? On the other hand, as 24-inchers in a gallery they would largely be knockout.
And finally..phew...a brave thing indeed to open this level of work and personal commitment to us plebs here on the critique board: I hope we've honoured that trust.

[shuttertalk]

Hey Matthew, firstly congrats to your fiancee for producing such lovely works of art.

I tend to agree that the backgrounds are a bit cluttered. That being said, I like the ideas presented.

I would also comment regarding the reflections, especially with large shiny surfaces in #1 and #2. I find the uneven reflections in the top petal in #1 and the left circle in #2 a bit distracting. Perhaps you might need to play around with the lighting or reflectors a bit more?

[matthew]

First of all, thanks Irma, NT, Chris, Shawn, and Julian - I really appreciate the comments and feedback that you've clearly put a lot of time and thought into. Even if what I read hasn't been feeding an overactive ego, the simple fact that you've all taken the time to add your thoughts is a huge compliment. And what's the value of glowing praise if I can't trust you all to give me the opposite on occasion? I have a thick skin, so I appreciate the honesty.

For a little more background, anyone who's interested might also want to see what Penny's colleagues are doing. This is the link to the metal earrings category of Etsy, currently over 84,300 items and always climbing. There's a huge array of items, ranging from ones assembled from kits to really phenomenal craft and artistry; the photography and presentation also spans a broad range. It's very interesting to me to see both the jewellery and the photography - especially as both things are often done by the same person. The ability that people have to create something out of such formless raw materials as metal sheet and wire astonishes me; my photography is predominantly a reductive act so the creative isn't something I can't easily relate to. But I digress....

I do agree that many of the photos are too busy; the photography of the piece "Textured Raindrops" is particularly weak. They also fall into the common fault of using too many images to show the exact same thing. The simpler presentation of a detail shot, like #1 above or in the listing for "Radial Hoops" is something that I've only recently started doing. Based on both the feedback here and my perusal of other listings, it's definitely something do more of.

Penny had to use a fairly large crowbar to get me away from shooting simple catalog images on white or black, so Zig, the credit for my work with colour completely belongs to her.

One of the huge challenges with silver is that it's essentially a pale mirror. (After all, many mirrors are simply glass with a silver or aluminum coating on the back.) Shot on white or sympathetic colours, the piece simply disappears. And the silver always reflects what it sees. Jules, the odd reflection in the top petal of #1 is my camera and my hand; I'll often shoot wearing black gloves, but forgot to this time. The highlights on the textured disk in #2 is simply the reflection of the diffuser wall, which invariably blows out the highlights as any specular reflection will want to do. (There is a way around that, but it introduces its own set of problems, and it isn't something I usually set up for.) When you see silver, what you're mostly seeing in the white ceiling and reflectors, the black camera, the occasional strategically-positioned black cards to give some shape clues to the image, and often the photographer as well. I wasn't joking about wearing gloves, and I'm looking for grey and white ones to wear as well. (I almost always wear black or grey, but once I had to re-do an entire series because I decided to wear a medium-blue T-shirt that afternoon.) If I'm shooting for a lower volume of images, I'll use a tripod and cable release simply so that I can stand around the corner or hide behind a reflector wall. Silver catches everything.

Etsy is a place that rewards inquisitiveness. If you click on one of the large images in a listing, then it will open full-sized in a new browser window. All of the photos that I'm supplying are 2000x1600 pixels, which lets even minor details show through (if they're in focus). Some people go even bigger than that with their listings, but I figure that making 5x7 prints should be plenty for any prospective buyer.

The 'rusty bar' is actually a wooden chopstick, and the wavy metal bar is part of a decorative table condiment holder. (Thanks for all the comments, I'll definitely use it again now.) I find that when I'm out of ideas, I end up in the kitchen. That's how #2 ended up being shot on the bottom of a wine glass. The 'shadows' in #3 are the back of the tower, and while I do see how they look like shadows on the background, it's simply blur.

Ikea supplied the glass for the vertical disks, and the tea mugs for the large radial hoops. The glass for the Swizzle Sticks is handmade by another local artisan, who had the booth beside Penny's when she was at a show last summer. Also photographed, but not yet posted, are a few that have the earrings suspended from various colours of nylon zip ties. Maybe I'll pull a few of those out to share here.... if I'm ever feeling brave.

I'm well into rambling mode, so I'll shut it off here. Again, thanks for the comments so far - keep them coming, if possible - and I value them all even if I haven't singled them out. They've certainly sparked a lot of good discussion here at home, and we've both appreciated having a different perspective on it.

[Keith Alan]

I know from my own feeble attempts that shooting jewelry is an easy way to drive yourself mad.
It's no surprise that many people default to bland and flat lighting as a way to save time and effort.

These are a nice surprise, in that you're playing with color and props that aren't usual for jewelry, in my limited experience.
Keep up the exploration.
Have you flirted with the idea of using a live ear model, or a finely crafted mannequin?


As for lighting and gloves and shirt reflections, the first thing that comes to mind is shooting through a slit in a white sheet that's backlit, much like some car and cycle guys do on a larger scale.
I wonder if a white lens is better for this?
But that will probably use up 3 flashes just to get it evenly lit, which doesn't leave many options for backgrounds and highlights...was just a thought.

Can't believe you're doing this hand-held but it's certainly faster when trying to get subtle variations in the reflections, so there you go.
I like where you're going with this.

[Zig]

I can also see that this is all an ornate ploy by your fiancee to get you to wear velvet gloves and an array of costumery...

...artists, eh!...

[matthew]

Keith, I've thought about the ear-model aspect, but the model wasn't so keen on the idea. One of the local supply stores occasionally has a clear acrylic display mannequin that I'd like to get my hands on - it would let me show a single hanging earring and still put colour behind it. I do almost enjoy the challenge of finding creative ways to hang them, but getting two pieces to both look attractive at once is four times the challenge. I have a little pair of rubber-tipped tongs that I'll use to position everything, and keep polishing cloths handy to get rid of fingerprints.

When I'm doing something really stupid, like shooting a large silver coffeepot (two weeks ago), I will do a full light tent and hide the camera with a white sheet. The results are still appalling, though - I can never get a decent result that doesn't leave me spending an hour in photoshop just to bring the results up to mediocre. For jewellery, I might try getting something white that I can attach to the front of the lens to work as a reflector / shield that would stop some of the black reflection. I think a lot of it is just coming from the lens, especially when I'm working with the shorter focal lengths like these photos are using.

If I'm using strobes, then I'll shoot hand-held, because it's much faster to take a variety of photos that way. I just need to be doing enough to make it worth the time that it takes to set up the lights. (Being able to ramp the D700's iso up means that I can still shoot at small apertures without clobbering the flashes, so as long as I'm careful with my focusing and take lots of photos, I'm okay. Love that camera...) But I'll probably use a tripod and existing light about half the time, getting a quicker setup and more control over focus in exchange for less choice in composition and reflections. Life's a barter.

[matthew]

Here's one more photo from the "Hoopsadaisy" earrings, which Penny put on her shop a couple of days ago, and was her pick to be put in an advertising showcase for tomorrow. It's from the same set that started this series; I've shot a few pieces since then, but haven't finished processing them.

This is currently our favourite photo:



Thanks again for all the comments.

[Irma]

Well done, Matthew and Penny!! You did a great job...

I like a lot the way you worked with the reflections! I like also the backdrop color... Rojo Pasión....

[NT73]

Yes. That is selling the earings.
Which are as nicely crafted, as the photo.

The red highlight of the wire in the background, looks like a red hot needle, and gives the photo a scary look to me. :/

[Toad]

I like your last shot in particular. I haven't commented up until now because I am such a poor product shooter that it would be like advising a woman on how to give birth...

[NT73]

Having had another look at Penny's site the way you can enlarge each item is brilliant, although I found that by trial and error.
Maybe it should say click on each item for enlarged view, or something similar.

I would like to do something like that with my own jalbum webpage.

[Zig]

Nice last one: the rich red suggests to me a hint of "chinoiserie".