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Pro Tips for Taking Jewelry Photographs with a Smartphone

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Sumul Padharia
Pro Tips for Taking Jewelry Photographs with a Smartphone

 If you have poring over the net searching for tips on how to take the perfect jewelry photography and that to armed with just a smartphone, then you have reached the right place. 

According to Statista, the number of smartphone users in 2021 is 6.37 billion. This massive number is clear proof of smartphones' reach and has urged manufacturers to continuously enhance their device's feature list to remain competitive and relevant. From the times of single-megapixel digital cameras to phones with gigapixel cameras built-in, the world of digital photography has come a long way. Even the New York Times couldn't dispel the power of smartphone photography and once used an Instagram photo as their front page. 

Today, we live in the golden age of smartphone photography, and its capabilities extend to professional jewelry photography as well. Dispelling popular belief that professional jewelry photography is not possible without a high-end camera, this article details 8 jewelry photography tips to take flawless images of your jewelry with your smartphone. So without further ado, let's get to it! 

1. Use what you have

We believe that the best smartphone for jewelry photography is the one in your pocket. Even so, the market is crammed full of attractive options. Every smartphone today comes equipped with powerful digital cameras, many of which sport professional performance levels. 

Breaking out your retirement fund for a high-end camera is no longer necessary for your jewelry photography business when the best photography device is right there with you. 

2. Place your jewelry on the table

Placing your jewelry items on a table or any other flat surface offers you the flexibility of taking photos of them from varying angles. This gives you options to choose from based on the type of item you are photographing. You might want to capture a necklace in full, with each minute detail clearly visible. In such a situation, and shot from above is the best option. IF you wish to take a picture of the ring while capturing the intricacies of the band and the stone studded in it, you could take a picture from a 45-degree angle with the camera placed at the same height as the subject. 

3. Don't forget to use image stabilization equipment

Higher-end smartphones come with bundled image stabilization features, but given the form factor, this feature may have certain restrictions. Investing in image stabilization equipment, like a tripod, can prove to be invaluable to your jewelry photography efforts. 

With a tripod, camera shakes that result in crooked or blurry photos can be eliminated. While choosing a tripod, make sure to examine the length and quality of its legs, the materials it is made of, and how secure its mount is for your smartphone. 

There are tripods available in the market that come with a detachable shutter, ensuring that even the minutest camera shakes because of human contact with the device are removed. 

Such equipment ensures that your photos come out blur/shake-free and in crystal clear focus. 

4. Plan your light sources

In the case of jewelry photography, soft/diffused light is the best. The details of the stones can always be enhanced by acquiring jewelry photo retouching services. With diffused lighting, you can effectively reduce glares and unappealing shadows. If you are working on a budget or you don't have time to go out and purchase a lighting setup, shooting your jewelry photos in natural light is your best bet.  

Apart from being a wallet-friendly option, using natural light for your jewelry photos adds a dash of authenticity to each image. The photos come out with the jewelry looking exactly how it would look in real life.  

5. Assess your device's zoom capability and focus

Out-of-focus jewelry photos are a sloppy statement of a 'couldn't care less attitude' towards your customer and can result in a loss of brand reputation. The consumer gets the impression that the product is as low quality as its photo prompting him to click away from your listing.  

Smartphones today come with auto and manual focus features, and with a simple tap on your screen, you can focus clearly on your jewelry item resulting in a crisp, well-focused image. 

Make sure that you snap photographs from at least a meter away from your subject. Also, adjust your aperture settings to let in ample amounts of light.  

Crisp jewelry photos ensure that the customer is presented with all the minute details of the product clearly displayed, without forcing the customer to read the product description. Jewelry photography may prove difficult, given that most jewelry items are small in size.  The best way to circumvent this is to take close-ups of your jewelry items allowing your customer to view the product properly. 

6. Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice makes perfect. If you aren't practicing your craft daily, you will soon fall behind the competition. Taking jewelry photos every day is imperative to building your skills in the domain and turning pro. You may not get acceptable results the first few times, but with consistency, rest assured that you will learn from your mistakes in jewelry photo retouching and achieve pro status in no time. 

7. Use simple Backgrounds

Remember that your jewelry item is the main subject of your photo and should stand out clearly from the background. Try not to clutter and overcomplicate your jewelry photos with distracting backgrounds. The minimalistic approach is suggested where you place your items on a simple background. For added style, you could experiment with the texture and color of the bg. Most eStore mandate placing plain white BGs behind every photo after removing the original background through jewelry photo editing software for eCommerce listings. 

8. Edit your photos

Now that we have mentioned jewelry photo editing services in the last point, let's get into a little detail. Once you have taken your photos, the process of getting them business-ready does not stop. The next step is editing and enhancing their quality before putting your photos on your website or social media. Most smartphones have editing features, and you also have the option of downloading powerful editing apps for free. You could start with simple filters and move on to more detailed editing processes such as level adjustment, hue and saturation adjustments, etc. 

Wrapping up 

Smartphones today are built to make life easier. They are easy and convenient to use, and you can carry them everywhere you go. I am never more than a few feet away from my phone. Today's smartphone technology offers pro-level performance when it comes to photography, and armed with the tips mentioned above; you can start taking professional jewelry photos right now. 

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