Jewelry is a symbol of elegance and luxury. Its various features attract a lot of attention, captivating both the mind and the heart of the beholder. But how can you ensure that jewelry achieves the same effect when it’s shown on a screen?
That’s where luxury jewelry photography comes in. This style of photography enables the jewelry to keep its stunning effect and lure potential customers.
Mastering this high-end jewelry photography style is vital to increasing your sales, and today, we’ll help you do just that. Stay with us to learn more about high-class jewelry photos and how you can master the style.
In this article
What Is Luxury Jewelry Photography?
Luxury jewelry photography is a style of pictures that’ll let you capture the alluring essence of jewelry, creating incredible, artful, and stylish photos that quickly attract the attention of online visitors. This style of photography will let you keep your jewelry’s stunning beauty, even when shown through a screen.
Your jewelry pieces can have their best features highlighted, creating visually appealing photos that will boost your e-commerce business and drive sales through the roof.
However, this style of photography is far from easy to learn and will require a lot of hard work, practice, and a few items of equipment.
Things You Need for Luxury Jewelry Photography
Before you dive deeper into the world of jewelry and high-end photography, there are certain items you’ll require. It’s worth noting that these items might prove expensive, but they’re often worth it in the long run, especially if you’re interested in photography in general and plan on doing more with these gadgets.
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Photography Equipment
The first piece you’ll need to invest in and the most essential part of photography equipment is a high-quality camera. We’re talking about DSLRs and mirrorless cameras that can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
A proper camera for jewelry photography will let you capture all the details, regardless of what you’re shooting. It can be the difference between a product selling in thousands of copies and a generic image that attracts little to no attention.
It’s worth noting that amateur photographers can also take these pictures with iPhones and Androids since the latest models have excellent cameras. These cameras work decently in well-lit rooms and studios, but they’re not exactly on a professional level.
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Studio Lighting
Whether you’re using a professional DSLR, a mirrorless camera, or your phone, you’ll need to invest in proper lighting equipment to capture the beauty of your jewelry and take professional pictures that’ll attract attention.
That’s because well-lit rooms with a window or a lot of natural light are hard to come by, and you’ll need to create these conditions artificially.
To do that, you can invest in various bulbs and reflectors. 100-watt tungsten, 15-watt fluorescent, and 60-watt incandescent bulbs are some of the most popular choices, and you can also use foam boards instead of reflectors to save a bit of money.
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Props
Although many e-commerce websites require clean tables, simple setups, and white backgrounds, you shouldn’t be afraid to add items that’ll increase the quality of your jewelry photos and add details.
Props are a great addition to any type of photography, including high-end jewelry photography, and they can add to the allure of your photos while telling a story and attracting more attention.
The type of prop you use will depend on the story you’re trying to tell and your brand’s image. You should experiment with different items and see what works best for your particular brand and style of photography.
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Background Elements
As mentioned, some e-commerce platforms require photographers to use simple white backgrounds for all items. Although white backgrounds are always a safe option, they can sometimes appear too simplistic, and your photos might look generic.
However, if you’re not obligated to take all your photos with a white background, you can go wild with different background elements. Try experimenting with different colors and textures to find what works best.
These elements will enhance your jewelry pictures, allowing you to represent your brand in the best light possible. Your photos will be unique and stylish, attracting shop visitors and likely boosting jewelry sales.
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Post-production Tools
Luxury jewelry pictures require far more than taking a simple photo and calling it a day. Much more magic happens in post-production than during the photo shoot, and that’s why various subscriptions and applications are highly recommended to make your photos truly shine.
These post-production tricks are responsible for far more than you might think, as this is the step during which details are highlighted, colors are enhanced, shadows are fixed, and many more edits are applied.
Although you can use a few free applications, the paid ones like Photoshop and Lightroom are the real deal and responsible for some of the most incredible photos you see online.
How To Photograph High-End Jewelry
You can start making high-quality jewelry photos once you have all the required items. The process of getting the best possible jewelry image will likely be the same, regardless of whether you’re creating jewelry photos for an e-commerce shop or personal pleasure. Here’s what it usually includes.
Step 1. Setting Up the Photo Table
Taking excellent photos starts with prepping the surface you’re working with and setting up a photo table and the scene, regardless of the type of photography you’re into.
This step in the photography game requires thoroughly cleaning the entire surface and setting your background. You can use a simple table, a photography sweep, tape, and clamps for this part, but other items might also be helpful.
Whether it’s a sweep, a sheet of white paper, newspapers, or whatever you’re working with, you want to start by preparing the table or surface by adjusting your sweep and tightening it to the surface with tape and clamps.
Step 2. Positioning Lighting Elements
When you finish with the table and the background, you can move on to your lighting elements. This part of the setup will depend on whether you’re using natural light or artificial one from bulbs.
It will depend on whether you use tungsten, fluorescent, or incandescent bulbs and their power. Reflectors are also essential during this part of the setup, and whether you’re using proper reflectors or foam boards also affects the layout.
Generally, you don’t want lights shining directly on your subject. Instead, you want them towards the reflectors, reflecting the light on your jewelry and highlighting the best features.
Step 3. Styling Your Luxury Jewelry
After you set up your table, background, and lights, you can start thinking about how you want to display your jewelry pieces. This part of the high-class jewelry photography process can be tricky, as each photographer thinks differently, and there’s no right way of doing it.
Remember, you want your jewelry pieces to tell a story and showcase your brand image in the best light possible. So, think about what story you want to tell and who your jewelry is intended for.
Consider how you want site visitors to see your brand and how they should experience your luxury jewelry pieces.
Step 4. Cleaning and Preparing Jewelry
If you’re handling jewelry, you’re likely aware that different pieces require a different cleaning process and various items. For example, some jewelry types can be ruined if you soak them in water, while others require water for cleaning.
When unsure, the best thing to do is research the type of jewelry you’re handling and learn about different cleaning methods.
However, it’s worth noting that not all sources are trustworthy, and following random videos or clicking the first link in the search engine isn’t the best idea, as these guides might ruin your jewelry if someone without experience writes them.
Step 5. Setting up Your Camera and Capturing Images
Camera angles are a vital part of the entire process and are crucial to getting high-quality shots of your luxury jewelry. However, no one can say with certainty that this or that camera angle is better, as it’s all a matter of preference.
Generally, it’s recommended that you start at a distance of one meter, with the subject being the center of your image, but you can also get much closer to capture all the details of your jewelry.
Nonetheless, it would be best to try different distances, depending on the type and size of your camera lens and the style of photography you’re after.
Step 6. Editing Your Photos
A large part of making excellent luxury jewelry photos happens in post-production, and this is part of the process that will take much of your time.
When editing your jewelry images, you should fix your background first and remove all its imperfections. Then, you can move on to highlighting your jewelry’s characteristics by correcting colors, adjusting highlights, and playing with shadows to get a more natural look.
Of course, the process will also largely depend on your style and whether you’re using a model for your jewelry images or a simple photo table with a clean background or a photo sweep.
9 Useful Tips for Luxury Jewelry Photography
Getting your luxury jewelry photography game to the next level will take hours of practice, but this shouldn’t discourage you. Instead, it would be best to try new things until you find your style and tricks that work for you. However, the tips below can also help speed up this process, vastly improving your photography game.
1. Be Consistent With Your Images
Developing a personal style will likely take months or years, but that style is essential to your brand’s image and your e-commerce store’s success. It’s how visitors will recognize your product from the rest.
Consistency is a crucial factor in developing a personal style. That’s why all your photo shoots and image edits should be similar.
It’s OK to experiment and try new things and styles, but your brand will seem unprofessional if you constantly switch things up.
2. Use State of the Art AI Tools
Various artificial intelligence tools can completely replace the needed equipment and the entire process of high-end product photography. These tools include Adobe’s Sensei, Google’s Product Studio, Vue.ai, Zeg.ai, and one of the best tools currently on the market – Booth.ai.
Here’s how you can use one such tool – Booth.ai:
- Step 1: Once at the website, click Get Started and log in.
- Step 2: Choose AI Scene Generator and click on Plus to add your product’s photos.
- Step 3: Add high-quality photos of your luxury jewelry products and click Create Product.
- Step 4: Find and click Choose Workflow on the right side and select background settings. Add details about the photos you want to create and click Generate Images.
That’s all it takes. After a few seconds, the website will create four identical photos with your chosen settings, including the product, background, time of day, shadows, etc.
3. Remove Reflections
Mirrors and reflections in the water can make for cool edits, but they’re complicated to do well, so removing the accidental ones and not using reflections is much safer.
Stick to your luxury jewelry being the center of attention and the primary focus of your image. There’s no need to go overboard with complex edits, such as reflections, that pose a more significant risk than reward.
Simplicity and clean design are the pillars of luxury jewelry photography, and sticking to those is always an excellent option.
4. Try Different Lighting Settings
Although lights are often set up and then forgotten about, they’re responsible for some of the most unique luxury jewelry photographs. Namely, different light setups can bring out other details and create a stunning photo that attracts much attention.
Trying out different lighting setups will also provide you with plenty of experience in how things should look and what arrangement works for what type of photography. If you have the time, you should experiment, as you might create a new and unique style that works wonders.
5. Experiment With Props
When you’re doing high-end jewelry photography, it’s evident that the jewelry should be the main focus of your images, but that doesn’t mean jewelry is the only thing you can shoot.
Simplicity is the key to luxury photography, but that doesn’t mean your photos should appear dull, with only the jewelry in them.
It’s OK to try out different props and create unique images featuring other elements, be it a book, a flower, or a model wearing your jewelry.
6. Keep Your Composition Simple
If you want to experiment by using backgrounds other than a simple white or gray one or add props to your images, you can, but you should also be careful about it.
These additional details should be subtle and not take too much attention off your jewelry. Instead, they’re there to complement it while being barely noticeable themselves.
Look into image composition tips and try creating a product that will appear simple yet stylish and filled with details but not overwhelming.
7. Focus on the Product
It’s essential to remember that jewelry is the star of your images, and it should be the primary focus of all your high-class jewelry photos.
Of course, you can add details, props, shadows, reflections, and colorful backgrounds, but you should always keep jewelry in the front, where it’ll attract the most attention.
That’s essentially the goal of high-end jewelry photography – create a stunning image with plenty of colorful visuals but put the focus on the jewelry.
8. Tell the Brand’s Story
Unique photographs can go a long way to grab store visitors’ attention. They’re the key to a successful e-commerce jewelry business, allowing you to tell the story of your name and brand.
Such photos will let you rise above the competition of generic-looking jewelry images flooding the internet.
These photos will also make your brand and photography style much more recognizable, creating trust in your brand and online store and significantly boosting your sales.
9. Use a Deeper Depth of Field
Small-object photography requires a lot of precision, tripods, and powerful and expensive lenses. However, it can be done exceptionally well with a deeper depth of field.
You’ll need a capable lens that can handle such depth of field. Still, this combination of lens and style can create stunningly beautiful photos and highlight every possible detail of your luxury jewelry.
Try it out and see the difference it makes for high-end jewelry photography but remember to change distances till you get that perfect shot.
Conclusion
Luxury jewelry photography is a style of shooting jewelry that highlights its most beautiful details, adds complexity and uniqueness, and tells your brand’s story. It’s a style that can make stunning images that attract massive attention from online store visitors.
You’ll need a proper camera, lighting equipment, props, backgrounds, and editing applications to try this style. Moreover, you’ll have to set up a photo table, lighting equipment, and props, then clean and style your jewelry, and only then can you take a photo.
We’ve also covered various tips to help you take better high-class jewelry photos. You can also try powerful AI tools, such as Booth.ai, to skip the entire equipment buying and setting up process and generate stunning luxury jewelry photos in a few seconds.