Apr 5, 2025

How To Photograph Jewelry For Ecommerce Stores (A Simple Guide)

woman wearing jewelry - How to Photograph Jewelry

No matter how carefully you craft your jewelry pieces, your potential customers will quickly lose interest if your photos are dull and lifeless. They won't be able to see the details and craftsmanship that make your jewelry unique. Instead, they’ll move on to another seller whose photos pique their interest and tell a story.

This article will help you be that seller by teaching you how to photograph jewelry so that your pieces sell themselves. The tips here apply to all kinds of jewelry photography, but we’ll also touch on how to photograph jewelry for ecommerce stores specifically. Photography has a remarkable ability to capture a moment in time and tell a story. When done well, jewelry photography can help your pieces sell themselves.

Table of Content

How to Photograph Jewelry For Ecommerce Stores

womn wearing jewelry - How to Photograph Jewelry

Choose the Right Camera Lens

Start with the right tools to capture stunning product photos of jewelry. For most jewelry shots, you’ll want a macro lens. This will allow you to achieve optimal detail and sharp focus. Some digital cameras have a macro setting.

It’s also important to invest in (or rent) a sturdy tripod to ensure stable, high-quality images throughout your shoot.

Consistency is Key

To effectively market and sell jewelry, it’s crucial to have high-quality product images. It can be confusing to click around your online store and see different:

Lighting
Sizes
Backgrounds for every product

Make sure all your product photos are the same quality. Consistency is paramount for your brand identity. Creating a mood board ensures you send a cohesive brand message to your future customers. Refer back to it for color palettes and design aspects. It's a good idea to refresh this mood board as:

You develop new products
Your branding evolves

Use of Natural Light

Studio lighting can be expensive, but natural light is free. The best way to optimize natural light is to plan your shoot during the right time of day and, ideally, close to a window. Knowing when the best light occurs in your space can help you plan accordingly.

If your window is east-facing, you have the best direct sunlight in the morning. Any type of direct light will give you hard shadows.

Shadow Diffusion

If you’re looking to shoot during the brightest time of day but don’t want hard shadows, try putting a white poster board on the opposite end of your lighted window to reflect light onto the other side of your product. This will even out your shadows and highlight more of your jewelry.

Backdrop Color

Although white backdrops may be necessary for e-commerce platforms like Amazon or Walmart, there are infinite fun ways to create backdrops for alternate photos. Pick up scrap fabric from a thrift store if you're on a budget.

Go to a hardware store for some scrap marble surfaces. If you have a little more room in your budget, you can purchase a seamless backdrop that’s on-brand with your color story.

Camera Settings

F-Stop

The f-stop refers to depth of field. The shorter the f-stop (the smaller the number), the object closest to your lens will be in focus. Your background will be blurry (AKA bokeh). The larger the f-stop, the wider the depth of field. You use a larger f-stop in landscape photography. Since we’re just chatting about jewelry photography, you’ll likely use a lower f-stop.

Shutter Speed

This refers to how quickly your shutter opens and closes and how much light you’re letting in. If you’re photographing your jewelry in good natural lighting, you’ll want a short shutter speed to ensure your photos aren’t blurry.

Iso

Many cameras have auto settings for ISO, but know that if your ISO is too low or too high, you may have:

A dark image
An overexposed image

A good rule of thumb is ISO 100 for direct, natural light.

Product Preparation

You cleaned your jewelry during the prepping phase, but keep your microfiber cloth on hand during the shoot. Pay close attention to detail to ensure you don’t leave smudges on your jewelry as you move it around the shoot.

If you’re sending your products to a production company, be vigilant that your chosen products are your most flawless pieces:

No scratches
Blemishes
Misshapen items

Preparation Essentials

It will be photographed as-is, so you want pieces you’d be proud to show your customers. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with prep best practices.

Models

Your customers want to visualize how your product will look on their bodies. Hand models are the perfect way to show how your jewelry will fit into their lives. Feature diverse models to ensure each customer feels they have a place in your brand story. These models include:

Skin tone
Size
Age
Lifestyle

Here are some pro tips sure to elevate the quality of your shoot:

Keep some lotion nearby. You want your hand model to have hydrated and freshly manicured nails! Ensure their nails are evenly trimmed or manicured to match your brand aesthetic. Chipped nail polish can be a big distraction.
Play with angles and variety. Try to create a sense of dynamic movement in your hand photos. Whether it’s rings, necklaces, or bracelets, you can capture some interesting angles to capture your audience's attention.
Clean and styled hair. If you’re shooting necklaces or earrings, make sure your model’s hair looks groomed and well-kept, regardless of the style.

Add GIFs

Jewelry speaks for itself when you allow your customers to see it in action. Imagine a subtle hand motion to show a little glimmer in a gemstone or a bracelet slipping over the wrist. You can also use props to create movement with animated GIFs. Drop some rose petals into your scene. A little shift of your fabric. Let your model explore poses.

Pro tip: To get the sharpest action shots for GIFs, you’ll want to keep your shutter speed short.

7 Basic Equipment You Need to Photograph Jewelry

woman working - How to Photograph Jewelry

1. A Good Quality Camera: Capture Stunning Jewelry Detail

Your product images can look more professional in various ways, and the jewelry photography setup doesn’t necessarily need to revolve around one camera. You can produce images of a professional product photography studio caliber with the proper lighting and styling. Investing in a good-quality camera is vital to capture high-resolution jewelry images.

A DSLR with a macro lens is ideal for close-up shots that highlight fine details. However, you can also take jewelry photos with your smartphone.

2. Tripod Stand: Stability is Key

A tripod is crucial when taking product photos because it helps dampen vibration and noise. Every photographer may need help eliminating vibration and noise through their hands.

A tripod also helps support the camera and capture clear images. With the tripod, you can take pictures from various angles, giving you multiple choices for consistency.

3. Jewelry Photography Lighting: Shine a Light on Your Subject

Proper lighting setup is crucial for jewelry product photography. It helps eliminate shadows and provides even light across the jewelry piece. Natural light or a jewelry photography lighting kit can be used to achieve the desired effect.

Jewelry is made of highly reflective materials, necessitating a sophisticated lighting setup. You must comprehend the fundamentals of light to become an expert in jewelry photography.

4. A Simple Table: Clean Surfaces Create Professional Photos

A table can help your jewelry product look uniform when taking pictures. Any flat table is acceptable. The ideal folding table is a standard model. Select one with a width of 24 to 27 inches.

5. Use Solid Color Background for Jewelry Photography: Avoid Distractions in Your Images

Avoid using busy backgrounds that may distract from the jewelry. Keep the focus on the piece by using a clean and simple background. A white background makes the product stand out and is also simple to make. Pick a solid color background if you want a well-lit, perfectly contrasted image.

6. Foam Boards: Control the Light

Although natural light is excellent for photography, it has some drawbacks, such as a bright side and a dark side. You will need to use something white to reflect light into the shadows and brighten them because it will be too dark to take photos when the shadow is cast.

A white foam board might be the best choice because it is correct and white. Use a black foam board if you want the shadows to be darker.

7. Tape or Clamps: Keep Your Setup Secure

When shooting on a table, you’ll need tape or clamps to hold your foam boards and sweeps in place.

Benefits Of Professional Looking Photos For Jewelry Stores

It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and this couldn’t be more accurate in the case of jewelry. Professional photographers have the expertise to capture the sparkle, the glint, the shine, and the texture of your jewellery items in a way that amateur photography simply can’t match.

Build Customer Trust with Quality Jewelry Photos

High-quality images are an investment in your brand. They showcase your products and build trust with your customers.

By investing in professional jewellery product photography, you’re showing your customers that you believe in your products enough to present them in the best possible light, and showing them off in that best light helps to convince customers that your items are top-quality, and a purchase that’s worth their money.

High-End Jewelry Photos Can Help Increase Sales

Studies have shown that high-quality product images can significantly boost sales. Customers are far more likely to buy a product if they can see a detailed, high-quality image of it, and professional jewellery product photography delivers this well.

As such, each image is designed to sell, showcasing the product in a way that makes the customer almost feel it in their hands.

Use Jewelry Photography to Stand Out in a Competitive Market

Another reason that showcases the importance of high-end jewelry photos for e-commerce is that high-quality images can help your brand stand out in a competitive marketplace. With so many businesses selling jewelry online, capturing customers’ attention and standing out from the crowd can be challenging.

Investing in captivating jewelry images can showcase the beauty of your pieces and can help make your products more memorable and desirable to your customers.

Create a Strong Brand Identity with Professional Jewelry Photography

Aside from making your brand stand out in a competitive industry, high-quality jewelry photos can also play a critical role in strengthening your brand’s identity. Your brand’s jewelry images are usually the first point of contact that customers have with your business, and your photos stimulate brand awareness for your customers.

By creating consistent jewelry images in style, color, and composition, your brand can establish a cohesive and recognizable identity that your customers can use to remember you. This can help:

Build customer loyalty
Encourage repeat purchases

Brand Experience

When customers have a positive and consistent experience with your brand’s product photos, they are more likely to remember you and purchase from you again. E-commerce plays an essential role in building your jewelry brand’s awareness.

If you invest more in building your e-commerce profile’s aesthetics, you might notice that more people may show interest in your brand. Properly presenting the artistry, elegance, and charm of your jewelry will entice your customers to learn more about:

You
Your business
Your products

Jewelry Photography Editing And Retouching

Jewelry photo editing and retouching involve the digital techniques of refining and enhancing the images of jewelry products to meet the standards of online presentation. In this process, jewelry image retouchers:

Adjust the product’s color to present the jewelry item accurately
Remove the image background
Polish the image for a clean and flawless presentation of the product

Post-Processing

The process may also:

Involve light adjustment
Resizing and cropping
Reflection and shine adjustment
Any other necessary enhancements

Jewelry photo editing aims to create captivating visuals for online and offline customers to build trust and drive sales.

Start with High-Quality Photography

Before editing, ensure that your jewelry photos have proper:

Lighting
Resolution

High-quality photos serve as a solid foundation for editing, allowing you to adjust colors, brightness, and details without compromising the image’s integrity.

Remove Background Distractions

One of the first steps in jewelry photo editing is removing any distracting backgrounds. A clean, white, or neutral background helps highlight the jewelry and prevents the focus from shifting away from the product. To remove unwanted elements, you can use tools like”

Photoshop’s Background Eraser
Quick Selection Tool

Adjust Lighting and Exposure

Jewelry often requires adjustments to lighting to bring out its brilliance. Brightening the image and adjusting shadows to create a balanced look can enhance the shine of the jewelry. Proper exposure ensures the jewelry’s details are visible without overexposing the piece.

Enhance Color and Contrast

Color accuracy is essential for jewelry images, so adjusting the color balance and saturation can help ensure the pieces look true to life. Fine-tune the contrast to ensure the jewelry stands out from the background, enhancing its details.

Retouch Details and Remove Imperfections

Use retouching tools to remove imperfections on the jewelry, such as dust, reflections, or fingerprints. Smoothing metal surfaces and enhancing the shine can make the piece look more:

Polished
luxurious

Apply Final Touches

You can apply additional effects like a drop shadow, a mirror reflection, or a soft focus to make the jewelry look more appealing. This adds a professional touch and enhances the product’s visual appeal. By following these steps, you can effectively edit jewelry photos that are:

Visually captivating
High-quality
Ready to impress your customers.

Get Jewelry Product Photos that Increase Your Sales for Free Today

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Whether you need custom stock photos or complete studio editing capabilities, Caspa streamlines the entire product visualization workflow into a single, cost-effective solution.

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