Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Table Top Studio, creators of the EZcube Light Tents, wrote a great how-to article pertaining to photographing jewelry. If you are on the consumer end of things and have ever wondered how photographers capture the brilliance of a diamond or create jewelry to look like it is suspended in mid-air, or if you are looking for different jewelry photography techniques, their tips make for an interesting read.

1. Standing up small charms and pendants:
Wax is a great invisible hand when it comes to standing up small pendants/charms. Just place a small bead of wax on the bottom of your charm or pendant to stand it upright. Instead of using a bust, drape the chain in a meandering fashion around the charm. I use a makeup brush to push the chain into place.

2. Creating a soft reflection for a professional touch:
A white or clear high gloss acrylic platform provides a soft reflection of the jewelry placed on top. The elevation of the platform also eliminates any shadow beneath the jewelry. Moving the subject away from the background material (by raising it) throws the background out of focus which helps the background "disappear." Position the jewelry in the middle of the acrylic platform, so the edges can be cropped easily out of the photograph.

3. Creating a dramatic black reflection using "Black Ice":
Using a high gloss black acrylic platform creates a dramatic reflection. "Black ice," is a favorite of pro photographers and can be used to create many desirable effects depending on light positioning. By inserting a black piece of paper along the back inside roof of an EZcube, you can eliminate all of the unwanted tent reflections. Now the only reflection that will show in the final cropped image is of the jewelry on pure black.

4. Add sparkle to faceted gems:
A light tent provides nice soft lighting for jewelry and makes for a pleasing image. However, the light tent may not provide the direct lighting necessary to "light up" faceted gemstones. Faceted gemstones like diamonds need to be illuminated by a light source that is positioned at nearly the same place as the camera. The "sparkler" light is the third light, and the key to having properly lit faceted gemstone jewelry. This light must be positioned so that you see the stones sparkle.

5. Make pearls look more round:
By using only one light source positioned above, the pearls appear rounder with more dimension.

Throughout Table Top Studio's website, they really have a wealth of information that is worth sifting through. Stephen Dougherty, one of the Founders of Table Top Studio, told me that they also have a blog and although the last post was from June, they will be updating it again shortly.

*Image and tips copyright Table Top Studio LLC but used with permission.