I always look at how crisp and clear the photographs of beaded jewelry in magazines turn out and wonder how they get them to look that way so I’ve researched how to photograph my beaded jewelry.

How To Photograph Beaded Jewelry

It is important to take clear photos of your work if you are interested in selling your jewelry. When photographing jewelry, you need good lighting (daylight bulbs are best). Diffuse the light by using a light box.

There are table-top lighting kits available for sale that come with coloured backgrounds, a tripod, lights and an enclosure (light box) to help diffuse the light. The tripod holds your camera steady and ensures the details of the jewelry are in focus.

Make your own light box at home using the instructions here.

Here is another website that gives you several tips for product photography and it has a whole section on photographing jewellery.

Photos Using My Own Light Box

My attempt at taking photos with a light box.

To the right is a photo that I took using my light box. I bought a piece of white acrylic from the hardware store to place at the bottom of my light box.

I use it to eliminate wrinkles that you may find when lining the inside of your light box with cloth or paper. It also gives a nice glossy reflection in the photo which I happen to like.

Producers of magazines may have Photoshop and other great computer software to enhance their photos but you can achieve good quality jewelry photos at home using the tips and tricks on the website links that I provided.