How to Take Pictures of Jewelry with iPhone
If you own an iPhone and sell handmade jewelry on Etsy or resell on eBay, this is the perfect tutorial for you!
Photographing jewelry can be a little tricky because of how shiny and small it is. Thankfully there are a few helpful solutions that will make your jewelry product photos shine online!
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What You Need to Take Pictures of Jewelry with an iPhone
Lightbox. For more product photography, we recommend using an all in one photo studio where the lighting is built in.
However, for jewelry photography, you’ll want to move your lighting around to make sure you capture the shine of the diamonds and stones. Therefore, choose a lightbox that is simple and traditional.
Lighting system. You’ll need a few small tabletop lights that you can move around outside of the lightbox.
Stand/tripod to hold iPhone. We have used the Joby GripTight mount that attaches to any tripod and has a firm grip on your phone at the same time. Ore you could simply buy a tabletop smartphone tripod like the one below.
A set up like this would actually be great since most of the components you need are already included.
Cosmetic mirrors. You’ll use the cosmetic mirrors to reflect the light back on to the jewelry so that the diamonds and stone shine their true beauty. You’ll want two of them so you can reflect light from both angles.
Jewelry props. Instead of just laying your jewelry pieces down flat, use jewelry props to nicely display your pieces and show how they would lay when worn.
How to Photograph Rings with your iPhone
Place your ring in the center of your lightbox and rotate it to the desired angle. Use two fingers to zoom in to the ring and fill the frame of your camera. You may desire to switch your camera frame to a 1:1 ratio so that it is a square instead of portrait.
Next, adjust your lights for the most desirable look. The closer the lights are, the more highlight you get on the ring, and the further back you are, the softer the lighting is.
Use cosmetic mirrors to reflect light back into the diamonds to make them shine. You can use a cosmetic mirror on each side and change the angles to get the best appearance.
Once everything is in position and you like the way everything is looking, tap and hold the ring for a second on your phone to adjust the focus and exposure. When it’s focused and looks good to you, take the picture. If you want a variable exposure, tap and hold your finger for a second on a darker area and take another picture.
How to Photograph Earrings with your iPhone
Using an erring prop, place your earrings in the center of your lightbox.
Just as you do with rings, adjust your lighting and mirrors to get the desired look, highlights, and light.
Tap and hold your finger on the screen of your iPhone to get focus and exposure before taking the picture.
How to Photograph Necklaces with your iPhone
Using a bust prop, place your necklace in the middle of the lightbox, move your lights a little close to pick up on the stones of the necklace.
Once again, adjust the mirrors to reflect the light back on to the stones or diamonds. When you like what you see, take the photo.