Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Not bad for an amateur

Running an on-line jewelry shop on a shoe-string budget forces a person to stretch their limits in many avenues. The starving artists that we are, we cannot afford professional photography, and yet quality photos that are inviting, compelling and functional are essential. So we read and apply, read more and try, and practice and read even more. There is so much that goes into the making of a good photo. I've worked with enough professional photographers in my many decades to know that they discard 90% of their photos because they don't measure up to the photographers standards of "good."

Unfortunately for jewelry artists, we don't have the time to shoot and re-shoot a piece 100 times to get those 5 "good" shots. But with enough trial and error we find a method that works for us so we can get our decent entries to use in our shops somewhat expediently.

Every once in a while though, it's fun to push the boundaries. I'm a wee bit proud of this photo ... the focus on the lovely bead and all the wonderful "bokeh" in the background to take the mundane out of the photo of a simple necklace.

You'll find this listed in my Etsy shop here.

PhotobucketOn another front ... I got my Etsy shop's RSS feed linked to my Twitter! So now when I list something, it'll get tweeted with a link. Happy dance!

I'd like to thank a couple of recent folks who left comments, UniqueNurseGranny and Kim, with some link luv!

28 comments:

getpalmd said...

A very good photo!

storybeader said...

it's a great shot and shows off the beads and the complimentary foundation so well. Very interesting beads!

Leah said...

well done with the photo! I will have to try the twitter feed!

Unknown said...

OH lovely, and great thinking with the twitterfeed. You can also do your blog, if you haven't done that already.

Designing Hilary said...

Yeah, I already have my RSS feed for the blog linked to Twitter. I got that one figured out a couple of months ago.

Anonymous said...

okay, so share - how do you link your etsy feed to twitter?? Love the photo, by the way :)

Designing Hilary said...

Leah ... it'll be in the next blog post and hopefully I'll get it done in the next couple of days.

LiPeony said...

I must agree that's a great photo makes the colros so vibrant and for some reason the bead looks juicy to me... lolol... yes taking pictures is practice makes perfect with some trial and error thrown in...

Anonymous said...

Very very pretty, the jewelry and the photo.

CassieMarie said...

Beautiful photo! I wish I was that good.

Blackfeatherfarm said...

I don't think it gets any better than that ! Great pic !

Kerrie Slade said...

Great shot! Looking forward to your next post about Twitter etc. *sigh* so much to learn :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome photo! It really shows the detail, while showing the entire necklace. Nice job!

abigail @ Paper and Cake said...

fabulous photo! fabulous necklace...

Leslie said...

That is beautiful! hehe cute snoopy dance.

Unknown said...

You done good! lol! You're photo is very good. The lighting and focus are perfect. The necklace is a beauty too!

Michelle said...

Great pic Hilary! I know this one all too well! It's been one of my bigger downfalls, because my camera just isn't the greatest. Good work:)

CastoCreations said...

Ug...taking photos is the worst. Looking back at my photos from when I first started makes me cringe.

Very good job. :)

Avenue7 said...

Hiya

Thats a great shot!

BTW, I thought you might be interested in this fashion website I help manage call avenue7.com. Its a fashion community for people to create and rate outfits from real clothes. Just thought it might be a good idea for you to add your products into our product list for more visibility and hopefully increase sales. Its for free so you wont be breaking any budgets :)

You can read more about Avenue7 at blog.avenue7.com too.

Have a nice day!

Jackie said...

As you should be it's a fantastic representation of your piece. you got a great shot!!:-)

MaricrisG said...

you are so right abt the photography! I get frustrated most times when I don't get the "right" photo. Found u via EC drop :)

Anonymous said...

excellent bokeh on that shot

Swapna said...

Beautiful....

Terri Pezzullo - Handmade said...

You should be proud it is an awesome picture!!

Anonymous said...

I would say that the term "amateur" mostly has to do with how long you've been doing this...

Anonymous said...

This is so cool! I always wanted to learn how to make my own jewelry.

Jenn said...

These are my favorite type of jewelry "beauty" shots...these are the ones that draw me in to look closer. Well done! Do more!

Petula said...

That's a great picture and so is the one of the earrings below. Very good work.

BTW: Thanks for advertising on my Entrecard.