1, 2 and 3 - Certeris Jewellery E-commerce photo shoot
In one sentence, this shoot was quite a challenge and if you know me - I am always up for one. Certeris Jewellery is a Southampton based men's jewellery start-up that produces African inspired pieces. They approached me with the request to photograph their first three items for e-commerce use.
The task seemed pretty easy until I had a look at what I had to produce - clean white background of hanging jewellery. At first instance, this seems pretty straightforward until you realise the details that go into it. All the hanging, pinning, arranging, dust cleaning, light-measuring and finally photoshopping on top of all the DIY and the studio bookings. So. the first thing to do on this occasion was to organise a test - yes, I have to test something before I know what I want to achieve or to be precise, how I want to achieve it. Here are some of the initial images taken:
These pieces of beauty are very reflective, so I had to consider several things before I could photograph them and believe me second shooting was also necessary because even I forget to do things and then I regret it, but for future reference here are some useful bullet points when it comes to reflective pieces and jewellery:
Wear white or black ONLY - white helps with further reflection and keeps other colours away from the reflection on the final image. While the black helps pick up any spill light (light that affects the final look of the photo - details that define the product).
Soft light is a MUST - harsh isn't an option as everything is reflected back and you lose so much detail.
Always test and do your research - check out YouTube for more ideas and tutorials, helps when you are stuck with ideas on how to approach the project. There is plenty out there, but here are my top favourite channels: Phlearn, First Man Photography and PixImperfect to name a few.
Don't be afraid to DIY and follow your instincts - I need to remind myself this one every now and again as I tend to forget it. If you have seen it somewhere or you have an idea on how to approach things, check your treasure chest first before you head out with the shopping basket. You will surprise what junk you have kept at your place : )
Last but not least - regardless of how difficult it gets - have fun and bring a friend along. In this case, I had one of my students, Tanya Miteva to help me on the final day. Two heads always think better than one and it is so nice when you are feeling down that there is someone to pick you up. Thanks, Tanya. Go and check her Instagram account @tanyamphotography.
The final images have come together after some time of editing and arranging and I am very proud to present them to you. Let me know what you think.
If you know a brand that requires similar images or they may have a different idea on how they want to present their products, hit me up. I'd gladly discuss it with them!
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