Photo Shoot

I have been busy the last few days working on next year's catalog. I have to work on it this early so I can get good, outdoor photographs. Our indoor lighting is pretty lousy when it comes to shooting jewelry. I have one of those photography tents, but I still can't get the lighting just right. Since my tagline is "naturally inspired", I prefer to have outdoor shots anyway.

I've been using the pictures I've posted here in my catalog. The pictures are reduced to thumbnail size and so much of the detail is lost. :( I've discovered that some of the pieces disappear almost completely! Take that Jolly Rancher necklace (I call it "Watermelon Candy" now), for example. I originally had it on a concrete slab. After touting how great it looks with burgundy, Mom convinced me to take a picture of that look. The picture turned out soooo much better, but you can't really tell it's on a blouse. I used the same technique with a different top for the "Iris" necklace.

Updated "Watermelon Candy":

Updated "Iris":

Taking pictures of a lot of the stuff I've made previously is amazingly time-consuming. I hope the outcome is worth it. Here's just a few of the pictures I took yesterday:

"Midnight at Sea" (mother of pearl, freshwater and blister pearls, glass pearls, abalone)

"Sea King" (dyed shell pieces, glass seed beads)

"Ahoy" (this one probably needs to be modeled on a person)

"Happiness Is" (Czech glass, lapis agate, the bird was salvaged from a pair of earrings)

Taking pictures is a lot of fun. Photo composition is not my strongsuit, but maybe someday, I'll get better at it. I'm getting the itch to compose more jewelry though.