Photographing my pearls

[baby monster]

Hisano showed me a picture of the white metallic that Angela took under natural light. This allowed you to see the metallic luster better. Too bad there is not picture of color pearls taken by a professional photographer for us to compare.

That's interesting because PP also sent me picture of white metallics taken in natural light when I was selecting a pair for studs. I'd say it's closest picture of pearls to what I see IRL.

 

[LitGeek]

HHPmom I don't think I have seen this amazing bracelet! The colors are FABULOUS! Please give us more details

 

[dkata]

This strand is just beautiful! Thank you for posting the link! I have visited rakuten, and I am really considering! As Mrs.Taylor said: I want a strand like that!

 

[HHPmom]

HHPmom I don't think I have seen this amazing bracelet! The colors are FABULOUS! Please give us more details

I started a thread here [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/multicolor-tahitian-pearl-bracelet.192730/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/multicolor-tahitian-pearl-bracelet.192730/[/URL]

 

[icy_jade]

And I also need to learn how to arrange the pearls more artistically - that's an important aspect as I read from this good ref: http://www.tabletopstudio.com/jewelry_photography.html#pearls

Here are two other good sites on how to take good jewellery pics:

1. I like the ring photography tips and diagrams on set up:
http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/jewelry_photography_tips.html

2. I like these practical tips from the 10 Etsy sellers featured (who don't always have professional equipment like most of us):
http://stylecampaign.com/blog/2009/05/10-etsy-sellers-share-jewelry-photography-tips/

Ok, a few more useful sites for photography reading before I start, this time just on natural light photography...

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/natural-light-photography.htm

http://www.macro-photography-for-all.com/natural-lighting.html

And also on Jewellery Photography Set-Up Tips:
(Good summary)

http://www.beadinggem.com/2011/05/jewelry-photography-set-up-tips.html

 

[icy_jade]

icy_jade,
This is the best baroque akoya strand I've seen. The luster is incredible. Surface is smooth with barely any ripples. Pearl shapes are consistently uniform and look semi-round from a distance. Excellent overtone.

HHPmom: Gosh thanks! This is really the first blue baroque akoya strand that I have seen in real life, so I am really happy to hear this.


Mrs T, bsomlo and dkata: Thanks for liking my akoyas! I think what makes them pretty/temperamental is their strong pink overtones, which may not be for everyone but that I truly love. Did quite a bit of research online before I bought them and I read that pink overtone is more rare than silver. Not sure how true this info is but when I trawled Rakuten very few of the strands show clear pink overtones (and I went thru loads of strands/sales postings).

Dkata: If you want a strand from the same source, FYI that periodically they go on sale. Also do consider to get matching earrings. Keep us posted k? Oh, and the sales posting uses a "stock photo". You may want to write in and ask for more photos of the current strand? I am happy with the strand that I got but with online purchases I am still wary of things going wrong.

This thread is very educational and funny at the same time. I chuckle about the lampshade and umbrella. I still like natural light the best. I have some pictures of my bracelet when on vacation this summer. They are all marked which lighting they were taken in. The indoor picture on towel was taken on a counter 3 feet from a very large window with afternoon light, window facing east.

HHPmom: Yet another one from your jewellery box that I really love...
I was reading about natural light photography and it seems that the geography, season, time of day and amount of cloud cover makes a huge difference. Hard versus soft lighting... Could be why I have reservations about natural light being the best... My natural light is typically too harsh.

But y'know, your bracelet is so pretty, I think it will look good under pretty much any lighting!

 

[icy_jade]

Ok, so I am a bit stuck cos I haven't found a good material for the background (printer paper is too reflective but paper towel pattern is too distracting...

Read that most cameras can't handle really white backgrounds/pictures and will default to grey when exposed to too much white... Which really means that for most of us who do not know how to adjust the white balance of the photos or have really good cameras, the photos that we are taking really will not reflect accurate colours especially if we are using a white background. It could also mean over/under exposed shots.

Back to experimenting cos I went to the art store and bought some paper...


Without light box:
Top: 1. Background papers, 2. Canvas, 3. Grey
Bottom: 4. Light blue/grey, 5. 'Ice white', 6. Pearlie white (with slight sheen)



With light box:
Top: 1. Background papers, 2. Canvas, 3. Grey
Bottom: 4. Light blue/grey, 5. 'Ice white', 6. Pearlie white (with slight sheen)



Indeed, you can see by comparing against the background papers shot how 5. 'ice white' looks grey... Hmm... And 3. grey is too pale (and so the pearl looks over exposed).

So how, which background do you prefer?

Personally I think light blue/grey seems to be coming off most true to life/colour. So that may be my default background from now on.

Ok, that's the end of my experiment for this weekend.

 

[mrs taylor]

The top right probably looks the best to my eye in terms of the whole piece. I think the pearl looks great in all but the top middle. It's kind of lacking life there.

 

[icy_jade]

A quick recap of what I have learnt so far...

1. Using a light box makes a huge difference.
2. Artistic composition and props can make your pearls look better.
3. Direction of light - lighting from the side is better than from the back (of the photographer)
4. Don't wear red tops when photographing pearls
5. Getting the white balance right is really important to get accurate colours
6. Using a smaller necklace stand makes the necklace look bigger (from another thread)

 

[icy_jade]

The top right probably looks the best to my eye in terms of the whole piece. I think the pearl looks great in all but the top middle. It's kind of lacking life there.

Strange. In its uncompressed form, top right looks a wee bit 'over'. But on PS it does look good. Ok... Maybe that grey background for beauty shots then. Thanks!

 

[mrs taylor]

it's the only one the diamonds really pop in. At least on PS, which is all I have to go on. More's the pity.

 

[icy_jade]

it's the only one the diamonds really pop in. At least on PS, which is all I have to go on. More's the pity.

Those are CZs!
This is one of my lesser pieces btw... Bought on a whim a few years back. Very taitai looking.

Update: Just asked hubby using the uncompressed composite pics. He pointed to #3 as the best but said that its very subjective.

 

[LitGeek]

I have to agree with HHPmom and say that the gray (top right) is best. I noticed that PP used a gray background when photographing my wSS earrings. I think it allows for the overtones and luster to show really well with the white pearls, but I wonder if this is the case with other colors of pearls...tahitians, GSS, pinks, lavenders, etc.?

 

[icy_jade]

Was thinking about blue pearls (see discussion here: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/singapore-jewellery-gem-fair-2013.194204/page-4']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/singapore-jewellery-gem-fair-2013.194204/page-4[/URL]) when I realised that I have blue pearls from a few pearl types:
- Freshwater
- Akoya
- Tahitian
- White South Sea

I am so glad to read IcyJade that the blue pearl is staying. If it is a blue body pearl it just might be the most rare pearl on your strand. A couple of summers ago at a PP RUCKUS Jeremy of PP and Josh of Komoka were talking in the PP vault when I walked in. Jeremy and Josh of course were talking pearls. Jeremy asked me if I had my blue strand so he could show Josh. I did and Josh was admireing it. Then Jeremy said he had a bag of even more rare pearls and threw a bag of natural chocolates on the table. Josh said that a chocolate pearl was not as rare a a blue body pearl. He would harvest many more chocolates before a blue body would appear. So if it has a blue body treasure it and you really scored.

Thanks 4RG! This is indeed a pale blue body tahitian. I didn't know blue body tahitians are so rare. I do have a few other true blues on my other strand that are a lot darker, so it's good to know:

Thought the colour/difference in lustre is quite interesting and thought to share some pics:

Natural light:


In lightbox:


With explanations (oops re: typo):

 

[icy_jade]

Some close-ups.







I almost bought a small (9-10mm) pair of bluish wSSP studs to go with my pendant, and I am so glad I didn't cos the blue baroque akoya studs will probably work.

 

[LitGeek]

Lovely photos of your pearls icy, I never tire of seeing them! Those blue akoya studs do look like they will look perfect with your new pendant

 

[icy_jade]

Lovely photos of your pearls icy, I never tire of seeing them! Those blue akoya studs do look like they will look perfect with your new pendant

Thanks LitGeek, you are so sweet! Will be testing out the combi next week.

Btw not sure if it's as obvious from the pics. But I finally get what I've been reading about SSP having a softer lustre (vs more metallic lustre of other pearl types).

 

[bsomlo]

Icy -- your collection is just fantastic. I love each and every one of your pieces.

Now, as soon as possible, please put DB down and post oodles of current neck and ear shots, please. The pieces come alive against your skin and I want to admire them on you, if you are game!

I've bumped this thread since it dovetails so well with our PP Tahitian sale thread.

 

[HHPmom]

Icy_jade,
Yes you do have a wonderful collection. I the ombre Tahitian.

 

[icy_jade]

Bsomlo n hhpmom: Thank you! (warm fuzzy feeling from having two pearl queens like my little collection)

Gosh I just realized that my last post on this thread was just shortly b4 I found out about my pregnancy.
New photos will have to wait a bit. DS (dear son) doesn't leave me much time for hobbies right now. I'm very much limited to what I can type with one hand during feeds now.

 

[Frost Me]

I'm so freaking in love with that strand. MORE PLEASE!

Thanks! But whoops that's all! I had only a really short time so I only took a few snaps before moving on to other pearls. You can kinda tell the light was fading from the set-up pic ya?

Anyway I couldn't wait till the iPad was fully charged (takes forever and it's like 23% now?) so now I am typing while it's charging. Not the safest way but...

Ok on to the next set. It's another fav - the colour graduated strand from Andy Muller.

I am fairly happy that with the light box the overtones come out much more easily and clearer. But quality of light wasn't the best so it feels kinda subdued to me. Still better than with no light box of course.

On towel:


With props:


And a close-up:


With the tahitian earrings from Rio Pearl in the middle. Bad layout but I didn't have time for retakes. Sort of an impromptu arrangement cos I realized the colours in parts of the necklace come close to that of the earrings:

Show us your strand on when you have time, I love to see styling.

 

[Confection10]

This thread is really educating and was one of my favourite last year, when I had purchased my first pearls. And of course, all these pearls made me drool then. And they make me drool now . This thread should be sticky, really.

 

[katbran]

Icy J - Thanks so very much for all the hard work and research ! The photographs were really interesting . I've tried and tried to capture accurate colours with varying degrees of success. Some strands seem more photogenic than others lol But you have done a great job with the comparision photos and of course with your absolutely fabulous collection of pearls ... it is truly a joy to scroll through. Thanks for the website referrals as well...I need to read up a bit. Extremely helpful/useful experiment ! Thanks again!

 

[icy_jade]

Confection10 n katbran: thanks! Good to know my experiments were helpful to some of you!

More pics when I get new pearls. And find my equipment. I really can't recall where I kept the tent n paper in the midst of nesting frenzy, not to mention the new white iPhone cover (that I got with the idea to experiment if it removes the black rectangle effect (experiment never happened tho...).

 

[mapo]

Icy Jade, Thank you for sharing your photography skills! It's been an informative read. I love your collection! I can't wait to see what you select next.

 

[cmd2014]

You know, I found that I really appreciated the natural light pictures. Although the light box and enhanced pictures were glamorous and made the pearls look glorious in their colour variations, I think I prefer a more realistic view. It would certainly save me some disappointment when buying from vendors to have a more accurate sense if what they will really look like on me (given that I don't live in a light box....unless of course that becomes the new fashion accessory du jour!).

 

[Frost Me]

Icy -- your collection is just fantastic. I love each and every one of your pieces.

Now, as soon as possible, please put DB down and post oodles of current neck and ear shots, please. The pieces come alive against your skin and I want to admire them on you, if you are game!

I've bumped this thread since it dovetails so well with our PP Tahitian sale thread.

Thank you bsomio for bumping this thread,I don't feel I would have found it otherwise. Icy -I appreciate the work you have done, it has helped me to see.

 

[bsomlo]

To see the light.

 

[icy_jade]

To see the light.

Lol lol. Girlfriend, you are so funny. It made me laugh, really.

 

[cyndayco]

Icy_jade, thank you for all your tips in this thread.

I am trying them out weekend after weekend (and still not getting the lighting right--with the monsoon, I have to practice with LED lamps), and one of these days, I should have enough photos to de-stash my pearls on Etsy.

In return, here's my contribution to this thread.

Arranging pearls for a photo is particularly challenging. Effortless and natural poses just don't work for me. But I discovered that you can quickly position the pearls around a soupbowl and have a look worthy of PP or POJ. Yeah, it's glam, but it's also idiot-proof.