Jewelry Photography Tips: How Do You Take Good Pictures of Earrings?

Jewelry photography showcases the beauty of the earrings that you have artfully designed and crafted. Clients see your earrings’ features through the photos you post on your website and social media.

With a combination of tips for taking pictures of earrings and professional jewelry image editing, your photos can show your earrings in the best light. Jewelry Retouchers shares tips and tricks and photoshoot ideas to level up your earring photos.

8 Essential Earring Photography Tips

Earrings come in a wide range of styles. There are simple studs, some are hoops, some dangle, and others have shiny gems on them. You will need to work with their unique characteristics to get the best images. Here are photography tips for earrings to help elevate your images:

Get the Right Tools

Photography is as much about the tools you use as your techniques. So, yes, a strong camera is a must, but it’s not the only tool that will help you take great photos of earrings. For starters, you’ll need the following:

• Tripod
• Lightbox or any background material (e.g., vinyl background)
• Lighting
• Glue dots or double-sided tape
• Invisible strings or thread

You can use these items to create an earring-friendly set-up. The glue dots and strings are crucial in staging the earrings. They keep the earrings in the right position without being too visible in the shot. These tools require minimal editing in post-shoot.

Clean Up the Earrings First

Fingerprints, dust, and other particles cling to jewelry. Some are too small to be seen by the naked eye but are picked up by the camera.

To avoid this, it is common practice to clean up the jewelry before the shoot begins. You may also wear gloves to keep fingerprints off the earrings while you clean or set them up.

As a bonus tip: if you find any dust in the photo, you can clean them up during editing. However, it’s best to keep these particles at a minimum during the shoot.

Choose a Flattering Backdrop

The background has a significant impact on how your earrings look in the photos. Select a background that complements the earring you’re photographing. Since earrings come in different shapes, sizes, and colors, what may work for one may not work for another. Here are some considerations for different types of backdrops:

White

This is the most versatile color for a backdrop because it complements all types of jewelry. White reflects light well so earrings instantly pop against this background. Plus, this background is easy to edit so you can use the photos for various earring picture ideas.

Black

Black is good for creating dramatic, luxurious photos. Like white backdrops, they can make earrings stand out.

Other Colors

When choosing colors besides white and black, consider how it may distort the earrings’ true colors. Color correction requires professional earring photo retouching. A rule of thumb is to pick a color that complements the colors in the jewelry.

Keep the Setup Minimal

Some brands like to add props to their background to emulate their customers’ lifestyles. However, in earring photography, props may only add clutter to images.

Even including other pieces in the photo may cause distractions or confusion to the viewer. You want the viewer to focus on the earring and its details.

More importantly, a clean, minimal setup exudes sophistication. Keep the image composition simple and focus on clarity and minimizing reflections.

Be Mindful of Reflections

Reflections are what makes photographing jewelry challenging. Both metals and gems are highly reflective. When not managed well, your earring photos may feature reflections of your light equipment, camera lens, or people.

While a photo editor for jewelry can remove unwanted reflections like those during the photoshoot, it’s still better to avoid them. Why? Reflections on an earring usually make the photo appear hazy or dull.

With proper lighting and camera angles, you capture the earrings’ natural sparkle.

Find the Lighting

How do you take good pictures of earrings? For the seasoned photographers at Jewelry Retouchers, the key is lighting.

Earrings, as with most pieces of jewelry, are highly reflective. Harsh, direct lighting creates glare. So, photographers must manage reflections well.

Diffused lighting is the most agreeable for earrings. This type of lighting illuminates the image without causing glare or sharp shadows.

You can have diffused lighting with both natural and artificial light.

For natural lighting:

• Schedule the shoot when natural light is most intense—at noon or golden hour.
• Set up near a window that gets a lot of natural light.
• Cover the window with a white cloth or white paper to diffuse the light.

For artificial light:

• Use multiple lights. At least two will do for small subjects like earrings.
• Face the light away from the subject, such as upward or to the side.
• You may use a photography umbrella or softbox lighting to diffuse the light.

Master Taking Close-up Photos

Since earrings tend to be on the small side, photographers typically gravitate toward close-up photos.

Close-up images focus on the earrings. Since it’s zoomed in, the viewer can inspect the details. They can see the sparkles in the gems and the carvings in the metal.

With such a delicate subject, photographers should learn to shoot focused close-up pictures. Learn the best camera set up for close-up pictures, the right shooting distance, and the best angles.

Retouch the Photos

No professional photo is ever complete without some retouching. Photo retouching removes imperfections and enhances certain elements to elevate the image. We provide an in-depth guide on how to edit jewelry photos, but for earrings, in particular, focus on these things:

• Dust removal
• Exposure correction
• Color correction
• Addition or removal of shadows
• Addition of Sparkles

3 Earring Photography Ideas

When it comes to jewelry photos, the simpler, the better. But, of course, you want your photos to stand out. Here are some earring photoshoot ideas to add flair to your images:

Employ a Model

Seeing how an item looks on a real person helps some users make shopping decisions.

Having a model wear the earrings is a great way to showcase their real beauty and what they look like when worn. After all, earrings are made to be worn.

In this type of shoot, make sure to focus on the earrings. Some keep the model’s face out of frame to pull focus on the earrings.

An unconventional way to use models is to have them hold the earrings. This works well with dangling earrings.

360-Degree Photography

Most professional photographers shoot earrings either from the front or at 45 degrees. However, some earrings have design features at the back. So, it’s worth showing all angles.

Instead of shooting from separate angles, consider 360-degree photography. With a 360-degree photo, customers can move the image around and explore different spots of the earrings.

This type of photo engages the viewer as it provides more detailed information about the earrings.

Try Unexpected Angles

There are different positions to explore for various earring photo ideas. The best position often depends on the type of earring.

For example, dangling and hoop earrings are best shown hanging or floating. You may also consider laying them on a flat surface or on a piece of fabric. Meanwhile, studs may be photographed laying on a flat surface.

Create Awe-Inspiring Earring Photos with Jewelry Retouchers

At Jewelry Retouchers we appreciate the craftsmanship of jewelry makers, which is why we want you to learn how to photograph earrings well.

Our jewelry photo retouch services are developed to complement the work of both newcomers and professional jewelry photographers. With our professional editors’ keen eye for detail, we turn a great photo into a stunning image. 

Tap into Jewelry Retouchers’ expertise for your photo retouching needs. Hit us up today for earring photos that make your clients click “Add to Basket.”