Friday, May 23, 2008

Heartmonitor: Distraction-free shots

Modeled jewelry and distraction free shots!

Remember that Craft 101 piece I did a while ago on my favorite Etsy product shots? Well, a handful of you found it really useful, so I decided to make it an ongoing focus. I know tons of you LOVED the chalkboard background idea, but I'm not sure how much Whitney would love seeing chalkboard backgrounds everywhere :) So, I'll be featuring lots and lots more ideas that we can all hopefully learn from!

So... Heartmonitor will now be the space where I'll be highlighting various "Best Of..." features. For now, it will be product photography focused but will eventually grow into other topics near and dear to us (so if there's a topic you'd like to see, please don't hesitate to let me know!). Heartmonitor photos will not be limited to handmade/indie items. As an amateur photographer myself, I find it helpful to look through magazines, books and browse online shops to get fresh ideas on food/product styling. I may not be able to shoot a bowl of pasta good enough for Gourmet, but I definitely learn a lot from browsing the best.

I'll also provide a downloadable cheat sheet so you'll be able to save and access your favorites when it's time to shoot your wares.

>> continue reading Heartmonitor: Modeled jewelry and distraction free shots



>> This week's focus is on modeled jewelry and distraction free shots!

Tone on tone - notice the deliberate use of the same tones/colors for the models’ tops. This really makes the jewelry pop and the focus is entirely on to the piece rather than the model’s outfit/top.

In the center shot, they chose to shoot the necklace against bare skin, but notice how the top's color is a nice skin-tone again, a bare minimum backdrop which allows us to focus solely on the necklace.

Also notice how they crop the images. Although it's always nicer to see products on a real person, I guess it isn't always necessary to show faces? Because of the size and the detail of the products, it's necessary to crop the image tightly in order to get as much of the detail as possible.

Oh and one more thing, please feel free to offer your own insights - I am definitely NOT a professional photographer (I just happen to see tons of images on a daily basis) and happy to share what I notice, but by no means am I an expert. I would love it so much if Heartmonitor could also be a space where I get to hear from everyone, offer each other links to other examples, tips that you've learned along the way, maybe links to your own photos that you've been experimenting with or just share your thoughts on the topic at hand! ok?

>> Download Heartmonitor: Distraction-free shots

All photographs are from Plümo.

1 comments:

Melissa de la Fuente said...

Oh, this is awesome Marichelle! I have been thinking about this alot lately and this is really helpful! Thanks!
xo
Melissa