In this selfie age, pictures from our phone’s camera sweep across our social media pages. Millions of user hashtag #jewelry in hope of sharing their artistic creation with a sole aim of getting likes in exchange for promoting a specific piece or brand.  Jewelry is more than just a materialistic item; it is an expression of personality, moments cherished and love shared. It is only natural that people take to social media to post images that share a story of their lives.

Taking a picture of your jewelry using a smartphone seems so easy and basic.  It is believed that capturing pictures is as accessible as your smartphone, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In trying to capture the true beauty of your piece in a photo, there are few tips or guidelines that you should consider before hiring that final share button.

1. Check your smartphone camera settings: Setting up your camera phone is important to capture a complimenting picture. Do not use zoom or flash. Zoom will distort the image and pixelation causing a blurry, unflattering photo. Flash will flatten out your jewelry design. External light is recommended for jewelry rather than direct light from the flash.
2. Prepare your jewelry: It is essential to properly prepare your jewelry before taking a picture. It doesn’t matter what settings or camera you use. You need to clean and stage-create your jewelry. Firstly, clean and polish your jewelry or better yet make it professionally cleaned. Not only will your jewelry be picture perfect it will also preserve its originality. Secondly, strategically place your items, previewing any special features like gemstones, stamps etc. Make sure it’s best assets are represented. Whatever stage background you use must compliment the colors of your piece.
3. Use light appropriate to the environment: Lighting is everything. It is what helps capture the shine and glitter within the image. External shooting in the shade is a better option. Sounds absurd, but surprisingly you will get a natural light that won’t leave a glare or sharp contrast. You can also use the direct sunlight in addition to a white backdrop or foil to bounce the sunlight on to the piece.
4. Steady Camera hands: Setting up your perfect picture scene is only half of the process. Taking a quality picture is the other half. Make sure you snap the right angles and get a clear and clean view of the item.