Jewellery photo shoot by Phil Marley

It was great fun photographing Bernard's work. 
The model in the photos is Becky Barlow, who was also great to work with.
Click here for tips & hints to improve your jewellery photography & how to contact Phil Marley

 

Phil Marley's Tips on How to Photograph Jewellery

Phil on photographing jewellery:

There are really two ways to go: show the jewellery on its own against a fairly neutral background, a silk cushion or in a light tent, or show the jewellery being worn by a model. The first method is great for showing detail in your craftsmanship: the second is better for creating a mood and helping your customers grasp the magic. By magic I mean what the piece gives to you as the buyer beyond the physical, be that elegance, sophistication, a cute quirky appearance or a bad ass look. It's why jeans manufacturers don't all just have pictures of a pair of jeans against a plain background :) The second method is more expensive, more complicated and more fun.

Reflections
Sometimes you'll want reflections - to make gems shine, for example. If you need to control reflections, use something to diffuse the light: a light tent will do this for you, or if you're using a single light source hold a diffuser (£5 from ebay) in front of it. At a push, a plastic shower curtain can work.

Sharpening
If your work features lots of intricate detailing - carving, cogs (like Bernard's Witch's Heart) or small gems, sharpening in post-production can really make it 'pop'. Photoshop will let you sharpen only the parts you want to - the jewellery - and not the parts you don't, such as the model's skin.

Colour Casts
Make sure you white balance correctly: you want the colours in the final image to truly reflect the item or you'll have unhappy customers. This is easy in a studio but needs a little more care if you're shooting at home with a table lamp.

You can contact me here. I do take commissions if you'd like your jewellery - or other Etsy work - photographed but I'm also happy to answer questions if you have any.

Top 10 Twitter Tips!

1) Don’t Be An Egg

Dump the default twitter avatar and use a suitable photo or logo.

2) Always Follow People Back

People may be inclined to unfollow you if you don’t follow back. Other twitter users will be much more likely to follow you if they can see that you follow people back.

3) Tweet And Retweet (RT)

Keep your twitter account up to date and interesting. Use the hashtag #bizitalk to engage with other #bizitalk users. Follow them and RT their tweets and the favour will be returned.

4) Use #Hashtags

Use hashtags relating to your industry (e.g. #jewellery) to highlight key words and make your posts easier for others to locate.

5) Interact With Your Followers

Build relationships with your followers. Support them and they will support you.

6) Speed Network

Participate in speed networking events. Tweet using the hashtag #yorkshirehour every Wednesday 8pm-9pm to promote your business and make new, local contacts.

7) Give Referrals

A great way to do this is via #FF (follow Friday). Use followfridayhelper.com every Friday to recommend the users you interact with most. What goes around comes around.

8) Show Gratitude

Always thank users for following/ retweeting or recommending you. It’s polite and will encourage them to do it again.

9) Stay Positive

Negative tweets will result in depleting followers. People are much more likely to interact with happy, positive people.

10) Tweet Theo

Tweet @TheoPaphitis every Sunday 5pm-7.30pm describing your business in one tweet including the hashtag #SBS. Every Monday at 8pm, Theo RTs his favourite 6. A big business boost for the lucky winners!

By Rachel (Bernard’s tweety bird)

Jewellery Making Courses

Jewellery making day courses at Jewellery Workshop Leeds.

Please book through the contact me page.

Sat 23/06/12 10.30-4.30 Stone setting workshop £60

Sat 28/07/12 10.30-4.30 Day taster course £60

Mon 06/08/12 10.30-4.30 Day taster course £60

Sun 12/08/12 10.30-4.30 Day taster course £60

Sat 25/08/12 10.30-4.30 Make a ring in a day £60

Jewellery making courses at Jewellery Workshop Leeds

Get creative in a true jewellery workshop environment & make jewellery like this in a day.

A maximum of eight students allows us to cater to individual needs

and increases learning potential.

Please contact me for details of the next available course as

Discounts are available for groups of 5 people or more.

Additional discounts are also available for workshop members.

June 2012

Sat 02/06/12 10.30-4.30 Jewellery making taster day £60

Sun 10/06/12 10.30-4.30 Jewellery making taster day £60

Sat 16/06/12 10.30-4.30 Make a ring in a day £60

Sat 23/06/12 10.30-4.30 Stone setting workshop £60

Handmade silver ring set with stunning opal triplet

Another busy week at the workshop.
Twitter news - Chosen by Purpledognet on Monday as 'business of the day' which generated lots of new twitter followers & loads of interest.
Had some new visitors to the workshop - looking forward to the new members starting soon.

Bead project with Snazzy Beads

Received these beautiful handmade, individually designed lampworked glass beads from Rebecca at
Snazzy Beads - many thanks.

I worked on designs for these pendants and set them in silver, organically shaped cradles to showcase these little beauties

Now available on Etsy!

Recent Jewellery Designs

Steampunk heart pendants

 A recent project & something a bit different for me, inspired by a visit to Leeds Steampunk Market.

Both heart pendants made from original, reclaimed, vintage watch parts & retain the moving cogs.

More floating dichroic & silver rings... & Oliver

 An exciting week!

Lots of interest has been shown in my silver & dichroic rings (see photos) & I've been busy making in the workshop.

The dichroics can be difficult to photograph, but I've tried to capture their stunning colours.

It was great to meet people in person who I've connected with on Twitter at the British Craft Trade Fair at Harrogate this week.

And most importantly, I became a grandad to baby Oliver - Congratulations to my daughter & her partner - he's beautiful x.

How to make a puffed heart charm - jewellery tutorial

 

 

3 stone set floating double ring - silver & dichroic

 Just completed this commission.

The dichroic stones were hand picked by the client & the choice of settings resulted from pictures taken at a recent stone setting course.
The rest of the design was left to me.

The ring was delivered today & the client is delighted!

Stone Setting Workshop

 Fantastic day focusing on pushover settings, including loads of tips and tricks I passed on from years of experience.
Everyone gave great feedback & produced excellent results.



Thanks to all of you for being so interactive and enthusiastic. I considered that I may have set the bar too high - it would have been easier to set round cabochon stones with fine silver bezel, but I think the results show that you guys more than met the challenge.

Stone setting workshop 7 April

Workshop all ready for one day stone setting workshop in the morning.
Let the creativity begin...

Hannah's jewellery making birthday at the workshop

Dichroic cabochons for setting

Stunning dichroics
- can't wait to set some of these in silver

Jewellery making hen party at the workshop

Great day last Saturday with the ladies at Jo's hen do.
 Have a great wedding day Jo & all the very best for the future.

A selection of my favourite pieces



Hello & welcome to my blog

Hi everyone, welcome to 'my blog'.

My contemporary jewellery workshop, is up & running & starting to buzz with members making jewellery.

I'm down there as much as possible making jewellery for my collections & planning marketing for my jewellery.

Jewellery making classes / courses & workshops are now running. Please let me know what specialist workshops you are interested in to allow me to assess needs and help me plan.

Busy, busy busy - who says men can't multi task!!!

Bernie