Just as the name suggests, jewelry lifestyle photography shows how to use the jewelry in their daily life. It is a very useful method to promote jewelry as it gives a visual to the audience on how they would look upon wearing the piece of jewelry.
So, let’s not waste time and see how you can take lifestyle jewelry photos to attract customers to your brand.
Jewelry Photography VS Jewelry Lifestyle Photography
Though jewelry lifestyle photography is also a jewelry photography, there are differences.
In jewelry photography, a photographer’s aim is to show the best feature of the piece in photos with or without props. The models do not have to be used necessarily.
However, in jewelry lifestyle photography, a photographer’s aim is to show how the jewelry will be used in real life situations. Hence, using models is a good way to portray the usage of the jewelry.
Equipment for Jewelry Lifestyle Photography
Before we dive in to see how you can take jewelry photos in a lifestyle setting, let’s gather these equipment to take photos with ease.
- Microfiber cloth and clothed gloves
- Mega Pixel Camera/ any camera with macro lens
- Natural lighting
- Diffusions/white fabric/backdrop
- Models and props
- Editing software to crop the photo according to the uploading platform
How to Take Jewelry Lifestyle Photographs with Models
Before taking the photos, Just a small reminder, take the photos in a way that your jewelry gets highlighted and the audience gets a clear message on what you are trying to sell.
Firstly, if you have a theme such as casual or official or beach, think of how you can highlight that in the photos. Have the final image in mind. For example, for this tutorial, I have used a casual hangout theme. I have set up a storyline and made the model wear an easy-going dress.
Note: Your photos have to tell a story to be able to reach the audience’s heart. Make sure the scenario and the model look natural and smooth with the theme.
Clean the Jewelry. Wear clothed gloves and clean the jewelry with microfiber cloths to avoid marks and blemishes. As you are taking photos with a macro lens, it will capture every little detail of the jewelry so it needs to be properly cleaned before the shooting.
Now, the lighting. I highly recommend using natural light as the lifestyle photos shine the best in natural lighting. Take photos outdoors in golden hour, if you can. You can also take photos in bright light as well. However, take the photos in indirect light beside the window. Keep in mind, the jewelry shines brightly in the sun. So, to avoid harsh shadows and sparkles, use diffusions.
Place the diffusions on both sides of the model and set another diffusion over the model’s head. Make sure the jewelry is brightly lit but not giving harsh shadows. The shadows need to look natural and realistic. And if you take photos outdoors, you can set a white fabric beside the model and set a diffusion over their head to avoid harsh shadows.
Set the Camera. Any camera you use set the ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed based on the setting. Depending on the depth of field and distance, your camera setting will vary. Set white balance properly to avoid yellowish and bluish photos. If the setting is too warm, the camera will capture yellowish photos. And if the setting is too cold, it will capture bluish photos. So, correcting white balance in the camera is very helpful to give a natural feeling to the photos.
Prepare the Model. Since you are taking the photos in natural light. Experiment with the photo a little. Take 2-3 photos first to see which angle looks the best. Add props, change diffusion direction or location, if you need. Then take the final image. The photos need to look relatable so if a person is scrolling down the social media, they will stop by to see the photo and live the moment.
Come here, I will tell you a secret to make your photos tell stories by making the photos look human and natural in the setting. Do not make your models look directly in the camera. Rather make them look any other way or make them do other stuff to naturalize the photos. That way, the audience will also be able to get a feel from the photo and would want to use the jewelry the same way.
Here is the final photo, I have taken of my model in a casual hang-out setting.
Now that you have taken the photo, it is time to polish the photo. Do not forget to do jewelry photo retouching, as there might be some blemishes or lighting issues with the photo. Retouch it flawlessly to make the audience mesmerized.
Closure
The most benefit of doing jewelry lifestyle photography is that it gives a sense of carefree and raw concept to the audience. It can grab people’s attention quicker than any normal single jewelry photo and make them imagine how they would look in the jewelry.