Jewellery is probably the hardest category of product photography. Harder than food, harder than property, harder than most things I shoot. The reasons are pretty specific: the objects are tiny, highly reflective, and rely on fine detail for their appeal. A texture, a stone, a setting. Getting all of that right on camera is a genuine technical challenge.
I’m Dominic, a commercial photographer based in Nottingham. I shoot jewellery for independent designers, small retailers, and ecommerce businesses across the Midlands. This is what I’d want someone to know before they try it themselves or book a shoot.
Why is jewellery photography so difficult?
Three things make it consistently tricky.
Reflectivity. Metal and gemstones are essentially mirrors. They pick up everything around them, the camera, the lights, the ceiling, the photographer. Controlling what appears in those reflections requires careful setup and often quite a bit of work in post.
Scale. Working at macro distances means depth of field becomes very shallow. Getting an entire ring or necklace in sharp focus often means shooting multiple frames at slightly different focus points and blending them together afterwards. This is called focus stacking and it adds time to both the shoot and the edit.
Detail. The qualities that make jewellery desirable, the cut of a stone, the texture of a hammered surface, the quality of a setting, are exactly the things a mediocre photograph won’t show. And a mediocre photograph of a beautiful piece makes it look worse than it is.
Clean everything before the shoot
This is the most important practical step and the most commonly skipped. Fingerprints, dust, and tiny scratches are almost invisible when you’re handling a piece normally, but they show up clearly at macro distances under studio lighting. Every piece should be thoroughly cleaned before the shoot: a polishing cloth for metal, a soft brush for stones, lint-free gloves for handling once it’s clean.
The camera sees everything at this scale. It’s not about being precious, it’s just physics.
What lighting works best for jewellery?
There’s no single setup that works for everything. The general principle is diffused light from multiple angles to reduce harsh reflections while still showing the three-dimensional form of the piece. I typically use a combination of softboxes and small reflectors, adjusting the arrangement depending on the material.
Gold needs different treatment to silver. Transparent gemstones behave differently to opaque ones. Resin, enamel, and wood each have their own reflective properties. The setup that works perfectly for a silver ring can wash out the detail in a gold chain.
What background should you use?
For ecommerce and catalogue work, white or very light grey is usually the right choice. It keeps the focus on the piece, makes background removal easier if you need it, and gives a product range a consistent, professional look. If you’re selling across multiple platforms, consistent white-background imagery is often a platform requirement too.
For brand imagery and lifestyle content, there’s more flexibility. Marble, slate, raw wood, fabric: textured surfaces can add warmth and context. The important thing is that the background supports the jewellery rather than competes with it. A visually busy surface under an intricate piece rarely works.
Should you include shots of jewellery being worn?
For rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, a combination of flat lay and modelled shots is often worth considering. Flat lay images are clean and consistent for catalogues. Modelled shots give buyers a sense of scale and how the piece looks when it’s actually on, which is genuinely useful information. The two approaches work well together rather than against each other.
What are the most common mistakes?
Not cleaning the pieces first. The camera will find every fingerprint.
Using harsh undiffused light, which creates blown-out reflections and flattens the form of the piece.
Trying to fix problems in editing that should have been addressed during the shoot. Reflections, soft focus, and colour casts are all much easier to prevent than to correct afterwards.
Not shooting enough frames. At macro distances, small changes in camera position change the image significantly. Shoot more than you think you need and choose the best afterwards.
If you sell jewellery and your current images aren’t doing the pieces justice, I’m happy to have a chat. I’m based in Nottingham and work with jewellery makers and retailers across the Midlands. You can reach me on 07884 488 692 or via the enquiry form.