So I was excited to see this post about a photographer specializing in photomicography of gemstones:

http://petapixel.com/2014/07/30/photomicrographer-captures-stunning-jagged-landscapes-inside-gemstones

The only frustrating thing about this post is that it doesn’t tell you want the inclusions are or the gemstones!  Be sure to click through to Danny Sanchez’s website to find out more.

Pocket Portfolio from Photojojo

Do you ever find yourself talking with someone about your jewelry in an unexpected situation? And you pat down your pockets and think, “Do I have any pictures with me?”

Sure, you could have pictures on your smart phone, but I’m always open to new ideas for small, easy to carry around portfolios. Physical photos, in a format you can hand over to the other person to hold, are nice. They don’t need to know how to navigate your phone or other device.

Photojojo has a great little tutorial up for a great little portfolio.

While it’s adorable, any project that involves an X-acto knife is probably not going to happen around here, it’s just not something I’m handy with.

So I looked around for a not-DIY option for the same thing. This one from Bay Photo looks very nice, for a reasonable price. Minimum order is for a three pack. And it has a hard cover, which would make a fancy frame of sorts for your work.

What do I use? In the past, I’ve used a small, but very nice photo album from the art supply store to hold 4″ x 6″ photos.

Now my favorite way to share photos of my work at say, a conference, is laminated photos. It’s much less intimidating than a flip through portfolio. It’s affordable and sturdy. My photos are 8″ x 10,” but I’ve also thought of making a set of 5″ x 7″ or smaller, punching a hole in the corners, putting them on a ring and clipping them to the outside of my bag, to carry around at a conference.

I should say I also use my moo cards, which have 4 different art works on the back, the color printing is amazingly accurate and I also use those as a mini portfolio in a pinch.

What about you? What do you use for a mini portfolio, or to share pictures on the fly?

An experimental mini photo set up.

I set up this mini photo booth closer to my studio.  My “big” photo set up is in one on floor and the studio is on another, so getting organized and getting all the jewelry takes some organization.  And boxes.  And it involves doing outside to get to the photo set up.  Today we had severe rain storms, including flooded streets and tornado warnings, so this seemed like a good day to finally test that mini set up, so I could take pictures without going outside.

I got this copy stand (see above) at a garage sale this summer.  I set up the folds-flat American Recorder photo tent on the copy stand and put some CFL bulbs in.

Then I took photos of some earrings, beads and Silicone Texture Plates that I added to my Etsy shop.

Here’s a picture, taken with this set up, of my bronze ice cream cone pendant:

Picture of Bronze Ice Cream Cone by Elaine Luther 2013

I wasn’t happy with that picture, so when the rain finally slowed down, I went outside and to the big photo set up, which looks like this:

Here’s the picture of that same necklace, taken with this set up, which halogen lights:

Bronze Ice Cream Cone by Elaine Luther, 2013

What a difference!  The color of the bronze is accurate in this one, and you can see so much more detail.

Both set ups have just two lights, no overhead light (which is nice to have), both have a tent to diffuse the light.  The difference is in the power of the light.  The halogen bulbs in the larger copy stand (the second one pictured) are just a lot more powerful.

Not that I can’t make my mini set up work, I can try brighter bulbs.  But, I thought this would be a terrific side by side comparison to show you.  If you’re not happy with your photos, maybe your lights aren’t powerful enough.

Want to see another person’s photo set up?  Craftsman Jeffrey Herman shared this link to his inexpensive photo set up.

Still want to know more?  More details about bulbs, reflectors and where to buy them (and much more) are in my Kindle book, Jewelry Photography, You Can Do it!  Don’t have a kindle?  Get the Kindle app for free, or read the book online in the Cloud Reader for Kindle.

My first Kindle booklet is available now on amazon! http://ow.ly/kGcqA

Here’s the description its page from amazon:

Want to take better pictures of your handcrafted jewelry? With this helpful booklet, you can do it! Jeweler and DIY photographer Elaine Luther tells you how to create a lighting set up inexpensively, what backgrounds to use and where to buy them and much, much more. Interviews with professional photographers cover topics including how to work with professional models, when to hire a professional photographer, and headshots. The resources section includes where to buy backgrounds, lights as well as links to more information, all carefully selected by the author. 8,550 words.

It’s equivalent to 30 pages, 8.5″ x 11″.

Just 99 cents!   Click here to buy a copy!

Cover Design: Anne M. Fiala

June 21, 2013 Update, NEW TITLE! I’ve just release a second edition of this book under the title, Jewelry Photography, You Can Do It!

Vickie Hallmark has a post up on some new work, and she talks about how long these beads were in the making. I have pieces that can take years to come to fruition, so I’m glad someone else is admitting it too!
http://fiberartglass.blogspot.com

Harriete Estel Berman, over at Ask Harriete, has an interesting post up that asks, “Is There A New Standard in Photographic Documentation of Art and Craft?”
http://askharriete.typepad.com

And at Cornerstone, the blog of PMC Connection, there’s an interesting interview with their new instructor Teva Chaffin.
http://pmccblog.blogspot.com

What have you read this week? Have a link to share? Feel free to post it in the comments, thanks!

Here own photographs look great, which is a pretty good endorsement.

Read it here:

http://www.vickiehallmark.com/PhotoTutorial1.html

Here’s some of the best of the web from this week:

Helpful photography tips from Diane at Craftypod, over on CRAFT:

http://blog.craftzine.com

15 Point and Shoot Cameras Used by Pro Photographers, at Photoshelter:

http://blog.photoshelter.com

The recipe for homemade oil paste (the one with lavender oil) from Fusion, the Journal of the PMC Guild, reprinted with permission by Metal Clay Findings:

http://www.metalclayfindings.com

Mardon Jewelers tells the story of a custom filigree engagement ring, made with CAD plus traditional methods. Over on the Orchid Blog Network:

http://mardonjewelers.ganoksin.com

Helpful site for learning glass fusing: http://www.glass-fusing-made-easy.com

A wide variety of steel letter and number stamps are available on etsy from Sparkling Shamrock: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sparklingshamrock

Do you know there’s a blog of missed photographs? Where photographers write about great shots that they missed. I recently committed to taking more pictures, carrying a camera with me more often and just taking the time to stop and take a picture when I see something.

My “missed photograph,” I saw it again, 10 years later! Thrilled, I pulled over, yanked my cell phone out of my pocket — oh, no camera, that was right after my cell phone was stolen and I was using an inexpensive replacement.

Another shot that I’d like to get is a train load of tractors, on a bridge, over the freeway, with the Chicago skyline behind it. I’ve seen it a few times, but the freeway isn’t a great place to take pictures. So when I saw this parked train, I pulled right over and took a picture with my cell phone. (Next step: get a small camera I can carry around all the time.)

What’s this have to do with making jewelry? Just nurturing creativity wherever I can.

My other next step is to actually buy prints and glue them down into a book of some kind. And then… just see what happens.

How about you? Do you use photography at all? How? What’s your missed photograph? Do you have another medium besides jewelry or photography that you use to cross-pollinate with your jewelry?

This little cell phone photo is (c) Elaine Luther 2009 All Rights Reserved.

P.S. I do realize this isn’t the best picture ever taken, but the image itself is cool. If I’d had a real camera, I could have done better. I even drove around to the other side of the tracks to try to get a better shot, but no luck.

There’s a helpful article over at the Ruby Lane blog,“Why the Fuzzy Photos?” that explains aperture and F-stops, but also, how to set your camera to do the same thing, even if you don’t have a manual setting on your camera.

http://blog.rubylane.com

via Photojojo.

MSchindel and others on Metal Clay Gallery strongly recommend Knead-a-Mold as their favorite RTV two part silicone mold making material. (RTV = room temperature vulcanizing).

You can find it here: http://www.townsendatelier.com

And Cyndi Lavin has a great round up post on where to sell online, here: http://www.blisstree.com/jewelryandbeading. I especially like the link to the article on how to get the attention of the etsy admins — I’m sure some of you having been looking for just that information.