Creative Still Life Jewellery Photography

Some clients provide a detailed breif with layouts crops and visual examples, others just have a basic creative idea. Either way, my job is to ensure the client receives quality bespoke and creative still life photography. The brief for this recent jewellery shoot was quite loose with the main theme based around sand, desert and shells. The choice of background and props need to add interest, maybe tell a story, but should never overpower the image. so sourcing the right materials was vital to the success of the shoot.

For this creative still life jewellery shoot, sand was the main background. I like the contrast of rough grain against smooth precious metals. There are lots of different types of sand available, but unfortunately, most don’t look great when photographed close up. So I had to rely on my experience to source the exact one - super fine desert sand normally reserved for reptile enclosures! A broken terracotta plant pot and chalk stones provided the ideal surfaces to balance the jewellery. Other props included broken travertine tiles, pebbles, chalk and shells dipped in gold.

When photographing jewellery I like to keep everything sharp and in focus but this means that the finest of detail is captured. So cleaning the jewellery (and avoiding touching the sand!) was crucial to making the post-production and retouch processes that bit easier. You can see from some of the diamond shots each individual sand grain is visible in super close up macro photography .

All the shots were created with mixed lighting. The big, bold shadows highlighting the texture of the grains of sand, combined with soft directional light for the jewellery makes it stand out, looking rich and opulent.

if you have ideas or a breif and would like to discuss your photography options get in contact and we can make a plan and create eye-catching photography. Alternatively stay up-to-date with our lastest blogs page or follow us on social media.

Howlett photography offer creative still life photography, product and packshot photography, on-model photography and video content so lets get shooting….