Photo Set Up - and Finally a new piece!!!

I sometimes get asked about my photo set up... and I try to explain it, but as they say a picture is worth 1000 words... so here is my photo set up :-)

As you can see... hardly high tech!!! :-) I use my dining table because it's in the corner of two very well lit windows, so the light coming in is superb... the mosquito net screens provide just the right amount of light diffusion.

I lay my black plastic-like sheet, that I bought from my local art shop (please don't ask me what it's called as I don't know, all I can tell you is that it feels like plastic, it costs around $1.50 and it comes in a few colours)

I lay the plastic sheet over an object (in this case my fruit bowl) just to give the photos some depth. You could also set it up on a chair, but this works for me.

and that is basically it!!! :-)

Things to remember:

• Turn off the automatic flash on your camera.
• Do not go into direct sunlight, take shots in the shade outside on a bright day, or if you are lucky like me, on your dining table, but not in the sun.
• Steady yourself and your camera on a tripod, a table, or as I do, the back of a chair :-)
• I personally like to use very low angles and like to be close up to the item I'm photographing, but just have fun, experiment, move around, move the jewellery, till you get the shots you like. The best thing about digital cameras is that if you take 100 shots and none of them are any good, you can take another 100. No film waste, no paper waste but most of all no time waste, as you can go straight to your computer and check if anything decent came out, and as I said, if not.... take some more :-)

And the reason why I had to take photos this morning.... well, I don't want to speak too soon, but I think my beading rut is about to come to an end. So yesterday I made this pendant for a friend... I hope she'll like it... :-) I've also listed it in my Etsy shop Black & Pearl Pendant and will be making one for me this coming week end, because I absolutely love it and really want one too :-)

Black & Pearl Pendant is the perfect complement to Black and Pearl Bangle

Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of my beading rut!!!!

and hopefully my friend will love it... or at least like it ;-)