Professional Photography

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had George Post take some pictures of my jewelry for me a the ACRE show. It was a great opportunity to get some work photographed by someone who is very talented. I am going to put the pictures side-by-side with my photos. I don't really need to label them for you to see the difference, do I? But for clarity sake, and to give Mr. Post his full due, his photographs are on the left, or at the top of each pair, and are labeled. The unlabeled photos are done by me.

Photo by G. Post

Where should I begin?? The sharpness of the image? The intensity of the colors? A true gradient background....acheived with lighting rather than fancy paper, I should note. The other thing I noticed immediately was what a difference it makes when the piece is shot from directly above, rather than at an angle. With my picture, there is the parallex distortion. A fancy way of saying that because it is shot at an angle, the base of the piece appears larger in proportion, and the circle becomes an oval. His photo shows the piece more like it will appear if you were wearing it.

This photo is by G. Post. I have not taken a picture of this piece, and now, why bother. The colors are vibrant. The details are sharp and crisp. Love it.

Photo by G. Post

I think I am reaching the limits of focus for my camera when I take pictures of earrings. The difference in focus is striking.

Photo by G. Post

No sense in repeating the obvious. Again, focus, intensity, gradient background, parallex distortion,.....

Photo by G. Post

The difference is dramatic here. You really get the sense of depth with is photograph, versus mine.

Was it worth the money? I think so. I can see a noticable difference between the two sets of pictures....which means jurors are not seeing my work in it's best light....right? Will it help me get into better shows? I don't know. I have had second thoughts about the items I selected to be photographed. But I think on any given day, I would pick out five completely different pieces to be photographed.

You can clearly get decent results with some of the set-ups available on the internet, and a reasonably good camera. But, if you want the best, you need to go to a professional. It makes sense to be able to take some pictures on your own. But it also makes sense to get photos taken by a pro. I can recommend George Post.