Earrings Up, Don't Take 'em Lying Down

One of the questions that frequently comes up is:  "What makes a good photo?" There are many possibilities of good photos....too numerous to mention, so I would like to focus on earrings. Below are the most common mistakes in photographing earrings AND earrings solutions for good photos. 

MISTAKE #1
Generally, earrings should NOT be photographed lying down at an angle. Common problems include getting the entire earring in focus, awkward compositions, and poor or weak display of the earrings.  The photos below show these problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 MISTAKE #2
Don't hang earrings on teacups, or bowls. These "props" actually distract the viewer's eye more than help to display your work.  This does not produce professional-quality photos as shown in the examples below.

 

 

 

 MISTAKE #3
Do not photograph earrings in groups.  Group photos usually distract the viewer by appearing cluttered, disorganized, and individually unimportant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below: OPTIONS FOR EARRING PHOTOS

To create good photos, make an interesting composition consistent with the style of the earrings. These angular earrings have angled ear wire and the rectangular format fills the photo. It works!  Earrings by Biba Schutz

 

Or stand the earrings up while focusing on an interesting composition. This photo works well because it shows both the side and the face of the earrings.  Earrings by Emiko Oye

 

 

 

 Using a mannequin to model the earring offers a flawless simple modern solution. It makes a great photo with no hair and makeup concerns, but the downside is that you can show only one earring at a time. Earrings by Andy Cooperman. Photo by Doug Yaple.

 

 

 

Poke the post or ear wire into a piece of paper. This is a very simple graceful solution but avoid distracting paper. Gold & Silver "Strata Earrings" by Sydney Lynch

 

Poke the post through a photo of a model printed on photo paper. The great part of this solution is that you can find a fabulous-looking ear without fussy little hairs that are usually distracting. AOL Earrings by Harriete Estel Berman

 

Create an interesting composition with two earrings and scan using your computer scanner. Earrings by Harriete Estel Berman. This option requires a scanner and PhotoShop skills.

 

 

Here is a photography solution from Emiko Oye. She hangs her earrings from a rod for the photoshoot. Then PhotoShops out the wire.

Left is the "raw" photo. Below is the photo after PhotoShop.
Thank you, Emiko for sharing your photo magic.

 

 

 

In the photo (left) for these Iced Window LEGO earrings by emiko oye the wire has been PhotoShop-ed out for a professional quality photo. 

 

The most challenging photo option involves using a live model. Read previous posts on ASK Harriete for tips and tricks with photo sessions with a model. Earrings by Harriete Estel Berman. Necklace by emiko oye.

Do you have an innovative earring solution for taking great photos? Would you like to share this with the readers of ASK Harriete? Let me know. I will add your images to this post or write a new post.

Harriete

This post was updated on March 17, 2022, to provide current links.