Photography guidelines
Good photography is the single biggest factor in whether a buyer decides a piece is worth visiting for. You don't need a professional camera or a studio — a smartphone and natural light are enough. This guide covers what works and what to avoid.
Equipment
A modern smartphone camera is more than capable of producing listing-quality images. The camera on any iPhone or Android from the last four or five years will give you everything you need.
If you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera, it will give you more control — but it isn't necessary. The techniques in this guide apply equally to both.
Clean the lens before shooting. A fingerprint or smudge on the lens will soften every image regardless of how well everything else is set up. It takes five seconds and makes a noticeable difference.
Background
A plain, neutral background keeps the focus on the piece. White is the most common and works well for most jewellery. Light grey or off-white are equally effective. The background should be uniform — no texture, pattern, or visible edges.
Good options:
- —A sheet of white card or cartridge paper
- —A white ceramic tile or chopping board
- —A piece of white or grey fabric with no texture
- —A lightbox — useful if you shoot regularly, as it diffuses light evenly
Avoid busy surfaces, wood grain, jewellery display pads, coloured backdrops, and anything with branding or text visible in frame.
Smiths Guide crops all images to a square. Compose your shot with the piece centred and enough clear background around it that the crop doesn't cut into the jewellery.
Lighting
Natural light is the easiest and most flattering option for jewellery photography. Shooting near a large window on an overcast day gives you soft, even light with no harsh shadows. Direct sunlight creates strong shadows and unpredictable reflections on metal — avoid it.
If shooting indoors without natural light:
- —Use two light sources — one on each side of the piece — to reduce shadows
- —Diffuse the light — bare bulbs create harsh reflections; bounce them off white card or use a lightbox
- —Use daylight-balanced bulbs — warm bulbs introduce a yellow cast that is hard to correct in editing
Turn off the camera flash entirely. On-camera flash flattens the piece, creates glare on metal surfaces, and washes out stone colour.
Angles
Smiths Guide allows up to three photos per listing. Use all three to give buyers a complete picture of the piece.
For rings, a shot on a mandrel or a hand gives buyers a sense of scale and how the ring sits when worn. For necklaces, showing the piece laid flat and also hanging or draped helps buyers understand the length and drop.
Metal and stones
Polished metal and faceted stones are the most technically demanding subjects to photograph because they reflect everything around them — including the camera and photographer.
- —White gold and platinum — photograph well in soft, diffused light; avoid anything that creates a dark reflection across the surface
- —Yellow and rose gold — warm light flatters these metals; daylight-balanced light can make them appear slightly cool
- —Diamonds — benefit from directional light to show brilliance and fire; fully diffused light can make them appear flat
- —Coloured stones — soft, even light shows true colour best; direct light can bleach the colour or create hotspots
- —Pearls — are sensitive to light direction; shooting slightly off-axis to the main light source shows the lustre and orient
If you can see yourself or the camera reflected in the piece, move — or reposition the piece slightly. Even a small change in angle can eliminate a reflection that would otherwise dominate the shot.
Before you upload
Check each image before uploading:
- —The piece is in focus — tap the piece on your screen before shooting to ensure the camera focuses correctly
- —The background is clean and even with no shadows cutting across it
- —The piece is centred with clear background on all sides
- —There are no distracting reflections visible on metal surfaces
- —The image is sharp when zoomed in — a blurred detail shot is worse than none at all
Smiths Guide automatically enhances brightness, contrast, and sharpness when you upload. You don't need to edit your images beforehand — submit them as shot.