Showing posts with label Etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Etsy. Show all posts

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Photos From My Photoshoot...

{Loretta Fontaine Sterling Silver Lucy Earrings with Purple Leaf}
I've been photographing my jewelry for the last few days to start up my own Etsy shop and want to share some of the photographs with you! Take a look at this previous post to see the photography lightbox setup, props (a Christmas ornament!) and camera lens I used.

In the photo above the green fabric and blue-painted wood blocks blurred into a beautiful background, don't you think?

{Loretta Fontaine Sterling Silver Theresa Necklace with White Tulip}
Here's the little Christmas ornament nest as a backdrop for a necklace. I'm torn between thinking the twigs looks absolutely charming, or if the twigs are too distracting. Do you have an opinion?

{Loretta Fontaine Sterling Silver Theresa Necklace with White Tulip}
Many of the necklaces and earrings are reversible, so I have to try and photograph the necklaces and earrings in multiple shots to show they can be worn both ways. Here's the other side of the necklace that was shown earlier. Luckily Etsy gives you five images for each listing!

{Loretta Fontaine Sterling Silver Meredith Necklace with Crimson Rose}
The colors in this image are fantastic. I don't think you can ever photograph the color red wrong!

{Loretta Fontaine 14K gold Lucy Earrings with Pale Pink Roses}
One of the earrings in this photo is deliberately out of focus, and it's such a different way of photographing jewelry then I am used to, (a pure white background with everything in sharp focus.) But I really love the subtle mood the partially blurry photo conveys.

{Loretta Fontaine 14K gold Triple Lucy Necklace with Pale Pink Roses}
I was able to hang some pieces within the opening of the little nest, and I like the effect.

{Loretta Fontaine 14K gold Triple Lucy Earrings with Crimson Rose}
Especially with earrings! This is a sweet image.

{Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm for detail}
I zoomed in for some jewelry closeups. The lens I used is perfect for this because the camera pulls far back from the piece (it's similar to a paparazzi lens!), and there are no shadows cast by the lens on the jewelry.

{detail of Loretta Fontaine Sterling Silver Lucy Earrings}
Here's a detail of the sterling silver craftsmanship on a pair of earrings. I don't buy ready-made components, but design all the silver work myself. This design on a pair of "Lucy" earrings was based on an antique William Morris wallpaper. I traced the design with tracing paper, then abstracted the design and etched it unto my master model to be cast. Then I antiqued and polished the silver.

The description section of the Etsy listings is a challenge - I want to convey all the unique ideas (like the William Morris inspiration above) that I put into each piece of jewelry. Luckily I have a talented blogger friend who is helping me write my descriptions, and pushing me to be as passionate as possible with my wording.

{Loretta Fontaine Sterling Silver Lucy Earrings with Crimson Rose}
...and lastly, here's one of the photographs I am taking with a ruler and penny for clients to judge scale. Looking at this, I should have widened the focal lenght of the lens to get all of the earring in focus, it looks a little odd to me. I am still taking photographs, so I may have time to retake it.

When my Etsy shop launches (soon!), I'll be doing a FANTASTIC Valentine's chocolate and jewelry giveaway, so stay tuned!

Loretta

Monday, January 24, 2011

Shall I ETSY and WordPress and sell online?

November 2012 UPDATE: The etsy shop is now open (with just one item to start, but more coming soon!): www.etsy.com/shop/LorettaFontaineLtd

Who out there is selling online? This girl is looking for ADVICE!
{sterling silver Meredith necklace with Stuyvesant Fern, freshwater pearls, faceted iolite and blue topaz}
I've owned my business, Loretta Fontaine Jewelry, for over ten years now and have sold my artisan handcrafted sterling silver jewelry with miniature original photography at national trade shows to over sixty fine shops and galleries across the country (even Alaska!)

My work has been featured on ABC, InStyle.com, National Jeweler , NICHE, Lapidary Journal and Modern Jeweler and seven books on jewelry, the latest being Lark Book's 500 Gemstone Jewels: A Sparking Collection of Dazzling Designs.

I have a feeling it's time to start selling my work from my website, and maybe Etsy? I'm doing more and more custom work and it would be a lot of fun to directly connect with my clients.

If you have an Etsy shop or are an Etsy shopper, and have some good advice, leave it in a comment for me below. (Add some links to your favorite Etsy shops, too!)

I'm thinking of designing a new, sleeker website with Wordpress and feature a little online store. Anyone selling from your website? Again, leave some advice with your comments!

A big thanks in advance to all! (I'm hoping for a big virtual push here.)

Loretta

November 2012 UPDATE: The etsy shop is now open (with just one item to start, but more coming soon!): www.etsy.com/shop/LorettaFontaineLtd