Perfect Pairings Tips

We have been doing the Perfect Pairings for about six months now. It morphed out of the Featured Designer of the Week into something that celebrates the marriage between designer and bead artist, thus the Perfect Pairings. We are, after all, called the Art Bead Scene, so honoring the art bead artists along with those that create with them just makes sense. And who doesn't want to find new bead artists to love?

Since I am the one that is doing them regularly, I thought you might like to know a bit about my process and how I come to the decision of which one to to choose each week. Hopefully, having this 'insider information' might increase the amount of entries that we get and also help you to make your images that much more compelling and helpful to your journey as an artisan jewelry designer. Win, win!

So here is what I am looking for and how I make my {very subjective} selections each week for the Perfect Pairings (note: all photos were taken from entries to our Pinterest site over the past few months. Thank you for sharing your beautiful designs with us to inspire and amaze us!)

1 :: Interesting Design
Clearly we could all just string our beads on a cord and call it done, but that is less artistic, and I believe that each of us is an artisan painting the world in beaded wonders. I go to the Pinterest site and quickly scroll through the entries. I then go back to the ones that catch my eye.

Necklace by DitsyBlue
This necklace takes me on a journey all the way around. There are interesting stops along the way and there is a definitive balance despite the asymmetry. This is just good design and great storytelling combined and truly masters the challenge image.

I am looking for something that will tell the story of the challenge inspiration, capture the color palette...something that makes me want to go back and look at it further. From there I narrow it down going back to look at each piece that caught my eye more closely, zooming into the pictures and moving around the pieces so that I can see the construction and the materials.

Bracelet by Cabewoman
This bracelet is very simple in design, but look closer... the way that it is constructed with the handmade links really sets this apart and elevates it as a truly artful interpretation. The piece is shot at an interesting angle with soft lighting on a very simple background with great depth of field that highlights the beautiful construction.

Think about the balance of the design, not just how it hangs, but how well the materials work together. Consider your pieces as a visual storytelling. I am looking for intriguing construction, blending of the color palette, and a spotlight on the art beads.

2 :: Art Beads
Of course! Since we are all about the art beads, I am obviously looking to see what art beads are used. That is why it is ESSENTIAL for you to mention the art beads that are used in your piece. Please...make it easy for me to find those bead artists (because they get a shout-out, too!).

Earrings by EclecticNesting
This is a simple design that works well as an abstract interpretation of the challenge painting. And the artisan clearly listed that the matchsticks were from NuminosityBeads and the disks by RaggedRobyn making it easy for me to find them!

Now I know that we have some mighty talented designers who also make beautiful art beads. And I have featured many over time. But if you use art beads you make, AND you sell those art beads, I will tell you that I am that much more intrigued by your work. Because I know that our readers want to discover new bead artists and are looking to buy the pieces that you are making. So if you don't sell your beads that you have made into your fabulous creations, you might want to consider it. You have a willing audience looking for your wares and a perfect way to drive them to you!

Necklace and plaquette by BHClayworks
Miss Barbara is an accomplished ceramic artist. A great way for her to share her wares is to make something with them to show the possibilities as in this necklace. You should check her out!

I know that creating a hoard of art beads to choose from is a lengthy (and at times a pricey) process, but I find that having a stable of my favorite artists right at hand makes me that much more prolific and creative. Of course, it only takes one art bead in your piece to qualify, but I will let you know that I absolutely adore it when I see a variety of different art beads all playing together.

DO let the bead artists know that you are using their beads in your entry. A quick email will suffice with a link to the picture on Pinterest. Bead artists LOVE that!

3 :: Great Shot
The photos that you take are absolutely essential. And you owe it to yourself and your creations to figure out the best possible way to take them. Every artist is different, so every photography set up should be as well. You need to figure out what your style is and reflect that clearly and consistently in your product photography.

Take a weekend to familiarize yourself with your camera (hint: macro is your friend, I almost exclusively use my iPhone now, so you don't need anything that fancy).

Beads by Mihaela Georgescu
There were many shots that she took of these beads and the necklace that she constructed for the January challenge. But I liked this shallow depth of field that highlights the central beaded focal that she made, making me want to see more.

 
Decide what backgrounds look best (hint: simple and consistent is best, props should be few and unobtrusive). 

Necklace by Beady Eyed Bunny
This simple background is consistent in her product shots.
The props are unobtrusive and work well with the rustic, organic theme of the jewelry.

Take many angles (hint: vary them from close-ups to wide shots, straight on to from the side, etc).

 Earrings by Diva Designs
You can submit up to two photos a day for your challenge piece. If you have more than one shot that works well, I say load it up! Miss Lynda Moseley really knows how to make her polymer clay creations stand out with simple white backgrounds and great lighting as well as playing with different angles.

Lighting is key (hint: diffuse daylight with a piece of vellum or tracing paper over a window, or build or invest in an inexpensive light box - this is the one that I have and it works great in tight space).
 

Necklace by BackstoryBeads
The angle that this is shot at is interesting because it leads your eye away from the focal. But the focal is clearly in focus, with the depth of field getting softer as it moves away. The background is neutral and the lighting is soft. The use of the prop is not competing in any way with the necklace and enhances the natural organic shapes.

Once you have a style that works for you, you will take more consistent shots that will put your jewelry in the best light and make it compelling for everyone to view.

I hope that these tips will help you with your entries for the monthly challenges! I look forward to the excitement of selecting next week's Perfect Pairings!

Photo Editing Q + A

Two weekends ago was my Studio Saturday post, and in it, I asked a few questions readers could answer to enter a giveaway. There were some really good questions in those comments, I took some time last week to answer them on my blog. I'm reposting those answers here, in case you were one of those who had a question!



Lighting Issues

A few people said that they struggled with lighting when taking photos. Right off, I can tell you that this is something you really want to work at getting it right while you're taking photos versus something you try to fix with editing. Bad lighting is bad lighting, and it's going to show. While there are some things you can do to minimize a few bad spots in Photoshop, you really don't want to rely on trying to "save" it during post-processing. One, because it takes so much more time to edit a photo versus just working on getting good lighting when you're taking it. And two, too much editing can make a photo look very heavily processed, which is probably not what most shop owners are looking for.

There's no one trick when it comes to lighting because everyone's set up is different. I can say that I've tried both an indoor setup and natural light outdoors, and between the two, I like the look of natural light better, but that's personal preference. Here's what I used to with my shop photos: My Photo Formula

If you prefer natural light, you need to pay attention to the light around you and set aside some time to experiment. What's the sunniest room in your house? What time of day do you get a lot of sunshine in that room? Can you shoot close to a big open window? Can you shoot on a patio? Avoid direct sunlight, as that was too harsh a light source. Instead, shoot next to a bright window or outside in the shade versus out in the sun.

If you like shooting indoors, you want to work in a confined space with lots of light. If possible, use a light box that you either buy or construct (there are links on My Photo Formula post), and use two or three daylight light bulbs as your light source.





How do I eliminate shadows I don’t want?

There are a couple ways: photograph out of direct sunlight or bounce light off of a white surface when you’re photographing.

Photographing in the shade or indoors next to a bright window will minimize the harsh glares and shadows you get when you photograph in direct sunlight. To go a step further, prop up a white piece of foam core or poster board directly opposite your light source next to your object. This will allow the light to bounce back onto the object, reducing the shadows. To eliminate them completely, use a secondary light source, like a daylight lamp, in place of the white board.

If neither of those gets you the results you’re  looking for, try adjusting the levels in your photo editing program. If you’re working on a white background, and want a pure white background, I’ve got a Tip Share for that.





How do I make a photograph look more dramatic?

First, get clear about what you mean by dramatic, because that can mean different things depending on the photo.

Are you looking to make the colors pop? Then increase the saturation a little on your photo. Elements users, go up to Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Hue/Saturation. Photoshop users, go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. Keep in mind that will change your photo permanently, so if you’re looking for a more flexible option you can adjust over and over, use an adjustment layer instead. Go to your Layers Panel and click the circle that’s half black, half white. Then choose Hue/Saturation from that menu to create a layer you can fix over and over. Make sure to move it directly over your photo layer.

Are you looking to change the entire tone of a photo? Then play around with some Photoshop actions. This post gives a quick list of actions I've used.

Are you looking to increase contrast? Elements users can do that by going up to Enhance > Auto Contrast, or Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Brightness/Contrast. Photoshop users, go up to Image > Auto Contrast, or Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. You can also create adjustment layers for this, too; just follow the steps I outlined above, and choose Brightness/Contrast instead of Hue/Saturation.

If there's something else you're looking to do, I've got a bunch of editing Tip Shares, so browse through if you've got some time.





How do I get crisp, clear photos?

Crisp photos start with a steady hand when you’re taking the photo. If your hands shake a little or if your camera’s heavy, try working with a tripod and an external shutter release. This way, your camera remains flat and stable at all times, reducing any shaking that might create fuzzy photos.

It’s also a good idea to spend some learning the settings on your camera. If you've got a point-and-shoot, read your manual to learn about the different scenes your camera has for you to shoot in. Then, spend time photographing the same thing in different scenes to find which one you like best.

If you've got a DSLR, same goes – learn what the different settings and controls are, and what you can do with them. It’s also a good idea to figure out the basics of ISO, shutter speeds, aperture, white balance, and what different lighting conditions need. If you’re feeling a little confused with these terms or the manual setting on your DSLR, check out this helpful cheat sheet I posted a while back.

Now, regardless of the type of camera you have, there is something you can do to sharpen up your photos in either Photoshop or Elements: the Unsharp Mask. Photoshop users, go to Filters > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Elements users, go to Enhance > Unsharp Mask. Make sure Preview button is selected, then play with the Amount toggle – try it at 50% first, then increase or decrease as needed. Once you’re happy, click OK.

You have other editing options, either a Sharpen filter or Adjust Sharpness, but I like the Unsharp Mask best because it’s adjustable and can be really subtle. Couple things to remember: 1) It’s possible to over sharpen, so go slow. 2) Sharpening should be done last, after any other edits or resizing. Otherwise, you’ll have to redo this step. 3) Not every photo really needs this step, and it’s not going to magically fix a blurry photo. All this is going to do is sharpen what’s already in focus.





How do I focus on the parts of my object I want to focus on?

As far as focusing goes, what I said above applies. Read your manual on how to change the focus; most cameras will have an auto feature as well as a few others. You want to choose a focusing setting on your camera that you can remember, like dead center, and use that to line up your shot every time.

Press the release button down halfway to focus, and make sure what you want to focus on matches the highlighted area on your screen (it’s usually a little dot or a box). Keep doing this until what you want in focus is highlighted, then go ahead and press the release button down all the way to take the photo.If you’re looking for more detail, you want to either get close to your object, change your settings, or grab a lens that allows for close-up/macro-type shots.





How can I enlarge a photo without it getting grainy?

Unfortunately, you can’t make photos any bigger than what they are when they come out of your camera.

The thing that’s confusing is that Photoshop and Elements (and other programs, too) allow you to change your image size to whatever you want it to be. This lets people think that they can resize over and over, up and down, without any loss of quality, but unfortunately, that’s just not the case for photographs.

See, a photo is made up of millions of pixels; think of them like microscopic squares. When it comes out of your camera, it’s a set size, like 3888 pixels wide by 2594 pixels high. You can reduce it down to anything smaller, like 600 pixels by 400 pixels, with no real problem. What’s happening when you decrease the size is that those pixels are getting compressed down to fit into that new 600 x 400 pixel size. Some finer details may be lost during the compression, but you wouldn't be able to tell a difference at the smaller size.

But if you try to take that 3888 x 2594 pixel photo and make it bigger by just changing the size, it’s not going to look the way you expect it to. Why not? Because no new information is being added; Photoshop can only work with the original number of pixels in the original size. So, while Photoshop will let you increase any photo beyond the original size, it doesn't mean it’s putting in any new information. Instead, it’s simply stretching out the photo into a bigger shape, and the individual pixels become distorted. That’s the “grain” you see, and why photos can become fuzzy if you try to increase the size.

So, if you’re  looking for a larger size, you need to back to the original photo you took. That’s the biggest size your photo can be without losing quality. Most cameras these days take photos that are fairly large, so you’ll want to either bring that original photo into Photoshop to check how large it is or read your manual.

What you want to remember when it comes to sizing is this: Size down, not up. I always, always leave the original photo intact, and save any edits I make as a separate, new file; actually, I tend to save three copies – the original, the original + edits, and the edits + a new smaller size. This way, I have something to come back to should I need a larger size later.





In addition to my Tip Share page, check out my Tips & Tricks pin board for more photo and editing tips. There’s a bunch of photo-related pins in there, as well as others, that might answer your question. Or if you've got a burning question, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Snaptastic Winner

Thanks to all who helped welcome Kerry to the Art Bead Scene and spread the news about our Snaptastic Giveaway.  The winner is Michelle of Concatenation!

Michelle is new to the blogging world, but off to a great start - stop on over to see her blog.  Michelle has won a cd of Kerry's Snaptastic ebook filled with great photography lessons and tips. 

Is learning to take better photos one of your New Year goals? You can purchase a copy for yourself and check that off your to-do list! Visit Kerry's shop here.

I Love Tools - Chain Holder

Chain Holder

Just a quick post to show you a chain holder I made to help with my new adventures in jewelry design. Sometimes I need a third or fourth hand to help hold a chain straight to get charms hanging from the right links and in the correct direction. Also, sometimes if I can work with this set up, I do a slight bit less of bending over my desk - anything to save my neck and back is good with me!

I've seen similar set ups commercially made, but you know me, I love to use tools and this was a great excuse to use the power drill.... The bottom board is a piece of scrap wood, the dowel rods are new and the clothes pins I had around. As you can see, there are several holes in the bottom board allowing dowel rod change of position. The trickiest part of the whole assembly was drilling holes into the bottom of the clothes pins to insert and glue the dowel rods into. The clothes pins where stabilized in a vise, but it was still difficult.

Post a comment with link to your hand made beading tools you'd like to share with our readers - we all love learning new tricks!

Thanks for stopping by, Elaine

I Love Tools, Digital Picture Frame

For Christmas my husband gave me a digital picture frame. Not only will this be wonderful to have displayed in our home but his suggestion was to use it at trunk shows also. Genius! I had not even thought of that, but once the idea was planted I knew I wanted to share it with our Art Bead Scene readers.

My plan is to use a separate memory card that I can load my bead pictures onto - keeping just family pictures stored on the actual device. Then when I do a trunk show I can just pop that card in - ready to go instantly. I'm thinking this will be an effective marketing tool for a variety of reasons. First, having a great deal of printed pictures displayed starts to get visually cluttered and distracting. Second, the lighted digital display can show off important small details without having to worry about room lighting or glare. Third, the time difference it will take to set up that one frame vs. about 30 pictures is huge and time is always an issue with me. Finally, just the novelty of it will get people to stop and look.

I think that I'll have photo album of some sort nearby so people can then go directly to the picture they'd like to see. I can pause my digital photo frame, but I don't think I'd want just anyone playing around with the buttons. I'll still display a few prominent pictures around the area, but not so many smaller / easy to overlook ones.

What beady gifts would you like to share with us? Leave a comment - Thanks!

New Earth & Wood Toggle sets by Elaine Ray

Collaboration

Virginia Miska and I (Elaine Ray) got together for a quick collaboration. The subtle purple tone in the background of Virginia's love birds matched up perfect with my small, purple cubes. Also used are sea shell chips and blackish seed beads. Shells seem to blend beautifully with clay pieces, I suppose since they both are naturally occurring part of our earth.

This picture is just a scan done on my scanner/printer which turns out to be a fairly good, easy and cost effective, but not perfect way, to show my work. Now, tomorrow I will ship this necklace with coordinating earrings and bracelet to Virginia. There, her husband will professionally photograph the necklace. Once that is done, we will post both pictures to give you good visual images to compare as you are trying to decide when and how to photo your work. I think you will see that there are times and places to do a quick scan of your jewelry (such as to post on your blog) and times to when it is worth the time and effort to do it properly (maybe to use in your print advertising).

Stay tuned and we'll get you those images.

- Elaine

Tutorial - Photographing Beads and Jewelry

This is a rewrite of an article I wrote for WetCanvas! in June 2004. Changes have been made based on questions I have received and to keep up with the times.

It can be extremely frustrating to achieve high quality digital images of your glass beads and jewelry. Hopefully this tutorial will help you come closer, if not achieve the image quality that you desire.

I have seen how-to articles on how to achieve quality digital images for single objects with the camera aiming from the front. I have tried many set-ups and manipulated many variables (lighting, background, angles, etc.) based on what other people have shown to work for them. I found that while they might work for single, upright objects, I couldn't achieve the same effect for my sets of glass beads that I wanted to photograph flat. I also did not have the proper conditions for sunlight, whether it be direct or indirect, and wanted a set-up that I could use any time of the day.

When I originally wrote this article I was using a similar set-up that was adapted from an article at WetCanvas! by Dale Lynn titled "Improve your Glass, Bead & Jewelry Photographs". Dale's tutorial shows how to build a pvc pipe light box, step by step. Since that time, many brands of light tents have come on the market, at reasonable prices, and I now use a portable white nylon cube (I found mine on eBay). Dale's pvc light box is beneficial if you do not have some type of framework or stand that allows your light to shine over the nylon light cube.


Photo Set Up

1. My lighting shines down from the top in the center of the cube, toward the surface of the beads that lay flat.

2. I use white printer paper for my background. Some whites are not all that white so you might want to try different papers. I've found that glossy photo paper gives a nice reflection, if you like that effect.

3. The light is a clamp-on shop light from the hardware store and it cost about $7. The actual bulb is a 100 watt GE Reveal bulb that is found in most any store that sells light bulbs. The look like they're tinted purple or blue and give off a natural spectrum of light.

4. The camera is on a tri-pod and is a necessity for clear pictures. A regular tri-pod set up will allow you to come in at an angle. I purchased a boom for my tripod that allows my camera to extend into the cube and directly over the beads. It was the most expensive part of this set up (next to the camera) and is optional.

5. I also have on hand, pieces of gray and white foam core board that I have used to direct the light. If you find you have a hot spot (a bright area) in your image field, place the gray foam core on that side of the tent. It will serve to absorb some of the light. Likewise, if you have a dark spot, place a piece of white foam core to reflect some of the light back into that area.

6. It is best to have a room that can be completely dark, aside from your photo lighting. This will ensure that you have consistent results at any time of the day. Cover any windows that allow sunlight in and turn off all other lights.

Camera and Settings

I use a Nikon Coolpix 4500, which is now an old camera. The only settings I change are to make sure that the macro capability is enabled, the flash is turned off and the white balance is set to incandescent. A good macro function is key to good images. For web images you only need a 1 megapixel setting. For print, the higher the better but 5 megapixel is plenty for up to 8"x10" photos.

Editing Images

Don't be alarmed if your image is dark. This is what results when taking digital images on a white background. In the following steps you will learn how to lighten that background and remove any residual shadows around the edges.

Step one is to lighten the background to get it back to white. To do this, open the image in your Photoshop program and press Ctrl+L (cmd+L on Mac) which will bring up the Levels window (shown here). It might look confusing to you, but it's not. You can fiddle with it to see what it can do but the one thing we're interested in here is the little eye dropper tool bar right above where it says 'preview'.


Click on the one on the right. When you hover your mouse over it, it should say 'Set White Point.' You are going to use this to turn the background white again, and it will also adjust the other colors accordingly.

After clicking it, take your arrow cursor and click it somewhere on the background of your image that should be white. Be sure not to get too close to the actual beads because you might be clicking on a shadow, which should not be white. You will know if you do this because your image will be thrown all out of whack.

If that does happen, either click the cancel box (it shows here as reset but will really be 'cancel' on your screen at this point) and start over, or press down the Alt button and the cancel box will chance to 'reset'. Click on this and it will go back to your original image.


Here you see the image after I clicked the background to whiten it. Notice that, while it is much better, you can still see some darkness around the edges. You could leave it like this or you could follow the next steps to remove it.

Removing the Background

Either type W or click on the picture of the magic wand in the tool menu. If you hover over it, it will say 'Magic Wand Tool (W)'. Make sure that the tolerance is set at 32 on your toolbar, then click on a white area of your background.

You will see what is called 'marching ants,' or the dotted line in your image. The magic wand has automatically outlined your image and its shadow, if there is one. We are going to delete everything the magic wand has selected, but we need to feather the edge first or it will not look realistic.

To feather the edge, either press Alt+Ctrl+D, or on the drop down menus click 'select>feather' and then set it to 3 pixels and click OK.

Next, hit the delete button on your keyboard and then press Ctrl+D (cmd+D on Mac) to deselect the tool and leave your image. If you do not see the background delete, press ctrl+X to cut the background out (cmd+X on Mac). Save your image.

Here you see the final image, after I cropped out the extra background. I wait to do the cropping until the end so that I don't cut it too close and cut out any of the desired shadow.

I hope that this tutorial helps you to achieve great images. While the steps might look daunting if you've never used Photoshop, they're really pretty simple and as with anything, the more you use it, the easier it gets.

Lori Greenberg is a glass beadmaker in Cave Creek, Arizona.