Photographing Jewellery Using Your Smartphone
Take clear, beautiful photographs that show your jewellery at its best - using the smartphone you already own
Your jewellery looks beautiful in your hand. You can see the shine of the metal, the colour of the gemstones and all the tiny details you worked so hard to create.
But capturing that in a photograph can be surprisingly difficult.
Silver can look grey. Gemstones lose their colour. Reflections appear from nowhere. Your images look dark, blurry or inconsistent, and you can spend far too long moving your jewellery, your phone and your lighting around without really knowing what you need to change.
The good news is that you don’t need an expensive camera or a professional photography studio to take great photographs of your jewellery.
In this focused online course, professional product photographer and experienced jeweller Karen Young will show you how to create clear, professional-looking jewellery photographs using your smartphone.
You’ll learn how to set up, light, style, photograph and edit your images, so you can confidently create photographs for your website, online shop, social media and marketing.
Any smartphone | No DSLR required | Natural light options | Lifetime access
Your jewellery deserves photographs that do it justice
When customers shop for jewellery online, they can’t pick up a piece, turn it over in their hands or see how it catches the light so your photographs have to do that work for you.
Good jewellery photography helps customers see the quality, craftsmanship, colour and detail of your work. It makes your website and social media feel more professional and gives people greater confidence when they are deciding whether to buy.
But jewellery can be particularly challenging to photograph. Shiny metals reflect everything around them, small pieces can be difficult to focus on and the wrong lighting can change the colour or flatten the details of your designs.
That is why this course is taught specifically for jewellers.
Karen understands the practical challenges involved in photographing silver, gold, gemstones and reflective surfaces. She will take you through a simple, manageable process that you can recreate whenever you have a new piece or collection to photograph.
You don’t need to become a professional photographer. You simply need to understand what makes a photograph work and how to get the best from the phone you already have.
Imagine being able to...
Photograph a new piece without spending hours experimenting with different setups.
Understand where to position your jewellery, phone and lighting.
Capture sharp images that show the texture, finish and fine details of your work.
Manage unwanted shadows, reflections and colour casts.
Create clean product photographs and more styled images for your marketing.
Edit your photographs on your smartphone without making your jewellery look unnatural.
Develop a more consistent collection of images across your website, online shop and social media.
Instead of hoping that a photograph turns out well, you will have a practical process to follow each time.
A focused course you can put into practice straight away
This isn’t a lengthy photography qualification or a technical course filled with information you don’t need. It is focused, practical training created specifically to help jewellers take better photographs using their smartphones.
The course contains 12 professionally filmed video lessons totalling approximately 56 minutes. Each lesson has been carefully edited to include the important teaching, decisions and demonstrations, without making you watch all the repositioning, adjusting and inevitable faffing that happens between each shot.
You can watch the full course in around an hour, but there is plenty to pause, practise and return to as you begin photographing your own jewellery.
Karen explains what she is doing, why she is doing it and the difference each adjustment makes. You will see the key moments in the process clearly, helping you understand how to recreate the techniques in your own home, workshop or studio.
You can pause, rewind and replay the demonstrations as often as you need, and you’ll have lifetime access to revisit individual lessons whenever you are photographing a new piece or collection.
What you will learn
1. Create your photography setup
You will begin by looking at the equipment that can be useful when photographing jewellery, from tripods and reflectors to lighting and light tents.
Karen will explain what each item does and help you decide what may be useful for your own setup.
You do not need to buy lots of specialist equipment before you begin. Karen also demonstrates how to take effective photographs using natural light, so we recommend watching the course before deciding whether you want to purchase anything additional.
You will also learn about aspect ratios and how to choose the right image shape for your website, online shop or social media.
2. Understand and control your lighting
Lighting is one of the most important elements of jewellery photography.
Karen will show you how to work with both natural and continuous light, position your light source and use reflectors to support your setup.
You will learn how to manage shadows, contrast and unwanted reflections, as well as how to use a light tent to diffuse and soften your lighting.
By understanding how light behaves, you will be able to make more confident decisions instead of moving things around and hoping for the best.
3. Style and compose your photographs
A well-styled photograph can help tell the story of your jewellery and create a stronger, more recognisable brand.
Karen will share guidance on composition, backgrounds and props, helping you create interesting images while keeping your jewellery as the main focus.
You will see different photography setups that you can adapt for your own pieces, workspace and business.
4. Get more from your smartphone camera
Your smartphone camera has more useful features than you may realise.
Karen will take you through the camera controls you need to know, helping you improve focus, exposure, brightness and the overall quality of your photographs.
You will learn practical techniques for capturing the shine, colour, texture and detail of jewellery, including reflective metals and gemstones.
5. Edit your photographs on your phone
Editing can transform a good photograph into a polished final image, but the goal is always to make your jewellery look like your jewellery.
Karen will demonstrate how to edit your images using your smartphone camera tools and the Lightroom Mobile app.
You will learn how to adjust elements such as brightness, colour, contrast and sharpness, creating a more professional and consistent finish without over-editing your work.
See what you will learn
Watch the course trailer for a closer look at the techniques, demonstrations and photography setups included in the course.
Meet your tutor, Karen Young
Karen Young is a professional product photographer and experienced jewellery designer who has worked in the jewellery industry since 2012.
After a decade working in marketing and project management, Karen retrained to follow her passion for all things handmade. She went on to teach silver jewellery making and business courses at the London Jewellery School and has mentored students on the Jewellers Academy Diploma programmes and Jewellery Business Bootcamp.
Karen now works from her Glasgow studio, creating eCommerce, styled, lifestyle and model photography for jewellers and other handmade businesses. She also creates much of the photography you see across the Jewellers Academy website and social media.
As both a jeweller and a professional product photographer, Karen understands the particular challenges involved in photographing jewellery. She knows how difficult it can be to capture shiny metal, small details, texture and gemstones accurately, and she specialises in helping jewellers develop the skills and confidence to photograph their own work.
Who better to learn from?
What do I get?
When you enrol in Photographing Your Jewellery Using Your Smartphone, you will receive:
12 focused, professionally filmed video lessons
Approximately 56 minutes of carefully edited, practical teaching and demonstrations, showing you every important stage without the unnecessary waiting in between
Step-by-step guidance on setting up, lighting, styling, photographing and editing your images
Demonstrations using natural light, continuous lighting and a light tent
Guidance on useful equipment and affordable photography setups
Smartphone camera and Lightroom Mobile editing tutorials
Downloadable course notes to use alongside the videos
A list of the equipment and materials demonstrated in the course
Access to the supportive Jewellers Academy online community
Lifetime access to the course
24/7 access, allowing you to pause, rewind and replay the lessons whenever you need them
You can work through the course at your own pace and return to it whenever you are photographing new jewellery.
Is this course for me?
This course has been designed for jewellers and jewellery business owners who want to improve their photographs without investing in an expensive camera or outsourcing every photography session.
It is ideal for you if:
Your jewellery looks much better in real life than it does in your photographs
You struggle with blurry images, shadows, reflections or inaccurate colours
You need regular photographs for your website, online shop or social media
You currently guess your way through each photography session
You want a simple setup that you can use repeatedly
You would like your photographs to feel more consistent and professional
You want to understand how to edit your images without over-editing your jewellery
You own a smartphone but have little or no photography experience
You do not need any previous photography knowledge to take this course. Karen will guide you through the process one step at a time.
Start taking better photographs of your jewellery
Photographing your jewellery does not need to involve expensive equipment, complicated camera settings or hours of frustration.
With a few practical techniques and a better understanding of lighting, styling and editing, you can use your smartphone to create photographs that show the quality and detail of your work.
Photographing Your Jewellery Using Your Smartphone is £194, including lifetime access to all the course videos and downloadable notes.
Enrol now and get started straight away.
Questions?
What kind of phone do I need?
You can take this course using any smartphone with a functioning camera.
Karen demonstrates the techniques using smartphone camera controls and editing apps that are available on Apple and Android devices. The exact position or appearance of individual settings may differ slightly depending on your phone model, but the principles taught throughout the course can be applied to any smartphone camera.
Do I need photography experience?
No. This course is suitable for complete photography beginners.
Karen explains the fundamentals in clear, practical steps and shows you how to apply them specifically to jewellery.
Do I need an expensive or new smartphone?
No. You do not need the newest or most expensive phone to benefit from the course.
Understanding lighting, positioning, focus, composition and editing can make a significant difference to the photographs you take, whatever smartphone you are using.
What equipment will I need?
Karen demonstrates a variety of equipment, including lighting, tripods, reflectors and a light tent. However, you do not need to purchase everything shown in the course.
You will also learn how to take photographs using natural light and a simple home or studio setup.
We recommend watching the course before buying any additional equipment so that you can decide what will be genuinely useful for your jewellery and your workspace.
Do I need a professional studio?
No. The techniques can be adapted to a home, workshop or small studio space.
Karen will show you different setups so you can choose an approach that works with the space and lighting available to you.
Will this help with photographs for my website and social media?
Yes. The course covers the core photography principles you can use when creating product photographs for your website or online shop, as well as more styled images for social media and marketing.
Karen also explains aspect ratios so that you can plan your photographs with their final use in mind.
Does the course cover editing?
Yes. Karen demonstrates how to edit your photographs using your smartphone camera tools and the Lightroom Mobile app.
You will learn how to make considered adjustments to brightness, colour, contrast and sharpness while keeping your jewellery looking natural and accurate.
How long does the course take?
The course includes approximately 56 minutes of video teaching divided into 12 concise lessons.
You could watch the full course in around an hour, but we recommend trying the techniques with your own jewellery as you work through the lessons. You can return to the videos as often as you need.
How long will I have access?
You will receive lifetime access to the course.
You can watch the videos at any time and pause, rewind or replay the demonstrations whenever you are preparing for a photography session.
Ready to take photographs that do your jewellery justice?
You already have a powerful photography tool in your pocket.
Let Karen show you how to use it to create clear, beautiful and professional-looking photographs for your jewellery business.
Photographing Your Jewellery Using Your Smartphone