How To Take Photos That Sell, Geometric Jewellery & Bead Fair Report
11th May 2019
See us tomorrow, Sunday 12th May at Norwich Bead Fair. There will be loads of new beads from our resent Far East buying trip.
Then, the following Sunday at Devon Bead Fair, Guildhall Shopping Centre, 40 High St, Exeter EX4 3HP. We’ll be going a couple of days early for a bit of a Devon break.
All our shows booked so far this new year click 2019 Bead Fairs.
Content:
Spring Bead Fair Report
How To Take Photos That Sell
Geometric Jewellery Is Still Hot!
Bead Fairs
Join Newsletter
Tweet a link to this newsletter to all your followers – just click here.
Join our 15,500 fans and follow us on Twitter at MrBead@UKMrBead and Nigel at Nigel@NigelMckay
Our Bead Shop at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
15% Off Anything From MrBead
15% off all orders with no minimum. Key PHOTOS at checkout now, as offer ends Friday 17th May. Use at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com, but can’t be used with any other discount.
Spring Bead Fair Report
MrBead Kilburn London Bead Fair
Our first show at this new London venue. Great location, just 6-minutes walk from Kilburn Park Underground Station and right opposite a main road bus stop. Also free weekend side-road parking.
However, it was hard work lugging half-a-tonne of beads down the few steps to the hall. There is a lift, but that was hard work to get operative too. And despite a nice layout in a bright clean hall, not so many visitors as usual for London. I think this is because the fair was just one week before Big Bead, also in London.
See us back in Kilburn Saturday 14th September.
The Big Bead Show, Sandown Park
As usual this was bustling, although a little less people than usual.
This year our position in the hall was moved along a wall, which is better as no one was behind us. We had a massive display, but it is possible some people couldn’t find us – and there was another stand blocking the walkway to us from the main entrance.
No problem though as we done well with many sales, but the usual large orders were lacking. We’re back at Sandown Saturday 19th October.
Leaving Sandown we had to take it easy as the van clutch was slipping – drove over 100-miles from the M25, M11 and A14 before needing to change gear! Van’s aren’t cheap: MrClutch (where else?) cost £1,600 – and the total average expense (including depreciation) transport per show is around £180.
Beads Up North!
It’s always a pleasure exhibiting at Haydock Park. It only takes us half the usual time to setup and Gordon does such a good job organizing everything. Plus, it is true: Northern People are more friendly!
However, it was almost half an hour from opening before we got a sale, and footfall was down. Johnny from Southampton Bead Shop and Simon from Totally Beads were away, along with some other usual stands.
Overall though, it was a good show. We might have taken slightly less than Newark Gem n Bead that was on over the same weekend, it was just one day’s work, as opposed to three-days.
Picture shows Gordon’s ‘Arve a Go room, with eager beaders keen to learn.
We’ll be back on Sunday 29th September.
Luton Bead Fair
Luton is always our smallest show, and this one was over a Bank Holiday Weekend – but that’s fine as I’m there anyway, visiting my 87-year-old mum.
This year I worked on my own, with help setting-up from an old friend. Up and down the steps to the hall, I clocked 9 1/2-miles over the day on my Fitbit. Pic shows Nigel’s mum.
Not many visitors after 2pm, but the show was saved by a few biggish sales near the start. Once a year for this one is just right.
How To Take Photos That Sell
If you’re selling online, it’s essential to show good photographs of your designs. I used to be a professional photographer with my own studio, but these days, anyone can take great pictures.
The photo influences the decision to buy more than anything else – good pictures sell!
Compose close, crop hard (fill the image with your jewellery), enhance the contrast, and reduce image size for a fast download.
The Camera
Most digital cameras can produce good images for the web. Even phones – the iPhone and iPad have an excellent camera.
They focus close, recording sharp images with high contrast. However, the connoisseur looking for the best tool should favour a digital SLR, where extra manual features make life a little easier. When choosing a camera, make sure it will focus close enough to fill its screen with your product.
To allow you to focus even closer, purchase a click-on macro lens for a few pounds, these often come with a wide-angle lens and can be clipped onto phones too (as pic). Just Google, ‘clip on macro lens’, or buy on eBay.
Illumination
It is possible to use almost any type of lighting, although bright even light is important for the best results. Your camera’s flash will give a flat image with nasty distracting shadows. So for the simplest photography, switch your flash off and stick to daylight lighting.
Daylight
Close to a large window will give lots of soft light, but illustrate your item unevenly. To reduce this problem, cut a piece of white card and prop it up facing the window to reflect the light and fill in the shadows.
Balance the light
Alternatively use a small mirror or a folding reflector – be sure not to get it in the picture. Your camera’s flash may fill-in the shadows similarly, but you will need a lot of experimenting to prevent the flash overpowering and leaving a shadow. Photographing outside is easier and will give you a more even light. However, you may have a problem with wind or rain!
Artificial lighting
If you’re selling a lot online, consider using tungsten, florescent, or external flash lighting to give a more consistent image.
The best effect is studio flash, as in the picture. However, after daylight, most people favour either tungsten or florescent – because their camera can’t use external flash, or to save money.
Any light will work, but it needs to be indirect, otherwise you’ll get ‘hot spots’ on the picture. Bounce the light from a wall or the ceiling.
Tungsten lighting is simple and cheap, but can be hot in summer. You just need a reflector dish with a bulb socket which can be purchase from camera accessory stores. The brighter the bulb: the sharper the image. However, avoid a dark shadow by illuminating your item unevenly. If you can’t soften the shadow with a white card, try pointing your reflector to the ceiling and bouncing the light down.
More-even lighting is given with two reflectors and bulbs, but can produce a double shadow which looks terrible. A florescent tube will give you a softer light, although green in colour. You can correct this later using any image editor on your computer – same with the reddish colour of tungsten light (unless you use expensive daylight bulbs).
Flash lighting
Studio flash is the best, but you need a camera that has a flash socket and can synchronize – most small cameras can’t. More-advanced cameras may have a hot-shoe (the worst position for a flash), where an adapter can be fitted to allow an external unit to be plugged in. SLR digital cameras should have a normal socket for a flash plug and are the easiest to synchronize external flash.
Flash light also has the advantage of being daylight colour temperature, so you need less colour balancing later. Set the camera to manual exposure at around 1/60 second. More-even lighting is given with two or more external flashes, you can trigger extra units with a slave. If you’re using a studio flash unit, diffuse the light with a soft box, which is better than an umbrella which gives a harder light.
Background
Plain white does for most, but some items look better on a dark background, like matte dark-brown. Purchase matte card from an art shop, and curve between a wall and a table.
Avoid shiny backgrounds as they create hot spots (white spots on the image caused by reflection from your light). Usually light-coloured products are best on a light background, although there’s no hard rule. Except, keep it simple – the background shouldn’t distract. A light-tent, easily purchased on eBay, limits hot spots.
Taking the Photo
Get in close
Compose the product to fill around 80% of your camera’s screen. If you can’t focus close enough, then shoot from further away and crop the image later. Auto focus should work OK, but if your camera allows, manual is best.
Exposure
Auto exposure will also work fine, but use a shutter speed of at least 1/60 second to prevent camera shake – unless using flash, where you’ll need full manual exposure. If your camera tells you the exposure setting, use the highest f number (smallest aperture). This will give you the sharpest possible image.
Experiment to get the correct exposure – there’s not a lot of room for error, but veer on the side of over (darker), rather than under exposure.
How to make your jewellery look good
To make your jewellery appear important, photograph it from the same level. With the item on a table, it’s easily to bring the camera down to the same height. Take a few pictures of each piece, re-focusing (if using manual) in between. Check the first pictures are sharp and correctly exposed before photographing many items.
Afterwards – Improving the Photo on your Computer
Getting the picture into your computer
To transfer your image from the camera to your computer, you can either plug the memory-card into a USB socket using a card-reader adapter, some newer computers have one built in. Or you can run a lead from the camera to a USB socket – all cameras come with one. If I photograph on my iPad, I just email the image to me.
Image software
However good the image, chances are it’ll still need enriching on an image editing program. This will crop, enhance the contrast, adjust brightness, and reduce the image’s size so it downloads fast online. Those with a slow connection won’t wait for big images.
One of the fastest and easiest image editors to use is ACDSee – not as sophisticated as Photoshop, but much cheaper and simpler to use.
Image Size
I find the best size for auctions and websites is around 500 pixels wide for a large landscape-shape picture. Your camera will record the picture as a JPEG, and it’s best to leave it in this format. The other common format, GIF, is for simple line images like logos or cartoons.
How MrBead Photographs
I use two studio flash units. One flash arranged at 45 degrees, and level to the product with a large soft-box attached – and another opposite, with a simple reflector to give a little modeling. When photographing beads and small items, I place them inside a light tent to prevent hot spots.
I use a digital SLR with a wide-angle zoom macro lens, usually set at between f28 and f32. The shutter is 1/60 sec, but this isn’t important with flash. I focus manually, but on very-small items I pre-focus then move the camera back and forth to get the sharpest image in the viewfinder.
The camera’s screen is only viewed as a quick check after the photograph is taken. ACDSee is used to balance the colour, enhance contrast, crop, and reduce the size of the image. I then save to a hard-drive and upload a copy to the host server.
Sometimes, I just take the light case in the picture outside on a sunny day, and ‘bang a few shots off’ quickly with my iPad. You can buy one of these with a plastic background attached, on eBay.
Then I crop and lighten the image on the iPad and email to myself.
Geometric Jewellery Is Still Hot!
Geometric Geometric jewellery is popular. Geometry in jewellery always lives up to its name by dramatic shapes.
Bold mathematical shapes show Bold mathematical shapes show sophistication, add depth and dimension to an outfit, as well as looking modern and chic. They’re available in all materials, not just metal. And obviously in a huge range of shapes and sizes.
This season, many necklaces, This season, many necklaces, bracelets and rings are already in fun geometric shapes like triangles, hexagons and rectangles. These two pictures are jewellery designed by Susan Wainwight. Susan uses a lot of geometric styles – see here.
Geometric shapes portray a unique and abstract appearance that stands out. Simple, yet eye-catching. Funky with bling: not flat or boring! See our cube, square, icicle and our geometric metal spacer beads.
Our icicle beads at MrBead.co.uk
Cube & square beads: MrBead.co.uk
Geometric spacer beads: MrBead.co.uk
15% Off Anything From MrBead
15% off all orders with no minimum. Key PHOTOS at checkout now, as offer ends Friday 17th May. Use at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com, but can’t be used with any other discount.
Bead Fairs
- Sunday 12th May: Norwich Bead Fair – Full details here.
- Sunday 19th May: Devon Bead Fair , Guildhall Shopping Centre, Exeter EX4 3HP – Full details here.
- Weekend 1st-2nd June: Kempton Park Gem n Bead Fair, Kempton Park Racecourse, London – Full details here.
- Sunday 23rd June: Cornish Probus MrBead Bead Show, Probus Village Hall, Barn Court, The Bank Probus TR2 4JU. Full details here.
To see all the bead shows we have booked so far click Bead Fairs 2019 – many more yet to add!
See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
14-Years of MrBead Newsletters
2005 to 2019 
April 2019 is the 14th full year of the MrBead newsletters, and I thank you all for such enthusiastic comments and appreciation. To see the past newsletters click here.
- Beading tips, help & design ideas
- Free to join!
- Established in 2005
- Discount vouchers & free shipping
- You can change your address or un-subscribe anytime
To see all the original old newsletters click here.
To sign-up for the free newsletters click http://www.mrbead.com/beadnewsletter.htm.
Always Free Post on UK Orders Over £30!
For free UK shipping from our bead store enter FREEPOST at the checkout at http://www.MrBead.co.uk
MrBead Newsletter:
See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com