An alternate way of photographing bracelets. I’ve seen bracelets laid down or standing up on their backgrounds. But what if you want to show how the bracelet will look on a wrist without using a models wrist, which could be a distraction.

Lighting and Diffusion
I use a white 20 inch EZCube to photograph jewelry. Lighting is from two studio strobes bounced into oversized white umbrellas. The EZCube gives me additional diffusion besides giving me a way to control reflections. Unlike other photography tents or cubes, I prefer the EZCube because the front is removable and has a zipper down the middle to wrap around the lens hood of a macro lens. In fact, I use a front panel from a 40 inch cube (on my 20 inch cube) so I can back the tripod up and still control what’s reflected in the front. Additionally at the top there is a row of grommets on each side to position a plexiglass rod, and the top opens so objects can be suspended and arranged easily.

medicine container wrapped with Avery label

The Spindle
I started with a large medicine container from a local pharmacy, about the diameter of a wrist. Because the container was dark orange plastic, I covered it with a large white Avery label so the orange wouldn’t reflect on the edges of the bracelet. The container was supported in a way that allowed me to position it at whatever angle worked the best. I used scotch tape on the back of the container to hold the bracelet’s position and I used focus stacking to insure the entire bracelet was in focus.

bracelet wrapped around medicine container

completed image of bracelet ready for jurying

The Result
I change the background on all the jewelry pieces I photograph, so I planned on turning the medicine container into a neutral tone spindle with shading to give it a sense of dimension. A non distracting wrist substitute.

Other Related Articles
I’ve written a few articles about different ways to photograph jewelry. One was about photographing jewelry on black plexiglass and another about using focus stacking to get the entire piece of jewelry in focus.

Examples of my artwork photography

More articles on photographing all types of artwork

Jewelry by Lesa Gary