If you’ve only recently launched your jewelry brand and are looking for ways to make your jewelry photos and videos for social media more eye-catching, you have to know how to pick the perfect jewelry background for each item.
The article below covers 15 creative jewelry backgrounds that you can experiment with during your next shoot. You’ll be amazed at how unconventional and innovative you can become after deciding that there’s no reason to limit yourself to a white backdrop.
Choosing a background for jewelry photos, you should mind certain nuances. Each type of jewelry requires a special background capable of highlighting the object not to outshine it.
A white background is the most popular one in product photography allowing the viewer to concentrate on the main details of the item. It does not distract your attention.
Personally, I use this jewelry background when I shoot rings and earrings made of various metals. This is a great option for online stores as well as personal pages on blogs or social networks. The only difficulty is that it is troublesome to remove undesirable shadows from the background and from the jewelry itself.
I recommend using permanent natural lighting from the window and reflectors (not the camera flash). In such a way, the object will be equally lit, and the background will not suffer either.
If you use an artificial lighting source, such as light box for jewelry photography, the optimal combination is when one flash with an umbrella is set on a light gap, the second one is directed to the white background, while the third flash is located at a 45-degree angle behind the item (to get a back lighting to add volume to the item).
Regardless of jewelry photography kit, this option will always be a winning one. Black jewelry background is ideal for photographing colorful precious stones as well as jewelry with transparent inserts (brilliants, phianite). It creates a delicate but dramatic look preserving neutrality.
Perhaps, you have already noticed that many black backgrounds are related to luxurious objects. Moreover, it is easier to remove unnecessary glares and defects from it. The best material to create such a background for jewelry photography is black organic glass.
You need only two flashes to shoot an ideal black jewelry background. If you want to avoid glares on it, remember that the distance between the product and the background (it should be black or at least dark) should be not less than 0.5m.
It is better if you have 1m, actually. Otherwise, the light from the flash will light up the background. By the way, you can look at ugly jewelry photos to avoid taking these kinds of pictures on your own.
Grey jewelry background has recently become popular among online stores as an alternative to black and white ones. It is neutral and can beautifully present any type of jewelry. It highlights the object without distracting the viewer. What is more, this variant is suitable for almost all jewelry with bright stones. It is also an ideal background for banners.
If you want to get a grey background for jewelry pictures, use the first lighting scheme but mind that in this case, the lighting of the back part is not necessary. Remove unnecessary shades, clean the jewelry to create a more impressive look, and enhance colors using basic Lightroom settings or presets.
Gradient background perfectly highlights the jewelry details. The main rule here is to locate the item on the lightest part of the background to attract more attention to it.
You may also use additional colors but be careful not to involve the color that is more interesting than the jewelry is. For instance, if the jewelry is decorated with blue stones, the color gamut of the background should be lighter.
Gold jewelry background is not popular in the sphere of jewelry photos but, at the same time, it shows up among other single-type images and attracts viewer’s attention.
I recommend using this background while shooting expensive jewelry with big stones of different colors. However, the background still should be lighter than the object is in order to achieve contrast in the image. Besides, you need to use the best camera for photographing jewelry to capture intricate light transitions and reflections in a proper way.
If you need a bright jewelry photo, use the colorful background with contrast lines different from your main object. Mind that this background is suitable for shooting jewelry sets.
If you want to know to how to photograph jewelry that shines, just pay attention to this option. Colorful jewelry backgrounds attract viewer’s attention making the image more vivid. Using such a background, the photo becomes brighter and more contrast. It is perfect for tiny jewelry without precious stones.
In order to get more original photos, you may use natural textures. For example, big green leaves or bright flowers. Such jewelry background images are suitable for personal blogs and social network sites. They will absolutely attract viewers’ attention. Moreover, these backgrounds work with any jewelry type.
This background for jewelry pictures is targeted at young people. It does not distract attention from the jewelry itself making the image stylish and original. If you have created an exquisite item in jewelry design software, have given it a physical form and now need to photograph for sale, this type of background is a sure way to go.
This jewelry photography prop looks quite brutal itself and attracts the viewer with its originality. Especially when it is used as a background for sophisticated jewelry decorated with bright contrast stones.
As a creative background, you may choose an image of a jewelry workshop to produce the effect of newly created jewelry. It works great when there are various tools and devices in the frame. This jewelry background is perfect for shooting rings.
Wooden background highlights any jewelry making the shot more realistic. The picture will be interesting to the user because of wood fibers which they will notice only after looking closely at the jewelry itself. I like to use such jewelry backgrounds with earrings and necklaces.
You may use a book or its pages as a background for cute, small jewelry. It will add mystery to the shot being the best variant for the author’s original jewelry of various shapes. Moreover, by selecting specific books as backdrops, you can create a context or tell a story related to the jewelry you are photographing. For example, if you are photographing vintage-inspired jewelry, using a classic novel or an antique book can enhance the theme and create a cohesive narrative.
Remember that jewelry photos don’t have to be limited to isolated backgrounds. If you want to show off rings, earrings, and necklaces in their full glory, try experimenting with this creative photo idea and take photos of your products on people. Firstly, such images look beautiful, and secondly, you'll show how the jewelry looks when worn.
This jewelry background option is similar to the previous one. However, with hands, you can give a closer look at the jewelry and make it easier to evaluate all of its details. Such a background is best suited for taking photos of rings, bracelets, and watches.
You can improve the look of your images in a couple of clicks by using this bundle of free Photoshop actions. They allow you to adjust the lighting, boost contrast, and perform quality color correction.
These tools were created with product and jewelry photos in mind, but can be used on urban and portrait images as well. They’re compatible with both RAW and JPEG formats.
