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Jewelry shot list: every photo a listing needs
Our complete guide to jewelry photography provides a shot list for every piece. Learn which photos to take for rings, earrings, and necklaces to boost sales.
By Timothy Burdairon, Co-founder, Canova
Published Updated
A buyer cannot pick the piece up, so the photos must show them everything: the front, an angle, a close view of the stones, the clasp or the back, and the piece on a hand or a body to convey its size. That is the core of a listing. The sections below break this down by piece, with a note on which shots the camera must take and which can come from one good hero photo.
Which shots the camera must take
Some pictures show facts that exist only in front of the lens. Take these on the day, whatever else you plan to do afterwards:
- Scale. The piece on a hand, an ear or a neck, or next to a ruler or a coin. Put the dimensions in the text as well, because a photo alone will not settle a size question.
- The clasp, the back or the inside of the band. This is what buyers look for and rarely find.
- A true close-up of the stones and the metal. If a crop of your hero turns soft at display size, shoot a separate close view.
- Any angle that shows depth. The height of a stone above a ring, the thickness of a pendant, the opening of a cuff.
Which shots can come from one hero photo
Take one sharp, well-lit, high-resolution hero image and several views can be made from it:
- Crops for a quick detail view, as long as they hold up at display size.
- Clean background versions, such as a white one for a marketplace and a softer one for your own shop page.
- Lifestyle scenes and on-model pictures. A tool such as Canova Studio (canova.io) takes a photo or a render and produces packshots, lifestyle scenes and on-model shots. Whatever a tool produces, check it against the real piece, and do not let a generated image stand in for a real clasp, a real measurement or a real size.
Missing information is what loses a sale
One list per piece
Copy the one you need. Items marked with a star are the camera shots from above.
Ring
- Front view of the head, centered
- Angle that shows the whole ring
- Side profile, showing how high the stone sits *
- Close-up of the stone and setting *
- Inside of the band, with any stamp *
- On a finger, from above, for scale *
Earrings
- The pair together, front view
- One earring, side view, to show depth *
- Close-up of the metalwork or stone *
- The back and fastening, with the backs supplied *
- On an ear, with enough of the face to read the size *
- Next to a coin or ruler, for length *
Necklace
- Laid out so the chain shape and pendant are clear
- Pendant at an angle, to show thickness *
- Close-up of the setting and the link that holds it *
- Clasp closed, and the extender if there is one *
- Clasp open, if the closing is hard to read *
- Worn, showing where the pendant falls, with the chain length stated *
Bracelet
- The whole bracelet, laid out or closed
- Close-up of the links or the stones *
- Clasp closed, and open if needed *
- Worn on a wrist, to show whether it sits close or hangs loose *
- Next to a ruler, for length and width *
| Piece Type | Number of Views |
|---|---|
| Simple (stud, band) | 5 |
| Complex (with clasp etc.) | 6+ |
A few rules for the session
- Use diffused, soft light.
- Keep the background plain and consistent.
- Check for reflections that hide details.
- Enlarge close-ups to check focus.
- Check marketplace rules for size and format.
- Shoot the hero image first, while the piece is clean and carefully placed.
- Shoot the close-up view.
- Turn the piece over to shoot the back, clasp, and angles.
- Shoot all worn pictures in a separate batch.
Before you finish, lay the images out together and check them against the list for your piece type. Missing information is what loses a sale, so two beautiful front views will not make up for a clasp nobody can see.
Sources and method
This article synthesizes established best practices for e-commerce product photography. The context and data points mentioned in the source register are drawn from the following publications:
