Improving my Photographs

My photographs are much more miss than hit which has led me to the conclusion that I need to learn more about photography. 

On a bright sunny day I take a jewelry bust and a few props and head out the door.  On cold or overcast days, when I do not have time to wait for better conditions, I set up inside by draping a cloth behind my jewelry, focusing a few lights on it, and snapping away.  My pictures are washed out, have too many shadows, lack detail, and certainly do not do justice to my efforts. 

I am always hopeful that a bit of editing magic will make up for my lack of proper tools and my unpracticed photography skills.  You won’t be surprised to learn that hopes are often dashed. 

I need better photos in order to professionalize the sale of my jewelry.  The first step in better photos is to obtain a light box. 

I am creative, capable, and like to spend my money wisely.  My first choice was to build a light box.  The first instructions I found were how to make a light box out of a cardboard box.  The cost was perfect.  The product was workable.  I nixed this solution because of storage space.  I did not want to have to find a place to store a cardboard box big enough to work as a light box. 

I decided I needed something that I could take apart and put back together and that I could store in a small space.  I thought PVC piping likely as I had seen a similar light box in the past.  I discovered Bill Huber’s light box instructions. Again, the cost was great, likely to be under $10.00, and it was a workable product.  The construction did not seem to be above my skills or to call for tools that were not readily at hand.  The instructions did call for the pieces to be glued together, but I thought I could skip that step in order to make the light box easy to store.  Nonetheless, the deconstructed light box was still going to be awkward and a bit bulky.  I also had an inkling that I would not want to be taking my light box apart and putting it back together every time I wanted to take a picture. 

A commercial solution seemed at least worth researching.  That research was successful.  I purchased a pop-up cube that collapses into a flat disk for easy storage.  The price was still reasonable, $20.00 for a 20 inch by 20 inch cube.

The cube has not been delivered yet, so I cannot attest to the ease of collapsing it nor can I attest to the quality of the product. When it arrives I will let you know about ease of use and post some comparison pictures.