Scanners for photographing jewelry

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello, all, I just came across the thread on using scanners for
photographing jewelry. I’ve written an article on this very thing,
and hope it helps anyone who’s interested in this topic:

http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/photographing-jewelry.html.

At the bottom of the article is a link to a short article on using
PaintShop Pro to edit your scanned photos.

I’ve scanned my jewelry for a few years and have really fallen in
love with the artistic things you can do with photos taken this way.
Hope this article is of interest! Rena

2

Rena: I really enjoyed your article on scanning jewelry–I’ve also
been doing it for a while, and learned some new tricks. One thing
that I have done, which seems to work for pieces of jewelry that
have dangling beads which will never remain in place when placed
flat on glass, is to prop up the back end of the scanner with a
small box, or some blocks, (from the toy box) just enough so that
the beads will hang down. Then I fasten the necklace (or what ever)
to a velvet board, with hidden pins, or even sew it on. Place it all
face down on the scanner. The scanner seems to work just as well as
when it is flat.

Sandra Buchholz

3

Dear Rena: This info is invaluable to me since I’ve been scanning my
dichroic pieces for quite a while now. I’m wondering how big the box
is that encompasses the piece of jewelry? It’s hard for me to grasp
how the background comes together. Does the box encompass the
background as well?

Regards, Audie’s Images…

4 
        This info is invaluable to me since I've been scanning my
dichroic pieces for quite a while now.  I'm wondering how big the
box is that encompasses the piece of jewelry?  It's hard for me to
grasp how the background comes together.  Does the box encompass
the background as well?

Hi, Audrienne,

Thanks for your reply, and for letting me know I need to make the
part about the box more clear! Here goes:

I arrange the jewelry face-down on the scanner glass, then position
my props / background for the photo. Then, outside of the jewelry
photo area I’ve just arranged, I place a small box (I use the box my
business cards came in–but you can use whatever works for you) on
the scanner glass, right where the scanner lid opens (the side of the
lid that’s opposite the hinge).

Then I lower the scanner lid so it’s touching the box instead of the
back of the jewelry photo area. The box isn’t actually covering the
jewelry or background; it’s away from that area. The only purpose
the box serves is to keep the scanner lid from touching the back of
my jewelry and background, so it doesn’t knock my jewelry out of
whack when I shut the lid.

Then I cover the entire scanner with a dark cloth to prevent any
outside light from seeping in. Another jeweler mentioned to me that
her scanner has a completely removeable lid, so she just takes the
lid off, arranges her jewelry and background, and throws the dark
cloth over the top of all that–no box needed to prop her lid open!

I hope this helps! If anyone wonders what I’m talking about, here’s
the link for my article:

Thanks again, Audrienne!
Rena www.rena-jewelry.com