For Your Inspiration: Background for Jewelry Photography for Your Next Photoshoot

Want to add eye-catching elements to your ads and social media posts? Consider changing up the background for jewelry photography. When done right, a good background can enhance your jewelry and improve the first impression customers get from your products. That’s why it’s important to know how to use backgrounds for jewelry pictures, regardless of whether it’s used during the shoot or added in jewellery editing in post-production.

In this article, we’ll provide you with some inspiration for background ideas for jewelry photography. Hopefully, our list can help you brainstorm ideas that take your jewelry images to new levels.

White Background: A Popular Choice for Online Stores, Product Pages, and Catalogs

If you don’t have this already, consider getting a plain image of your jewelry against a clean white background. This background for jewelry pictures is most popular for online stores, product pages, catalogs, product carousels, and other purposes that help customers who are already in that stage where they intend to buy jewelry. However, when used in a certain way, you can still have a white background on an eye-catching ad and social media content.

White backgrounds are best for putting all the focus on your jewelry. Aside from the shadow, there’s usually nothing else on the image to distract a person’s attention from the product. For ads and social media posts, this is a good option to use if you want to emphasize the smaller intricate details of your jewelry.

You can use a white background during a photoshoot or add it later in post-production. Having a lightbox can help you achieve the right lighting and a crisp white background. If you don’t have this, you can simply add the white background in post-production, add the natural shadows, and then adjust the lighting. Here’s a basic guide on how to edit jewelry photos.

Black Background: For a Dramatic and Luxurious Neutral

While a white backdrop for jewelry photography is a popular option, there are also other neutral colors that can serve as an alternative if white doesn’t fit in with your website or brand’s aesthetic. Black, for instance, is a neutral color for a jewelry photography background that adds drama, flair, and a luxurious feel to any image without the need for additional props.

A black background works best for lighter jewelry pieces, such as those that have white metals like silver, white gold, and platinum. The dark color can also contrast the brilliance of translucent gemstones like diamonds and moissanite, as well as other gemstones that work well with reflecting light.

During a photoshoot, a black background can be helpful for photographers that want to reduce the glare and unnecessary light reflections that are causing unwanted shadows. To minimize the glare and the effect your camera flash can have on your lighting, make sure your jewelry is at least half a meter away from the backdrop. You can also add a black background in post-production.

Gray Background: A Modern, Versatile Choice

For something that has the simplicity of a white background and the added character of a black background, any shade of gray can be a good alternative. It’s not as dramatic as a black background, and it also doesn’t give customers the need to focus on the smallest details of your jewelry. Gray is becoming a more popular color for jewelry photography, especially for modern styles and jewelry that can be worn every day.

Like white and black, a gray background can be added in post-production or during a shoot. However, keep in mind that the lighting may have to be adjusted and the image retouched. Because of the color, unwanted shadows can be distracting and can affect the overall quality of your image.

Patterns and Textures: For Branding and Aesthetics

Add more elements to your image without the need for props by using eye-catching patterns and textures. Your pattern or texture of choice should ideally match your brand’s style and aesthetic, or at least match the theme of the jewelry you want to present. It also shouldn’t be too distracting, or else the image can be overstimulating and off-putting for viewers, as well as taking the attention away from the real star of your image.

Patterns and textures can be used in jewelry photography. For instance, using fabrics, furs, or even objects like marble and granite on your jewelry’s platform or backdrop can act as a good jewelry photo background. Using solid colors that match your branding can also help customers recognize your brand without the need for using logos. For patterns or a cleaner background, you can also opt to add another image or background through editing.

Gradient Background: For Focals and Emphasis Without the Props

Using plain color jewelry photography background ideas can help make the entire jewelry piece the focal point of an image. But if you want a specific portion of that jewelry to act as the focal point – be it the biggest diamond on a ring or the dangling charms on a bracelet – a gradient background offers an effective solution for drawing attention without much effort.

When using a gradient background, make sure that the lightest part of the gradient is right behind the part where you want it as a focal point. There are gradient backdrops for studios, but you can also use a plain background and then work with lighting to create a gradient background. You can also find plenty of gradient images online that you can use for your image. Just make sure that the color scheme of the gradient is relevant to either your branding or the theme of your jewelry.

Themed Flat Lays: For Ads That Tell a Story

If you find that regular backdrops for jewelry photography are too plain for your brand, you may opt for a flat lay instead of a traditional background. This involves taking a flat surface, adding props, and then taking pictures of your jewelry from an overhead perspective. This adds more elements to your image that sells a story – which is a creative idea for ads and social media posts.

For example, you could use a flat lay to sell wedding bands. Use white silk or lace as a background spread on a flat surface, then add wedding-themed items like a bouquet, invitations, and champagne glasses, and then put the wedding bands in the center as a focal point.

While this is great for an indirect way of selling your jewelry, make sure you’re not going overboard with the props. On one hand, props are a good way to tell a story and add context to an image, but it’s easy to add too much props or overly-distracting props that take the focus away from your jewelry.

Not Sure What Background to Use? Let Jewelry Retouchers Add Your Background in Post-Production

These are just some ideas that can inspire you to think about what is the best background for your jewelry photography. Invest in a lightbox or a backdrop that you can use for all your product photography shoots, find good quality props, and design the backgrounds that can capture your target audience’s attention.

Not sure which background is best? Are you unsure how to bring your ideas to life in the studio? Then send your jewelry images over to Jewelry Retouchers and let us create your background in post-production. Our jewelry retouching company can work with you to bring your ideas to life and create the background you want on top of retouching your jewelry to get the best results that highlight the best features of each piece. Contact us today to learn more about our services.