The Quality of Professional Photography: DeboraC Photography

The Quality of Professional Photography

Deborac Photography

By

 Debora Cartagena

www.deboracphotos.com

The Afua Necklace

About two weeks ago, I decided to get some professional photography work done by a good friend I met at a previous event held last year. It's a great thing to network at various events and make it a point to reach out to at least one of the contacts you've met at each event. In this case, I met Debora Cartagena of Deborac Photography (www.deboracphotos.com).

 Deborah and I met at the Silent Art Auction for AIDS Atlanta last year and I was fond of the photography work I saw there. At the time, I wasn't fully pushing my jewelry as I hadn't come to terms with the identity of my work. I kept her contact information and contemplated on when I could work with her. It took a long time coming on my end but, I am glad to say, we finally met and here's just some of the products of that shoot.

The Afua Necklace

The Digable Planets Necklace

The Abundant Harvest Thanksgiving Necklace

Taking photos of my work is a very time consuming job and somewhat takes away from the time that I need to create the jewelry. I realize, the more jewelry I create, the more time I must spend photographig every single piece. The light ALWAYS has to be right and on a point and shoot camera, you must be as virtually still as possible with the addition of editing photos afterwards. After this session, I have decided that I will still work on the photos for my jewelry but I will largely dedicate a portion of this work to my newely assigned professional photography. Jewelry is my element but photography is my weaker point. Finding someone that has the same vision and enthusiasm that doesn't rest is a must for me. I am proud to have finally found someone who gets this vision. Not everyone is into product photography for jewelry or knows how to. Simplicity is best. Everything isn't meant to have the dramatic graphics or the exotic fashion model to promote it. Handmade jewelry has a character all of it's own and the surroundings need to reflect that. I am working towards the point where my jewelry can carry the surroundings and the props used to set up the jewelry.

The Abundant Harvest Thanksgiving Necklace

These pictures were taken at the location for my upcoming jewelry show, Thai Heaven Restaurant. I already knew that having a great camera will make or break your product. Until I can get to that level financially, I am working towards having a manual SLR digital camera. Those cameras are very pricey, minus the neccessary attachments which can run you minimum, $500 a piece! This is an expense that is a must and will more than pay for it's self. Before this shoot, I thought I might have been really doing something with the simple Canon Coolpix point and shoot camera that I am currently using. After uploading these photos, the didfference is very clear. Let's take a look shall we....

The Atlantis Necklace

Although the I took the picture above of my Atlantis necklace, the photo for the most part seems very clear thanks to the use of a mirror and some light editing. The picture below of the Atenti necklace is purposely blurred by the macro lens on Debora's digital SLR camera. The objective was to focus on the front of this necklace, which came out STUNNING!!! Also, the pixels are ginormous!!!! My pictures would be instantly blurred if a reproduction was needed.

The Atenti Necklace Set

The black and white greyscale of this picture really showcased the detail of the etched metal bicones beads I used in The Abundant Harvest necklace I designed.

Debora took pictures on a variety of backgrounds that when uploaded on a computer, you would imagine perhaps a fancy setup was used to produce the artistic photos showcased here. They are very simple but very effective, which is important for the detail of handmade jewelry.

I am amazed at the vibrancy of the colors and the clean and clear clarity of each photo. The detail in each photos chronicles each and every aspect of my jewelry. There's no need for any editing. This is what I have wanted. Editing is so time consuming. Unless I am cropping the photos, I almost feel that there's a little deception if you have to edit any aspect of your jewelry. Make the best product possible. Take the best photos possible and the rest will work itself out.

 

I've been asked quite a few times as to why I just don't go ahead and pay someone to do the photos of my jewelry. In my mind, it was a cost that wasn't neccessary. Well, when explained in terms of marketing, we may dine at a restaurant who's food is subpar but when it comes to marketing, you continue to dine at the restaurant or continue to purchase their product anyways because you are subliminally lead to believe that their cuisine is the best or that they have the best prices, but is it really? Marketing is never to be underestimated! Pictures are the lifeline of ALL products sold online. So, I must make the best investment to have the best photos, which at this point, are very necessary.

My next project is to work with lady Debora on profile pictures. I am not the most photogenic person but, I believe everyone needs to have at least one great profile shot of themselves every 2-5 years. You never know when you will need it. Currently, I have a website that is under construction as we speak by Robert L. Arnold of  Robt Leon Designs, www.robtleon.com. I will need these photos to make the perfect impact for the website as this artist is constructing my website around the beauty of the photos. I am SOOO excited about this project as I have two amazing artist on my team to make this vision for Divinite' Jewellry, come to life!

To check out Debora's work, please visit her site at www.deboracphotos.com.

The next project that I am working on is profile shots for my upcoming newly constructed website.

Profile shots is another aniumal all together.

Thank you for your artisty and attention to detail, Debora! I am a fan!!