The weather has been so lovely recently that it would be a shame to spend all my time indoors making jewellery. We’ve been out in the garden a lot this weekend and it’s full of life! Nature is giving me lots of ideas for new creations

We’ve been given a week long project, we’ve been sent to photograph a random location (well not quite random, someone else chose it and then we swapped).

I swear this is one of the most horrible places I’ve ever been! It’s supposed to be a picturesque fishing lake but it was just a putrid h…orrible bit of water surrounded by rubbish. I felt physically uncomfortable there. There were about 20 old men there fishing, all watching every step I took around the lake, making us feel so unwelcome.

I do *not* want to go back! I’ve tried to make the photos sum up how it felt to be there.

That doesn’t mean I’m not happy to be out with my camera again. The long summer break has been just what I needed and now I’m ready to get back into it.

When you are making jewellery to sell online, the second most important thing is good photography (the first being making quality pieces). If someone is browsing a site with poor photography and blurred photographs they are going to be put off. Making sure your photographs are good is vital and not difficult.

I have a rather expensive camera because I am doing a degree in photography but you can do everything on a much smaller budget. An SLR is best but a good quality compact camera with a macro function can work well. I use a special macro lens which means I can focus very close to jewellery but if you don’t have this then just work as close as you can whilst still keeping focus. You can always crop the image later on to get rid of all the space around the piece of jewellery.

The flash I have is a separate unit that attaches to my camera, this means I can direct it in whatever direction I want. I point the flash upwards to bounce the light off the ceiling. This diffuses the light so there are no sharp shadows. If you don’t have a separate flash unit you can put some tissue paper over your onboard flash to diffuse the light or work outside. If you are working outside with natural light, cloudy days are better. You will notice that there are no harsh shadows like there is when the sun is shining. If you live in the UK like me then you won’t have to wait long for a cloudy day!

Put some thought into your background. So many people photograph on plain backgrounds which look lovely but you want your photos to be different and stand out from the crowd. Create your own style. All my photographs are taken against a light brown background with driftwood and pebbles. Choose simple things that complement your work and don’t distract from it. I’ve made a small set in a cardboard box – it’s not very glamorous, as you can see! I took a long piece of paper and curved it so that there was no corner between the bottom of the set and the back. This eliminates any lines and harsh angles in your photos.

My high-tech set!

I’m not very good at explaining it all but if you have any questions please do ask and I will attempt to answer them.

I’ve not made any new jewellery all weekend (which is rare for me!) because I’ve been at the circus! I do photography for the Invisible Circus which is great fun. They put on a show called The Last Resort and the whole place was turned into a seaside resort. It was brilliant. I’m exhausted now, need to recover and get back to the jewellery making.