[Jewelry making - Article 00541] - Re: [Orchid] Photographing Jewelry 101

[Lisa Gallagher]

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Leonid,

>     We required to disclose gem treatments, by the same token should
>     we disclose picture treatments? 

    How are these related? Gem treatments take a gem and change it from
    one finish/color to another, with that finish possibly being able to
    be damaged if we don't know that it's natural. The item itself has
    been altered from one reality to another. With photographing
    jewelry, we have an object that is not changed at all, it's just that
    the image of it doesn't show it for what it looks like in reality. We
    are trying to show reality, not change it. As someone else said, the
    object of this is to create a photo that does NOT misrepresent
    reality. Odds are that's not going to happen just by taking the
    picture and it must be tweaked. I recently took a picture of a
    silver necklace and I didn't realize when I looked into my tiny
    camera screen that the image looked a bit off-color. When I brought
    it into the computer I saw that it just had a bit of a gold tinge to
    it. If that was the picture I showed to people, THAT would be
    misrepresenting the actualy piece of jewelry. People would assume it
    was gold, not silver. I know that because at first I didn't notice
    that, and I had postcards made up, and then saw that it looked a bit
    gold. I even had a few people that looked at it wonder if it was
    gold. I hadn't touched up the image, but in doing that I was not
    properly representing the piece. I have sinced added a touch of blue
    and now the image looks like the piece does in reality. Referring to
    you relating this to noting gems as "treatmed" vs. "natural"... why
    on Earth should I feel the need to note on each image "When I took
    this picture I didn't do a good enough job of removing every trace
    of dust, making sure I didn't have improper reflections in the metal
    that look super obvious once the picture is on your computer screen,
    and that the lighting did just the right job so I got the exact
    color representation in my image once it's on the computer, so I did
    have to touch it up a bit in Photoshop so that the image you now see
    properly reflects what the piece will look like when you hold it in
    your hand", or "I did a really excellent job of taking this picture,
    so I didn't have to do anything to make it look just like the piece
    will if you buy it and see it in person". Again, this is an attempt
    to represent reality, not MISrepresent it. Sure, there's potentially
    a slippery slope, as there is with many things that are used for
    good, but when in NOT altering a photo you ARE misrepresenting
    reality, I don't see how that is OK because it means you refrained
    from using Photoshop. 

Lisa
Designs by Lisa Gallagher
www.lisagallagher.com
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