I'm so excited to share some behind the scenes from our latest shoot! 

This photo shoot was supposed to be back in March, right when the U.S. started to go into lockdown. So having the crew back together for a few days to create new beautiful content was extra special. Here's a gorgeous behind the scenes video featuring clips from our shoot: 

My vision and goal for this shoot was to elevate the feel of the brand. I started making jewelry over eight years ago in a closet under my stairs which you can read more about here, and I had a totally different aesthetic then. The jewels were bolder and chunkier in size with a bohemian vibe, I actually made a lot of the pieces in silver which I hardly use anymore! Basically a complete 180 from the style of jewelry that I make now which is dainty gold necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets that are meant to be layered and stacked to create a unique look to fit your style. 

Side note -- if you don't have time to mix and match pieces on your own, I have the perfect solution for you: our Jewelry Sets. After years of selling to customers in person I've seen the most popular combinations of our jewels put together time and time again. I've also been asked numerous times what I would layer and stack together. So to take the guess work out of it I've paired together the dainty gold jewels that look best together which you can shop here.

Back to the shoot though! As the line has grown and as my own personal style has evolved, my vision for the jewels and the images that represent them have changed. For wardrobe I selected classic silk slip dresses, cozy sweaters and monochromatic looks using down to earth pastel colors that would make each golden piece pop and shine. As seen here:

What's interesting about photographing the jewelry is that it is so small and dainty that we have to get pretty close up so that you can see the detailing of the piece. It's also easy to use the same pose over and over again which can get a little boring. I always make sure there is music playing when we're doing a shoot so that the model can feel relaxed and get creative with their movements so we can capture a lot of different angles to showcase the focal piece. 

Like anyone doing a photo shoot consistent lighting is key! It is not only important in order to capture the natural coloring of the pieces it also helps the entire composition of the image. When you have good lighting your editing in post is way easier. I used to put too much importance on getting 'the perfect image'. I always want to capture the jewelry in the most flattering way but I have been putting more attention on making sure we create images that are natural and relatable to our customers.

Another thing I focus on when photographing the jewelry is to make sure most of the content is 'evergreen'. If you're not familiar with this term it means that the content is suitable for any time of year. Since I'm a small business with a limited marketing budget I have to get a lot of bang for my buck with photography. It may be another two, three or six months before I can hire another model for a shoot so I have to be able to use the images for longer than just one season. For example, the behind the scenes image below showing the model in a beautiful purple ensemble featuring the Evil Eye Collection can be used in the winter months, or spring, summer, fall.. I wear dresses all year long (even in the colder months -- I not only layer my jewels but also my sweaters over my dresses!)

XOXO, KATIE