Tadam Jewelry Shoot

Ah, how I love summer! This season is the time for any and all models to find plenty of work. My latest shoot was for a jewelry company's website. This was my first time being a parts model. It was actually the easiest shoot I had ever done! I arrived at the shoot a few minutes early (which is a very good habit I stress every model should adopt) and called the photographer, who was already there.

She told me that her first model never showed up so she was thrilled that I was there. As harsh as it may sound, when other models fail or slack on their part, this is the time to shine and take the spotlight...but please do it discreetly. Still be professional and don't snicker to yourself and flaunt how much better you are than the other model, whether that person is present or not. It's tacky.

We did three outfits (just the tops mattered obviously, since she was only shooting tight headshots), each with a different set of earrings, necklaces and bracelets. There was a great park we were at and the whole thing took about an hour. The other model ended up showing up after all...she had gotten lost and somehow couldn't get a hold of the photographer to let her know.

Hey, stuff like that happens, but if it had been a huge shoot with a crew present, they would have told her to turn around and go home. But because this was a smaller company, she was able to still participate in the shoot after I was done. Of course she did have to sit around and buy some time while the photographer was working with me.

Jewelry modeling is so simple that it can be frustrating. My best advice if you get booked for such a shoot is to remember what you're shooting for. Yes, you are the model and yes your face is going to appear in the photos, but the focus is supposed to be the jewelry you're wearing. If you are modeling a bracelet, don't have your wrist out of the shot.

With earrings, it's always helpful to tuck your hair behind your ears as a pose so that the camera can capture you in a model type pose that not only shows you off, but the earrings you're sporting as well. Modeling jewelry has an air of class and sophistication. Do poses that elongate your neck...necklaces don't photograph well on a model who has a neck that looks short and stumpy because the pose is bad. Give full-on smiles as well as smirks or sexy grins.

This really is your time to flirt with the camera but don't go overboard with it. It's almost as if the camera is the most handsome guy you have ever seen and you have to make yourself alluring to him without saying a word. So what do you do? You show him how alluring and seductive you can be by showing off the curves of your neck, grazing your hand across your chest, and showing a bit of bare shoulder. Play around with what works for you. If you are a younger/teen model doing a jewelry shoot for your age group, this definitely does not apply and the mood will obviously be different!

Here are my favorite ones from each look/jewelry set we did:







One of the things a model can find difficult about modeling jewelry is that it can be very limiting to the poses you can do. But there is a way around this. Don't just do the same pose with every jewelry set you do. Even the slightest change in the way you are posed can make two shots appear completely different, even if the only thing you changed was the way you faced the camera.

 Of course it isn't realistic to expect you to do a completely different pose everytime. Try to get in a routine that works for you that you do with each set of jewelry you model. This will work out fine, especially if you are shooting in more than one outfit. Don't always feel the need to look at the camera and smile. It is perfectly fine to look away from the camera or to face the camera but have your eyes focused on something in the distance.

This brings more flavor to the shoot as a whole and gives the photographer and the client more images to choose from. What fun is having 50-100 images where you are facing the camera with a smile every single time?