Gemstone Photography

One of the most critical aspects of selling gemstones online is photography.  Images presented online must be exact replicas of the original to avoid misleading the consumer who could potentially be your next big sale.

Mastering the art of gemstone photography is very time consuming and frustrating.   There are hundreds of blogs and websites offering advice and even with the best equipment and photographic skills, very few people can actually do it well.

At Touchstone Gems we are no exception and have opted for the less is more approach, which for now seems to be yielding decent results.  We have to date spent three months photographing and cataloging over 600 loose gemstones, with another 400 to go before we can launch our online store.

Here are a few examples:

Amethyst 10x5 Marquise 0.8carats

Citrine 10x10 Trillion 2.56 carats

Tanzanite 8.0 Round 1.92carats

The above were all photographed using a Nikon D90 with a 105mm  F2.8 macro lens. Your comments would be great as Touchstone Gems 'charts' into some unknown photography and e-commerce territories.

To view more gemstone photography or to submit your work, go to http://www.directorygemstones.org which is a free photo sharing website that promotes the exchange of knowledge and images between other like-minded people in the industry.

Written by Helen Squirrell for Touchstone Gems cc
www.touchstonegems.co.za