By Guest Blogger, Mariano Pastor from the blog “Via U! Photography Blog”.

A window and a piece of cardboard is all you’ll need to take pictures of silver jewelry with brilliant, even tones.

Move a table as close to a window as you can.

Make sure that the top of the table is a higher than the window sill.

Tape a piece of tracing paper to the window. Sunny or cloudy skies, the paper will make light coming in to be even and soft. Hang the paper so it goes down below the table.

When using white paper as a background put something white underneath to avoid the table coming through making it look dark.

I used a 2′ x 2′ piece of foam board to bounce back light from the window, you can use anything that stands upright without bending. A piece of cardboard covered with sheets of white paper will work great.

Light will reflect from the white card and from the white surface as well.

Silver is like a mirror, it shows whatever is around. The light and white paper will reflect on the metal making it look light and shiny. Pendant, a courtesy of Roxy’s Jewelry.

If you pull the white card away from the window it will create a dark area that will also reflect on the jewelry.

Different tones of silver make a picture have more depth. You may like the way it looks, or you may not. If you prefer the silver to have even tones make sure that the card is flashed against the window.

However, if you do want your background to have a gradation of tones try replacing the white card with a black one. Blocking the light will create a shadow with a clear edge.

Then you can play placing your jewelry where the background shifts from light to dark to see what happens.

Every other week we post a new product photography tutorial showing how to take at home the pictures we create at the Via U! studio.

More and more artists and crafters are using the web to sell their items. There are online auction sites, online craft fairs, and opportunities to create online shops. A key element of selling on such sites is to have crisp, clean photographs of your work.  You can find a list of photography tips here on ThinkCrafts.com.

Most online artists and crafters offer these tips to get the perfect shots:

• Take your photos outside to get the best light on your items.  Cloudy days are best as the filtered light helps bring pop to the photo.
• Display your item in an interesting way, but don’t let the background or display become too busy. You want your item to be the main attraction.
• Contrast your background and item. Light items on dark backgrounds and dark items on light backgrounds.
• Take photos from many different angles and select the one that gives the best view of your item.
• Use a tripod. Shaky hands led to unfocused images. Practice and get comfortable with your camera.

If you think you can get overwhelmed organizing your traditional film photos you’ll be doubly overwhelmed with how quickly digital images can add up!  It’s important to keep current and keep your digital images organized. I recently vowed to organize my digital photos and I must say I was tempted to just delete everything a few times.  My husband loves to take 5-6 photos of the same thing just to be safe and my eyes started to cross trying to figure out what to keep and what to delete.

I’m trying to organize my digital photos because I’ve fallen in love with the process of making slide show videos out of them.  So in love I even purchased a new computer for myself and after 20+ years of being quite PC, I bought a Mac!  I’ve not had much time to play around with my Mac other than organize the billion photos my husband has taken over the years, but I’m excited about it.  Another way to be creative.  And don’t think I’m going totally digital, I’ve been stocking up on my decorative papers to make cool CD and DVD envelopes!

Here’s my advice for organizing your digital photos and I’ve thrown in a few of our most recent photos for you to enjoy!

Immediately delete any images you don’t want while taking your photos.  This is the first step in organizing digital images.  If you aren’t happy with a photo, delete it, and re-shoot on the spot.

Don’t leave images in your digital camera.  Download the images into a folder that includes the event and date in the folder name.  This is also a good time to delete any images that you don’t want.

A sunset captured in Palau.

Once images are downloaded into a folder on your computer, make an index file.  Create a word document and use it to describe the event, people in the photos, location, date, and journaling.  This is a must! 

If you have time, rename the images to include name, date, location or other reminder of what the photo is about.  This can be done later, but it is important.  This is also another opportunity to delete any unwanted images or to send images to others via e-mail.  The longer you wait to organize digital images the more likely you are to forget the details like location, date, and even people in the photos.

The new addition to my craft studio my husband is building.

It’s a good idea to back-up your photo inventory on a timely basis so you don’t lose any images if your computer has problems.  It’s a good idea to keep different categories of CD or DVD copies too.  

There are several excellent software programs that help keep your digital photos organized.  Programs like Greenstreet Digital Photo Album Deluxe, OnTheGoSoft Photo Backup and Preclick Photo Organizer.  These programs organize, backup, and even allow for digital albums.

A huge grouper we saw diving!

Use subfolders for key events like birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and other annual events that you know you will take photos.  The main folder should have the event name and all subfolders will have the year.  For example:  Main Folder is Maria’s Birthday; Subfolders are 2003, 2004, 2005, and so on. Vacation folders should include location and year with an index that includes specific dates and people.

Ken's 50th birthday.

If photo editing, make sure you keep the original image intact.  Make a copy of the image you want to photo edit and work with that.  The more you photo edit, the more the image loses some quality so it’s important that key original images be kept as backup.

One of our orchids in bloom.

When Tropical Storm Fay hit Florida she left behind 26″ of rain in one day in my community. My husband was home from work 3 days because it was impossible to drive down flooded streets that had become a playground for children to boogie board and splash around. I turned to my crafts for comfort and made cards to send to friends, once mail service was restored! We were lucky not to have any damage, but many in our state did. Now Gustav and Hanna have caused serious problems and Ike is not be far behind.

My first thought when I hear a hurricane is headed our way — Where are my most precious photographs? We have two small airtight containers of photos that are tucked away high in a bathroom closet during hurricane season. I can quickly find the containers and put them in the car if we need to evacuate. All these photos have been scanned and placed on CDs and DVDs too. I even scan my scrapbook pages.

We keep the disks in our safety deposit box and also send out copies to friends in different locations around the country.  I can’t really explain it, but for some reason there are certain photos of family and friends that if I lost the photos, I’d really be heartbroken!  It’s not fun to think about hurricanes, tornados, floods, fires, or other catastrophic events that can happen at any time in any place, but it is important to be prepared and think ahead.

My brother’s house was on the fire line of the Oakland, CA fires many years ago.  Even though he knew exactly where he kept a metal box of family photos he said he just didn’t have time to even think when he and his wife were asked to evacuate.  One of his main concerns while waiting for days to find out if he still had a home was that he should have grabbed that box of photos before leaving.  It was a box of family slides our father had taken when we were all kids and my brother was devastated that he might have lost them.  The story has a happy ending, my brother’s house barely suffered smoke damage, but that metal box of family slides has now been scanned and the images on a CD that every family member has a copy of!

Before disaster strikes think about what is most important to you and if you have heirlooms that are priceless to you, consider how to store these items so that in case you must leave your home quickly you can have a better chance of saving the personal treasures.  Never risk your life or the life of a loved one for a material possession, I’m just trying to say that if you plan ahead for emergencies sometimes that knowledge will give you a little more time.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all who face Mother Nature’s storms.  Even the worst of times can be made better with creativity.  Be smart too!  Think ahead and be prepared.

I just found this list I made of ideas I had for scrapbook pages!  Although it is over a year old, the ideas are still fun ones.  Did I forget anything?  Can you add to my list?

Your Home

Your Garden

Your Car

A Writing Pen

Your Favorite Song

Your Favorite Book

Your Favorite Movie

That Special Look

Your Favorite TV Show

Your Last Vacation

Your Best Vacation

Joy & Jubilation

Your Beloved Pet

Your Child

Your House Plants

Your Favorite Color

A Big Brother

Your Biggest Dream

Your Faith

Your Best Friend

Kicking A Bad Habit

A Catcher’s Mitt

Your Exercise Routine

Your Favorite Food

Flavor of Ice Cream

A Daydream

Your Hobbies

The Neighborhood

Your Grandmother

Your Grandfather

Your Aunt

Your Uncle

Crying Uncle

Being First Born

Being An Only Child

The Baby of the Family

A Hissy Fit

First Home

Your Summer Home

Your Home Town

Most Prized Heirloom

Your Favorite Tree

Your First Crush

Your Last Crush

Getting Lost

Being Found

Finding Your Keys

Hitting The Piano Keys

The Florida Keys

A Summer Breeze

Your Hero

A Favorite Poem

A Poem By You

Your Office

Your Occupation

Your Career

Your Boss

Who’s The Boss

A Cow Paddy Toss

A Road Trip

Getting A Grip

Letting It Rip

A Sailing Ship

Your Niece

Your Nephew

Your Son

Your Daughter

What Makes You Smile

What Makes You Cry

What Makes You Proud

What Makes You Sigh

Words of Wisdom

Favorite Holiday

Best Thing About Spring

Best Thing About Summer

Best Thing About Fall

Your Favorite Plumber

Best Thing About Winter

Dancing The Night Away

Singing in the Shower

A Bubble Bath

Backyard Bird Bath

Bathing Your Dog

Bathing The Baby

Yes, No, or Maybe?

Catching A Frog

Getting Lost in the Fog

Drinking Eggnog

A Big Hug

Enjoying Company

Enjoying The Quiet

Playing a Game

Starting A Riot

Girl’s Night Out

Your Man And His Truck

Riding A Horse

The Truck Getting Stuck

Day at the Beach

Day at the Lake

Day at the Park

A Casual Clam Bake

Mowing the Lawn

Weeding A Bed

A Nap In A Hammock

Making The Bed

Before School

After School

Riding the Bus

Diving into a Pool

Roasting a Hot Dog

Marshmallow Roast

Grilling a Burger

Wearing Something Yellow

Feeling Kind of Mellow

Watching a Parade

Marching in a Parade

Catching a Wave

Making Lemonade

Caught in the Rain

Jumping in a Puddle

Umbrellas Open and Shut

Football Huddle

Boys Will Be Boys

Sugar & Spice

Girls Having Fun

Everything Nice

Christmas Stockings

Easter Hunts

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Boos, Screams & Grunts

A Wedding

An Anniversary

A Birthday

Money Tree

Bank Of Dad

May Day

School Day

Make Hay

Let’s Play

Sunshine

Clouds

Who’s On First?

Peanuts & Popcorn

Mother Earth

In The Jungle

At The Zoo

Finding Love

Giving Love

Treasuring Love

Lost Loves

Mittens & Gloves

Paper, Scissors, Rock

High School Jock

Knitting A Mitten

Got A New Kitten

Walking The Dog

Did You See A Hog?

Wine Fest

Cheese Fest

You’re the Best

Leaving the Nest

Water Balloon Fight

Starry Night

All Night Crop

Hugging Pop

Watering The Lawn

Stepping Stones

Kidney Stones

Nibbling On Scones

High Tea

High Noon

Watching A Favorite Cartoon

First Date

Learning to Skate

Popcorn and a Movie

Hair In Curlers

Run In Your Hose

Tripping High Heels

Potatoes to Peel