You know how much I like my Modahaus Tabletop Studios. But don't take just my word for it.  Helen Breil, a polymer clay artist and fellow member of the Grand River Bead Society bought one and the Steady Stead and loves it!  I took this picture of Helen at our January meeting. She had brought in her units so she could photograph designs by other members. 

Helen Breil with her Modahaus units
Modahaus now has a full range of photostudios in different sizes.  The TS320, the mid size one is the most useful as it is large enough for even jewelry group pictures.  Check out my review here. The jewelry photographs here (with the exception of the last one) were taken with the TS320.

Modahaus Tabletop Studios
The smartcase/diffuser can also be used as a background blocker for mannequin shots.  Who needs to see household clutter or distracting outdoor scenes?  Focus on the jewelry!

Bertha on a bad hair day!
Although the amount and quality of light can vary even in a single day, natural light is still the easiest to work with.  Just choose a bright (not necessarily sunny) day and be close to a window.

All My Love for You Inside Necklace/iPhone5/Natural Light
 
Kinetic Floral Filigree Earrings/iPhone 5/Natural Light

The new Modahaus photostudios now come with 6 background colors.  Helen really loves the black one. She tried putting the black over the white background sheets. She said, "I get a nice dramatic (image) - dark grey and black beads still show up. I used to use black suede for my black background but anything black totally disappeared. I use natural light and I get a bit of the gradated look. I'm still experimenting but I like the look."  Here is the picture she sent me of her beautiful creation :


Polymer Clay art by Helen Breil
I too love the black.  It works well for some jewelry designs making the silver and colored material stand out.  This one was the All Tied Up in a Bow necklace I created for a Prima Bead post. The tutorial for the cord ends is here.  I like how the Modahaus studio background somehow gives that wonderful gradation of light without any effort from me!

All Tied Up in a Bow Necklace/Compact Camera/Natural Light
I also experiment with the polymer sheets. Placing the blue over the black gave me a deeper blue color background which I used for the alternative picture in this Etsy listing :

Turquoise Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Pendant/Compact Camera/Natural Light
The polymer sheets are easy care and anti-static.  They are just wipe clean.  Tip - the last few stubborn dust flecks can be removed with a Swiffer duster!


If you are having trouble with white backgrounds and don't like the black, consider grey backgrounds instead.  Often the choice of backgrounds will be dictated by the design.  I use all three - white, black and grey- on my Etsy.  Some artisans also use scrapbook paper for different hues.  It all depends on the look you want for your designs and store.

Awareness Ribbon Cord Necklace/Compact Camera/Natural Light

The Modahahus products are a wonderful aid to great jewelry photographs.  However, it is is also imperative to know how to use one's camera.  Check the links below for all sorts of photography tips from Lex McColl, the professional photographer and inventor of Modahaus.

Helen was already into photography so she understood how to use her camera effectively.  I on the other hand had no prior interest until I was dragged into the world of macro photography.  Once in it, I began to enjoy it more and more! It really pays to experiment with your camera.

Kinetic Floral Garden Earrings/iPhone 5/Natural Light
I have an older Panasonic Lumix (DMC ZS10) compact camera with some dSLR functions.  Cameras with a lot of options do deliver very good results but they have a steeper learning curve.

Recently I have been using my iPhone 5 more and more.  There's not much to change. It is so convenient and FAST!  It doesn't make sense to spend more time taking photographs than actually making the pieces!  See my post on How to Use Your Smartphone for Jewelry Photography.  I usually use natural light for actual jewelry pictures but switch to daylight CFL bulbs in my basement workshop for tutorials.

Wire Wrapped Quartz Donut Pendant/iPhone 5/Natural Light
If you do a great deal of overhead product photography, then the Modahaus multisized Steady Stand Kit  will be useful. It is a versatile unit as it has all sorts of additional scanning uses - see my review.  The new steady stands are designed to support all kinds of cameras, smartphones and tablets and can team up with a tabletop studio.


The steady stand works well to capture whole necklaces beautifully using my iPad.

Copper Spool Knitted Wire Necklace/iPad4/Natural Light


Giveaway
If you'd like to win a Modahaus TS320 photo studio ($80 value)  OR the Steady Stand kit ($53 value),  please make a comment below.  Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.

Subscribers need to click on the post title to come to my actual blog. Scroll down and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.

This giveaway is international.

Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments.

It ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday,  February 24, 2014. I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!

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