Hello from Kansas!

[EclecticEddyStudio]

Good morning! Lovely, blue skies here in Oz so far...the clouds usually don't roll in until Saturday!

Steve- thanks so much for the encouragement last night...I really needed it at the time! It's been a looooong last year...I was cooking at a restaurant in this small town I seem to be stuck in and last spring the owner closed it, since then I haven't had a phone or internet most of the time...so trying to get the hold taken off my PayPal account was the least of my worries but now I will "get 'er done"! I really don't know why they couldn't have just issued a new card with a new account # like a bank would have done...

Maggie- there's no way I could do the ol' swap-er-roo on anyone!! I just start with some wire and beads and occasionally a vague notion of what I'm doing or trying to do...the wire pretty much takes me where it will...or my muse does! I guess I'm too used to my reputation around here...I sell in a couple of shops and have had booths at various events over the last couple of years and have become known for "one-of-a-kinds" so the bait and switch thing doesn't even occur to me! I need to realize I'm a little guppy now and nobody knows me here. I opened my shop mainly 'cause my peeps on facebook were asking how to buy my stuff when I'd post a pic of something new. The whole marketing thing is hard for me, I'd really rather just make the stuff...if only I were independently wealthy!!

[A-Better-Way]

[tigercreekgifts]

As for white backgrounds, I now photograph everything else of mine on white backgrounds but when it comes to my handmade jewelry, I just can't get the white backgrounds to take with it for some reason. The white shows up with little shadowy spots all throughout so instead, I have just been photographing my jewelry on a white leather-like necklace display and in the ones where you can see a background, I have a nice neutral colored floral background. I've still got a few photos I have to retake; still have a few pieces left over from when my store first started out and those pieces are taken on an ugly ole' tan table, lol.

I'm also in the process of retaking my ring photos with all of my rings shown on a ring display with that same neutral floral background. So, I still have some improvements to do when it comes to MY jewelry photos. Overall, I think my jewelry photos look much better than the original photos left over that my aunt took but, I'm still open for suggestions if anyone sees anything else wrong with my photos.

[EclecticEddyStudio]

guess I've been on facebook too much this last month...I keep looking for the thumbs up when I read the comments on here!!

hey Steve- guess you'll just have to wear your shades if you visit my shop! I'm on my third go around of taking pics, and that's not just for the 20some items in my shop...I have around a hundred items I'm dedicating to this shop from all of my stock and have taken 5 or 6 pics each of about 50 pieces 2 or 3 times now...hopefully that made sense!

Oh, I gave your facebook page some love! Can you suggest a good quality turntable that has the USB jack so I could put my albums on my computer? The ones I've checked into I haven't seen or heard good reviews about them. Or is there a way to go through my receiver instead of having to buy a different turntable?


Tiger- Oh, my! I feel for you if you're having to go through your whole inventory and retake pics!! Seriously! What a job!

Your pics with the all white background...are you using a light tent? They are great, not sure why the jewelry would be any diff... I made a light box to use in the winter but I didn't have the right kind of lights, would like to eventually ($$) get some of those Ott lights so I could have a picture taking station set up somewhere. Right now I have to drag a drafting table and some TV trays out of the garage and find a place in the yard that's just right...not too bright, not too shady...and move it all with the sun, or occasionally make a mad dash back to the garage with everything (I seem to be a rain magnet)

From what I've learned lately, my pics improved greatly when I started shooting in the shade with the white balance set on "open shade" and in the program "P" which lets me adjust the ISO speed and the exposure compensation. I just take few test shots and fiddle with the settings until it seems about right. But there's been a few times when I thought it looked good and then when I got upstairs and put the 80 or 90 pics on my computer they all had a blue haze. !!

I also tried several different kinds and shades of white cloth before I found something that worked.
Some of my jewelry with crystals show up better on this brown fake fur but I'd like to get something different, not too keen on the nap of it but I work with what I have at the moment


Oh, yeah...I'm Eddy but I'm not a guy! Just an ol' hippie chick!

[A-Better-Way]

Well me being oldskool I wouldn't know the technicals for the sound of USB since a nice stereo system would be superior to a computer or computer speakers.
But for good sound at the cheapest price, I am a huge fan of Audio Technica cartridges with an elliptical shaped diamond.

What they do is use two individual pole piece magnets, which reduces the total mass, and they mount the pivot before the magnets.As opposed to a horseshoe looking magnet that has more mass and can't separate the signal near as good and more mass, since they can't be a separate magnetic field.

That gives you very good separation and excellent transient response, nice punchy bass, even a cheap cheap AT cartridge can sound really pretty good.

So whatever you use, or even a cheap turntable, I would say to get some elliptical diamond on some AT cartridge, don't go with a conical needle.
you will be amazed how they sound, of course you can spend more, but pound for pound an AT will outweighs the cost factor to sound quality a lot.

[EclecticEddyStudio]

well me, not being all that technical...I have a fairly new needle on my turntable but have no idea what brand or type, got it when I took the turntable to local vo-tech to get a switch replaced, it wouldn't park in the right spot...it's an old Marantz I've had for a long time, only know it has a magnetic pick-up and only know that because they told me that if I ever needed a new receiver I'd have to make sure to get one that worked with that aspect of it.

[thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat]

[A-Better-Way]

I had an idea for you, since you need to make these things.Having more volume of items.
now you know what you are doing but I am just thinking out loud.
but if you where to do 2 or three of the exact same thing but use different color variations.
you could make 2 of something at the same time so it's not a whole new range of thinking for a whole new peice of jewelry while you have the same supplies and tools you have out at that time.
so if someone really likes somthing and if they have a choice to pick from, it might help each sell or get a request to make some color they want.

dunno just a suggestion.