EllyLoo Creations-Lampwork & Jewelry

I have a lovely voluptuous winged Goddess on Ebay right now.
I made one like her a week ago, and got such an overwhelming response, that I recreated her.
The wonderful thing about this, is that each piece is unique! Especially when working with that nifty glass called “Raku”. It changes colour depending on how you treat it while in the flame!
Here she is, “Autumn”.

I have my first listing (IN A LONG TIME!) up on ebay!
YOu have the opportunity to buy a “Hope” pendant at auction prices!
It’s right here.

I had a number of people ask me how I do my pictures.
I’ll say first, that I’m not a professional photographer, and MOST of my camera remains a mystery. I still have to learn how to set white balance and fstops etc…
BUT, I think that good pictures can be achieved with any decent digital camera! I only bought myself a digital SLR because I wanted to bring it out side and perhaps see if photography was my thing. It is, as long as I remember what settings do what…and my brain is notoriously like swiss cheese…mmmm….cheeeeeese.

ANYhow, what was I saying? Oh yeah!
So, you have a bead or some small object.
You want to take a picture of it.
Set your camera to “macro”.  On most digital cameras, it looks like a flower.  This means you can be really close.   Take as MANY pictures as you like until you get it right!  For every shot I show people, there are about 5-10 discarded ones.  I have my camera set so that I can hold the button down and take multiple shots, so that if one is shaky, there will DEFINITELY be one that’s not!  It’s digital! Be free!  Dare a little!

This is the set up I have for the wintertime:

  I have a 2nd hand light tent that I bought from a friend for about 20 dollars, but I think you can find something similar at walmart, or a reputable place on ebay (be careful!!).  You can rig up your own as well…you need a fabric that will diffuse the light and not block it, not cast shadows from any sort of pattern on it…try frosted glass or plastic, that might work well!

I have at least 3 lights.  As you see, 2 are clip on, and one is not, that’s just because it’s what I had available.  Clip on’s are very convenient, and bendy necks are great to position!  I could probably do with more, but my outlets are full.

I have a greyscale  background, but you can pick anything you like. You can find places on the web to print your own greyscale background out with or you can go into a program like publisher and make a page that’s nothing but gradient, and you make your own! It will be out of focus anyhow when you take a picture, so you could use a square of fabric or whatever your heart desires. Experiment!  Leave it blank for a clean look!

My riser is something I also got second hand–all it is is a piece of white plastic bent to make a shelf.  Use something that won’t pick up dirt and hairs and dust.  Something that doesn’t have a pattern.  I’ve seen people use mirrors or even clear glass to make it seem like their piece is floating on air!  (I still want to try that!!)

My lights are daylight bulbs. Not the yellowy electricity saver ones, but crisp white light.  

Here, Let me show you:        

 In the summertime, I prefer taking the tent out, putting it on the roof/hood of my car and letting sunlight be my lighting.  It takes WAY less ‘after’ work when I do that!

My after work is this:  I crop my photos, fix the colours if they’re off (I told you, I’m still learning about white balance), and if the picture is dull, I fix the levels to brighten it a bit.  I do what I can to make it as true to reality as I can.  I add borders if I want, and then I’m done!  It’s off to Etsy and Deviantart, and other places to show them off.

Let me know if this helps you!  If you have any questions, feel free to comment!