Photography Mission: Engagement Ring Pictures

Don't have a heart attack, I did not get engaged. Ok had to get that out of the way. But one of my really good friends from college did. And her ring is Gooorgeous. Seriously gorgeous. Unfortunately she was having a really hard time taking pictures of it. And lets be honest, as soon as you get engaged everybody wants to see the ring. So she enlisted my help to get a few good pictures.

I've never photographed any sort of jewelry before, but I thought it would be fun to get a little different and unique with it. Instead of doing basic shots on white or black backgrounds I thought it would be fun to find different things to prop it on. Even incorporate her hands in the picture even if the ring wasn't on her finger.

I thought I would share my results with you. In case you need some inspiration yourself in taking pictures of jewelry or your own engagement ring. Even if you are nowhere near getting engaged, you can still drool over my friends ring. It is some serious bling.

Apples worked perfectly for holding the ring in place. And with the vibrant colors of green and red it adds a nice splash to the picture. I also liked the personal aspect of her hands holding the apple.

It was at this point that my friend called me out for mimicking the Twilight book cover. Danget, she caught me! Actually I hadn't realized that was what I was doing, but I don't really care. I'll be the first to admit my love for Edward runs deep. Ok back on topic this is about my friend's engagement, not my creepy love for a fictional character.

We both love fall, ok maybe I love it a little more than she does. But a bright orange pumpkin worked perfectly for displaying the ring. Especially since they are hoping to get married in the fall. It runs perfectly with the theme.

We did this little photoshoot on a picnic blanket at Iwo Jima. Of course the view of DC is pretty amazing so I couldn't resist taking this shot. You can see the Lincoln Memorial, Washingotn Monument, and Capitol blurred in the background. Ok and I kind of liked the cheesy representation since they met and got engaged in DC.

The flowers worked great for holding the ring in place. And the colors are gorgeous with the green grass in the background.

A few other random tips for lighting in case you want to do a similar shoot. We did this outside in the afternoon so we didn't have to worry about professional lighting. Morning and afternoon light are best for pictures. And sometimes you can't beat natural light over staged lighting. It also helps so that the pictures aren't blurry, which was what my friend was having problems with. So if you are going to take up close detailed pictures I suggest you head outside.