Ellen Thorpe Jewellery

I had the pleasure and privilege of working with my best friend and jeweller Ellen Thorpe. Together we created environmental portraits and documented her magnificent buttercup tea infuser. This absolutely gorgeous piece is 100 percent handmade even the 894 holes are all hand drilled.

Apart from the odd food shot, I've never produced product photography before. So it was a learning curve, luckily for me I’m an absolute photography nerd and I spend hundreds of hours on YouTube. I love watching any tutorials even about things not at all connected to my niche.

I wish I had taken a set up photo. But basically, we created a white background with a curved piece of A2 paper, used a whiteboard as a reflector and a softbox for lighting. We also used a desk lamp for added harsh lighting to show off the many holes in this piece.

Creating these photos was a tonne of fun. Learning and problem solving. I find it's always a part of any photography, no matter the situation. And I'm so happy these photos came out looking so good!

Silver buttercup tea infuser in action

Whilst I was in North wales in her workshop I also suggested we create some environmental portraits. Now this is one of my favourite types of portraiture, which is why I made the suggestion. These portraits are of someone in a place/situation important to them.

It presents a creative opportunity for me to tell the story of that person's work and what they might look like on a day-to-day. Without words the photos invite the veiwer to understand what the person does for a living, what they care about or simply the environment they are comfortable in. They can see what this looks like and in this case where the wonderful art work is produced and it creates a connection between the maker and the work.

I guess you could say that it's like behind the scenes, but with more emotional connection and artistic story telling. I absolutely love a environmental portrait, so I'm sure I'll write a dedicated blog about them one day and hopefully get to shoot more soon!

Ellen isn't keen on having her photo taken, much like myself. So to help create a more natural looking portrait of Ellen (I do this most portraits), I asked her to look down and clear her mind.

Then look up at the camera with a neutral expression. I can't remember where I learnt this. But it's such a good technique to get people comfortable and sometimes you get a 'can't help but smile' photo.

I might be bias but Ellen Thorpe is an incredibly talented artist and jeweller. Her commission pieces are amazing and her everyday jewellery is to die for. If you don’t believe, me check her work out at www.ellenthorpejewellery.com/