Many jewelry makers eventually realize they want to take photographs of their jewelry. Even if you don't sell your finished jewelry, how else are you going to show off your wonderful talent to those far away?

But, photographying jewelry can be very tricky, especially when dealing with metals. The lighting really has to be perfect, and one way to do that is to use a light box. A light box is simply that - a box that you place your jewelry in and shine light into to help bring across the true colors of the materials used to construct your jewelry.

You can either purchase a light box or make your own. I've seen light box kits that come with the box and some other small pieces of equipment available on Amazon.com for about $100.

As it happens, one of our forum members generously has posted his own instructions on the Jewelry Making Forum for making your own light box.

While surfing around, I also found a tutorial for a light box at the Digital Photography School blog.

Lately, I have been thinking of trying to make a light box or at least purchase one because I'm looking to up grade my digital camera. However, I've also discovered that flatbed scanners can also be a good way to go when trying to capture images of your work. For some more tips on photographying your jewelry, read my article, "Jewelry Photos."