product photography

The advice normally given when photographing items for sale is to keep backgrounds completely plain, particularly if you are planning to put the items into an internet marketplace.

I tried this............and was very bored with the pictures.  Take a look at the ones which have the garden included.  Somehow, for these cast glass objects, having a "natural" background, to my eye, suited them MUCH better.   I have put these items into my ETSY shop, which you can visit if you would like to.  I am slowly stocking it with small items which are easy to send out by post.

click here if interested:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JACKIESIMMONDSSTUDIO?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Here is a butterfly, photographed in a photobooth. 

Here is the same butterfly, photographed with some natural surroundings.  Much nicer!

Same goes for these dragonflies:

now look..............

So, I am breaking the rules.  But I so prefer these pictures.  I hope they may encourage people to buy these lovely pieces.  I make these gorgeous fused glass dragonflies from crushed glass, which is heated for many hours in a kiln to transform the glass into this beautiful object - the process is called "glass casting".    Tiny flakes of dichroic glass in the translucent wings, give added sparkle, especially in sunshine.  Underneath the body of the dragonfly is a fairly long length of copper wire, which you can use to suspend the dragonfly from the edge of a vase, from a branch of a tree, from the side of a flowerpot...or inside your home, you can wrap it around a plant stake so that it seems to be hovering in amongst a super big indoor plant.  If you want to position it firmly on, say, a large rock to put on your garden table, you can curl up the wire, and glue it to the rock, it makes a fabulous table centrepiece which will be much admired.  Glass will not deteriorate out of doors, I have one on my garden table, and it suffered the storms last week with no ill effects.

The dragonfly totem carries the wisdom of transformation and adaptability in life. the dragonfly is connected to the symbolism of change and light. When the dragonfly shows up in your life, it may remind you to bring a bit more lightness and joy into your life.  Dragonflies start to grow in water and then move into the air and fly. When this spirit animal shows up in your life you may be called to transform and evolve. Symbol of metamorphosis and transformation, it inspires those who have it as a totem to bring about the changes needed in their lives in order to go to reach their full potential.  Butterflies have similar symbolic meaning.  I have really enjoyed creating these lovely pieces.