Archive for September, 2010
If you plan to export jewelry wholesale, you may need to find out if it is legal. First you must understand that sending just one piece of jewelry to another country is in fact ‘exporting goods.’ This is true even if the country is Mexico or Canada! No matter where it is going, if it is outside of the United States, or the country that you live in, it is exporting.
You can find out if exporting certain pieces of jewelry is legal by calling the customs agency in your state, or by calling the United States Customs Office. Describe the jewelry and as well as the precious stones it contains, and tell them where it is being sent. They will be able to tell you if shipping it is legal, and what problems may be encountered at customs in the country it is being shipped to.
Take shipping costs into consideration, and make sure that your customer pays for that! Shipping to other countries can be quite costly, and if you pay for that shipping, you probably won’t realize any profits on the jewelry wholesale that you are shipping out of the country!
1) Focus your camera
In order to ensure your images are sharp, make sure you know how to focus your camera. Digital cameras with auto focus are often difficult to focus precisely, especially when shooting small objects. Make sure your read your owner’s manual and understand how your camera’s auto focus operates. Most digital cameras are designed to easily focus on large objects but have difficulty on small objects. It is often useful to put your camera in spot focus mode. Spot focus will give you more control over what part of a scene the camera is actually focusing on.
2) Use a tripod
Even the slightest movement while taking a picture will cause motion blur. The closer you get to an object the more obvious the motion blur becomes. Using an inexpensive tripod will make a big difference in the sharpness of your images. For really sharp images it makes sense to invest in a good, sturdy tripod. If your camera has a remote shutter release then use it, if not then use the camera’s built-in timer to minimize camera shake.
3) Put your camera in aperture priority mode
To get the largest area of your subject in focus, it is good to set your camera in aperture priority mode and set the aperture to the highest number possible. The closer you get to your subject, the more important this becomes.
4) Use soft lighting
Your camera’s built-in flash will rarely give good results for product photography. For soft lighting either shoot outside on an overcase day or use a light tent like the EZcube, Cubelite, or use a soft box.
5) Use image editing software
Even inexpensive software like Photoshop Elements or ACDSee can make your product photography much easier. It may seem like it’s faster to use an image exactly as it was shot. But in reality, it is difficult to shoot an image precisely how you would like to appear in its final form. Image editing software allows you to crop an image, adjust it’s exposure, sharpen the image and then resize it, often in less than 60 seconds.
The biggest difference between an amateur’s product snapshot and a professional’s product image are sharpness and lighting. Steps 1,2, and 3 will improve the sharpness of your images while Step 4 will improve your lighting. A minute spent editing an image will improve it further. Because these few steps seem so basic, it’s tempting to ignore them. However, if you take time to follow them, you will see a huge improvement in the quality of your photos.
Are you the parent of a teenager? If you are, you likely already know that many teens want to look their best, at least fashion wise. For that reason, many teens keep up on the latest fashion tends and use them. While this is okay in some aspects, it can result in your teenager wearing baggy pants showing their boxers or revealing shirts that show off too much cleavage. While these do seem to be popular fashion trends, do you really want your child displaying them? If not, you may be wondering what you should do.
When it comes to your teenager and fashion trends that you may not necessarily approve of, your first thought may be to lay down the law. As a parent, this is your right to do, but did you know that you may actually end up causing more damage? Do you remember what it was like being a teenager? If you were like most teenagers, there was a good chance that the last thing you wanted was to be told how to dress by your parents and the same is likely so for your own teen. That is why you may want to think about taking a different approach.
One of the many instances where you should speak to your child about their fashions is if it may end up causing them some harm. As previously mentioned, many of the latest fashion trends for women and for girls are low cut shirts and low rise pants. This often ends up leaving a good portion of the body exposed. In today’s society, you always need to be on the lookout for sexual predators. While your teenager may not necessarily be interested in someone, someone may actually end up getting that type feeling from them. This could put your teenager in a weird and possibly dangerous situation. If that is the case, you may want to take the time to explain that, as it may sink in better than if you were just to say “change your clothes; you can’t wear that.”
It is also important that both you and your teenager remember that fashion trends regularly change. It is not uncommon for a fashion trend to only last a few months. If you are not happy with the current fashion trends, but your teenagers are, you may want to encourage them to explore other options. There are a number of fashion magazines and online fashion websites that have a large number of fashion trends and information on those trends. Not all fashion trends require the wearing of “skimpy,” clothing. For that reason, you may want to explore other options. If your teenager is a girl, it could actually turn into a neat mother daughter bonding experience between the two of you.
Something else that you may not necessarily think about, but should, is if your child goes to high school. Many high schools have dress codes and these dress codes often prohibit the wearing of revealing clothing. While not all schools actively enforce their dress codes, many out there do. Like with being told not wear certain clothes by their parents, many teenagers may feel angered being told by school officials. For that reason, you may want to take action before anything serious happens that could seriously jeopardize your child and their school records. It is not uncommon to hear of instances where children are suspended from school due to not following the school’s dress code.
In short, teenagers and fashion are something that just seems to click together. While it is important for your teenager to fit in with others and be popular at school, they do not necessarily have to be wearing the “hottest,” clothes or fashion accessories to do so. They may not necessarily understand it at the time, but as a parent it is your job to help them and keep them safe.
