How to Photograph Necklaces: Chains, Pendants and Long Necklaces

A necklace is long, soft and shaped by gravity, so most bad necklace photos come from the chain: kinks, twists, uneven curves and glare running down the links. Choose how the necklace will sit first (flat, on a bust, or hung), straighten the chain, and light it from both sides with something large and soft. The steps below follow that order.

What you need

• A plain surface: card, felt, velvet or a matte tile
• A neck bust or a card cut to a neck shape (see props and stands)
• Pins, small tape or clear thread to hold the chain
• A hook, rod or fishing line for long pieces
• A window with a white sheet, or a light tent
• A white card and a black card
• A phone or camera on a tripod

Step 1: Straighten and clean

Wipe the chain with a soft cloth and run it through your fingers to find kinks and twisted links. Close the clasp and check that a pendant is facing forward and not flipped. Fix twists before you set up, because they are very hard to remove in editing.

Step 2: Choose the display for the necklace

Necklace	Best display	Watch for
Fine chain, no pendant	Flat on a plain or dark surface, in a soft S or U curve	Chain going into a tangle. Pin it behind the links
Pendant on a chain	Bust, or flat with the pendant centred and the chain in a clean V	Pendant turned sideways or flipped
Collar, choker, statement piece	Bust or card stand, so it keeps its shape	The bust showing around the edges. Match its colour to the background
Long necklace or rope	Hung from a hook or rod above the frame, or coiled on a flat surface	Twisting as it settles. Wait for it to stop before shooting
Layered set	Bust or worn, with a clear gap between chains	Chains crossing. Shoot each necklace alone as well
Beaded strand or pearls	Flat, with the clasp at the bottom of frame, or draped on a bust	Knots and gaps between beads. See the pearl guide

Step 3: Light it from both sides

Place one large soft light to the left and another source or a white card to the right, so neither side of the chain goes dark. A single hard light puts a bright line down the links and hides the pattern. A black card next to a gem or enamel adds contrast, and a white card in front lifts the shadow under a pendant. More in the lighting guide.

Step 4: Shoot the four images

1. The full length. The whole necklace, straight on, with room around it. Vertical works best for most necklaces, so shoot at 4:5 or 9:16 if you can.
2. The pendant or the main detail. Close in on the stone, the carving or the centrepiece. Keep the face parallel to the lens so all of it is sharp.
3. The clasp and extender. Closed, on a plain surface.
4. Worn or on a bust. Gives the drop and where it sits. See photographing jewellery on hands and models and on-model photos without a model.

The shot list shows where these four sit in a full listing gallery.

Step 5: Keep the chain sharp and the colour true

On a phone, set the phone on a tripod directly above a flat lay, tap on the pendant to set focus and use the 2x lens instead of moving closer. On a camera, use a small aperture so the length of the chain stays in focus. Take one shot beside a white card so you can correct the white balance, because gold and rose gold shift colour under warm bulbs. Phone photography has the rest of the settings.

Step 6: Edit lightly

Straighten the horizon, crop to the format, fix the white balance and remove dust. Do not change the metal colour, hide a kink by painting over it or smooth the chain. See editing jewellery photos and photo sizes. If the main image has to be on white, follow the white background guide.

Common mistakes

• A twist or kink in the chain that was not there in person.
• A pendant turned away from the camera, or with its back showing.
• One strong light that puts a bright stripe down every link.
• A bust in a colour that fights the metal, or a bust edge visible behind the chain.
• A long necklace cropped, with no worn shot to show where it falls.
• No clasp shot, so the buyer cannot tell the closure.

For the piece overview, see necklace photography. A pendant on a short chain also has its own page: pendant photography. Selling a bridal set? Bridal jewellery photography covers sets and layering.

When you have too many necklaces for this

If setting up and straightening every chain takes too long, shoot one clean source image per necklace and use AI to create styled scenes and on-model shots. Jewellery Photoshoot keeps the piece from your upload, makes 1:1, 4:5, 9:16 and 3:2 images, and shows each result next to your original so you can check the chain, the pendant and the clasp before using it.