Getting the render right
Choosing a backdrop and Look for jewellery
A Look is the fastest decision in the studio — one tile sets lighting, backdrop, floor and pose together — and it is also the one that most decides what the image is for. White is a listing. A pool of light is a hero. Velvet is a campaign. Here is what each of the eleven Looks does and the backdrops behind them.
For listings: white and paper
Catalog is a white backdrop with even light, and it is what a main listing image usually wants — many marketplaces ask for white; check yours. Pure White is a flat fill; the paper sweeps — Soft Paper, Seamless Grey, Cool Mist, Petal — have a slight falloff that reads as a photograph rather than a cut-out, and suit the second and third images. Soft Daylight is the paper Look with daylight lighting.
For a hero: the pools
Hero and Showcase put the piece in a pool of light on a darker field, which is the look of a jewellery advertisement. Midnight, Amber, Forest and Blush are the same idea in a colour — blue, warm, green, rose — for a piece that wants a mood. Showcase and the coloured pools add a mirror floor, which reflects the metal and grounds the piece.
For drama: Velvet
Luxury Velvet is a deep red field with the light on the piece alone. It is the campaign shot and the social image, and it is unforgiving: a stone that is not traced looks flat against it, so use Traced on the centre stone.
Flat Lay and Cut-out
Flat Lay lays the piece down, looks from above, and lights it as paper — the catalogue-page Look for bands, bracelets and necklaces. Cut-out PNG renders on a transparent background for compositing: onto a hand photograph, a product shot, a page. Videos cannot carry transparency, so Cut-out is for stills.
Floor: a shadow or a mirror, never both
The floor is one surface and takes one treatment. A ground shadow is a soft contact under the piece and reads as a table. A mirror floor reflects the metal and reads as polished stone or glass. Turning one on turns the other off — a shadow on top of a mirror reads as dirt on glass, which is why the studio does not allow it. The pool Looks choose the mirror; Catalog and the paper Looks choose the shadow. Everything here happens on your own machine: the file is converted and rendered in the browser through your GPU and is never uploaded, so an unreleased design stays unreleased.
- Main listing image: Catalog (white) or Pure White
- Second and third images: a paper sweep
- Hero: Hero or Showcase; a coloured pool for mood
- Campaign or social: Luxury Velvet, Traced stone
- Compositing: Cut-out PNG
Questions
Which backdrop should I use for a marketplace listing?
White for the main image — the Catalog Look or Pure White — since most marketplaces ask for it; check the current rules for yours. A paper sweep for the supporting images gives a photographic feel while staying clean.
Should I use the mirror floor or the shadow?
Mirror for a hero on a dark or coloured pool, where the reflection grounds the metal; shadow for white and paper, where a reflection would look out of place. The studio allows one at a time — both together reads as dirt on glass.
Can I make a transparent background?
Yes, with the Cut-out PNG Look, for stills. Video formats have no transparency, so a cut-out records as black in a turntable — pick a real backdrop for video.
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