Jewelry Photography Taxonomy (Deprecated)

Archived version focusing on parameter combinations.

Purpose

This document establishes a complete taxonomy for jewelry photography visuals. It answers:

1. What shot types exist? (Categories of images)
2. What parameters apply to each? (Variables that can be adjusted)
3. What are all possible options per parameter? (The complete menu)

This taxonomy is intentionally exhaustive. Later work will curate from this to define presets for our platform.

Design Principles

Jewelry-Agnostic

This framework works for all jewelry types (rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, watches, etc.). Where parameters depend on jewelry type, we note this and provide a universal lookup table.

Parameters Must Be Independent

Each parameter should be adjustable without affecting others. If two parameters are inherently linked (e.g., lighting style determines shadow), we merge them into one.

Only Valid Combinations

We don’t list parameter combinations that don’t exist in practice. If “reflective surface + hard shadow” never occurs, we structure parameters to prevent this invalid combination.

Reasoning Documented

Every inclusion and exclusion is explained. This ensures the taxonomy is defensible and can be extended logically.

Jewelry Type Reference

Universal mapping for jewelry-dependent parameters:

Scope note: This reference covers commercially mainstream jewelry categories. More niche categories (e.g., intimate piercings, dermal anchors) exist but are outside the scope of this framework.

For complete jewelry categories, see Jewelry Categories Reference →

1. PACKSHOT

Definition: Isolated product photography. The jewelry piece is the sole subject — no human presence, no props, no context.

Purpose: E-commerce listings, marketplace requirements (Amazon, Etsy), catalog images, website product pages.

Variants: Single piece, colorways (same piece in different metals/stones), or set/collection display.

VIEW (8 options)

What it controls: Camera position relative to product AND product orientation (standing, laying, etc.)

Why combined: In practice, camera angle and product state are interdependent. A “top-down” shot implies the product is laying flat. A “hero” shot implies the product is displayed upright. Separating these creates invalid combinations and unnecessary complexity.

Excluded and why:

• Worm’s eye (from below): Impractical for jewelry photography
• 3/4 back: Too similar to Back and Profile
• Separate “angle” and “product state”: Creates invalid combinations

ZOOM (4 options)

What it controls: How much of the frame the product fills / distance from subject.

Why separate from View: Zoom is independent of camera angle. You can have a “Hero” view at close-up OR medium distance.

Excluded: “Detail” as zoom level — Detail is a View (specific feature focus), not just a zoom level.

PRESENTATION (5 options)

What it controls: Surface type AND lighting/shadow style combined.

Why combined: Surface and lighting are interdependent in jewelry photography. Reflective surfaces create reflections (not shadows). Floating products have no surface for shadows. Hard shadows require a matte surface. Keeping these separate would create invalid combinations.

Excluded and why:

• Separate surface/shadow/lighting parameters: These are interdependent — separating them creates invalid combinations
• Gradient backgrounds: Rare in jewelry photography, could be sub-option of “Floating clean”

PROPS (3 options)

What it controls: Additional elements in the frame beyond the jewelry piece.

Why separate: Props are fully independent of view, zoom, and presentation. Any combination is valid.

Excluded: Thematic props and detailed prop lists — covered by Brand Skin / Seasonal Overlay layers

Product Shot: Summary

Product Shot: Complete Parameter Matrix

Single Product:

VIEW (8) × ZOOM (4) × PRESENTATION (5) × PROPS (3) = 480 combinations

Multiple Products:

VIEW (8) × ZOOM (4) × PRESENTATION (5) × PROPS (3) × ARRANGEMENT (4) = 1,920 combinations

See Multiple Products section for QUANTITY and ARRANGEMENT parameters.

Note: Not all combinations are equally useful. Future work will curate the most valuable presets from this matrix.

Product Shot: Excluded Parameters

2. WORN (On-Body Shots)

Definition: Jewelry shown being worn on a human body. Human presence is required but may be cropped to show only the relevant body part.

Purpose: Scale reference, aspiration, showing how the piece looks when worn, emotional connection.

Core Concept: Jewelry at Center

Our definition of Worn (on-body) shots: the jewelry is the center of attention.

Theoretically, the jewelry sits at position (0,0,0) — everything else is positioned relative to it. In practice, we won’t produce literal centered shots every time, but conceptually the jewelry is the core of the image. All poses and camera angles develop around one task: how to properly showcase the piece of jewelry.

This distinguishes Worn shots from Lifestyle shots (defined later), which are less about showcasing the piece and more about evoking a feeling — the life someone has with the jewelry.

The boundary test:

“Remove the jewelry from the image. Does it still have a reason to exist?”

• Worn: No. It becomes a purposeless body part.
• Lifestyle: Yes. It’s still a mood, a moment, a scene worth capturing.

The formula:

WORN SHOT = POSE (body configuration) + CAMERA (capture position)

Frame/viewport is a RESULT — what’s visible depends on pose + camera distance, not a separate parameter. Brand Skin (skin tone, environment, mood, clothing) is applied as a styling layer afterward.

The Blank Mannequin Concept

The mannequin has:

• Posable body parts (head, arms, hands, torso, legs)

The mannequin does NOT have:

• Skin tone — added via Brand Skin
• Clothing — added via Brand Skin
• Hair style — added via Brand Skin
• Environment — added via Brand Skin
• Expression/mood — added via Brand Skin

This separation is intentional. The structural parameters (pose, camera) define what we’re capturing. The Brand Skin defines how it looks. This allows the same pose/camera combination to be rendered in countless visual styles.

POSE: Body Configuration

The blank mannequin’s pose, grouped by body region:

Upper Body

Arms & Hands

Core

Lower Body

Note: Lower body only visible at Medium/Far camera distances.

These body part options can be combined in essentially infinite ways. For practical use, we curate common poses below.

Common Poses (32 curated)

The following 32 poses represent the most common and useful configurations for jewelry photography.

Each pose is tagged with the body locations it showcases, allowing quick lookup: “What poses work for rings?” → filter by Hand.

Total: 32 curated poses

This is a starting point, not an exhaustive list. The underlying mannequin system allows for any pose — these 32 are simply the ones we’ve identified as most valuable for jewelry photography.

CAMERA: Capture Position (96 combinations)

Camera position relative to jewelry at center.

Camera combinations: 4 × 3 × 2 × 4 = 96 positions

Worn Shot: Complete Parameter Matrix

Single Product / Stack (same body location):

32 POSES × 96 CAMERA POSITIONS = 3,072 combinations

Multi-location (different body locations):

[Subset of poses showing multiple areas] × 96 CAMERA POSITIONS = TBD

See Multiple Products section for multi-location considerations.

Note: This uses our curated 32 poses. The underlying mannequin system allows infinite pose configurations — 3,072 represents the practical starting set.

Worn Shot: Summary

Design rationale:

• Why separate Pose from Camera? Clear separation: body configuration vs. capture position
• Why no “framing” parameter? Frame is a RESULT of camera distance + pose, not a separate control
• Why jewelry at center? It’s what we’re photographing — everything positions relative to it

3. LIFESTYLE

Definition: Jewelry shown in a context where the feeling, moment, or scene is primary — the jewelry is present but incidental.

Purpose: Social media content, brand storytelling, emotional connection, upper-funnel marketing.

Includes: Scene-based flat lays (styled vignettes where jewelry is one element among many).

The key distinction from Worn:

• Worn: The jewelry is the reason for the image
• Lifestyle: The feeling/moment is the reason; jewelry happens to be there

Parameters

[TO BE DEVELOPED]

Multiple Products

When photographing more than one piece of jewelry, additional parameters apply. This section defines how multiple products work across shot types.

Key Definitions

Treating jewelry as “ghost pieces”: Just as we use a blank mannequin (featureless figure) for poses, we treat jewelry as abstract shapes without inherent style. This means whether pieces “match” (a set) or “don’t match” (a collection) is determined by the actual product designs — it’s content, not a structural parameter.

Set vs Collection is a content choice, not a shot parameter. The taxonomy treats all multi-product shots the same structurally — what varies is quantity and arrangement.

QUANTITY

ARRANGEMENT (for Product shots, when Quantity > Single)

Conditional logic note: Not all arrangements work for all shot types. Linear arrangement doesn’t apply to Worn shots (can’t line up jewelry on a body). Stacked arrangement in Product shots depends on jewelry type (rings yes, necklaces less so). Detailed mapping to be developed.

Multi-product in Worn Shots

For Worn shots, multi-product scenarios fall into two categories:

Same location (Stack):

• Multiple rings on same hand, multiple bracelets on same wrist
• Uses same 32 poses — structure unchanged, just more pieces
• Example: Ring stack on “Face touch - chin” pose

Different locations (Multi-location):

• Ring + necklace + bracelet worn together (classic set)
• Requires poses that show multiple body areas in frame
• Not all 32 poses work — needs subset that shows hand + neck + wrist, etc.
• Pose subset mapping to be developed

Absorbed Categories

The following were originally separate shot types but are now absorbed:

Layers (Applied After Shot Type)

These layers modify any base shot:

Brand Skin

Visual style applied to the shot: color palette, mood, texture preferences.

• Examples: Ottoman Blue, Pastel Serenity, Sandy Beach Coastal, Clean White, Dark Luxe

Overlays

Elements added on top of the final image:

• Text: Logo, CTA, Product name, Price, Sizing guide
• Seasonal: Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Holiday, Summer

Next Steps

1. This document: Complete parameters for remaining shot types
2. Curated Presets: Select most valuable combinations from the full matrix
3. Prompt Research: Test vocabulary that reliably produces each option

About studio formel

studio formel is an AI-powered image generation platform built specifically for jewelry brands. We combine systematic research on AI photography with a flexible asset management system, helping jewelry sellers create professional product images at scale.

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