Earrings and lightboxes

So yesterday, I finally got around to making a lightbox. It was so easy, I don't know why I didn't make one earlier. I played around with it a little bit, and it still isn't perfect. I still have trouble getting it bright enough. I can change some settings on the camera to make it brighter (by changing the white balance, and choosing the setting that makes the white background look white) but then the items were too dark to see. So I still have some playing around to do. Any helpful hints would be appreciated!

These pictures were taken in the light box. They're the best ones I have of this bracelet. Isn't it pretty? I made it quite some time ago, late last year I believe, but never got around to posting it because I love it so much. I considered keeping it for a long time, but I never actually wore it. Turns out I have very little purple in my wardrobe. So, now I'm not sure, but I will probably eventually post it in my shop.
Something that is listed in Ulixis Crafts, just this morning actually, is this gorgeous set of earrings. They're made with semi-precious unakite stones. Unakite is an especially gorgeous stone, with a blend of mossy green and coral pink. However, for this pair of earrings, I hand-picked two matching beads that were solely green. And such a lovely soft green they are.This picture was also taken in the light box, but I played around with it in the gimp (a free software that is very similar to photoshop in its capabilities) to make it a little brighter. The original photo was a bit darker, and made the unakite beads look like a hunter green instead of this beautiful mossy colour. I actually didn't play around with the other photos in this listing, you you can see what I mean if you go there. My latest birthday tags were also photographed in the lightbox, and again, they're still not as perfect as I'd like. So, now I'm also wondering if I need to edit all my photos before posting them, or if straight-out-of-the-camera shots are ok too...

Either way, my summer project is to retake all the pictures in my shop. I want my shop homepage to have a unified feel to it, and have the pictures really display each item. I'm just not sure what this unified theme of sorts is going to be. I like close-ups for the first picture (like these tags and this necklace), but while those pictures may be artsy and cool, they don't really lead to a unified theme. I also like it when other sellers include something else in all their pictures (like a candle holder, or a cool rock/shell/piece of wood) but I haven't had much luck with that either (see pictures of bracelet with candle holders above). So... I'm working on it. Any suggestions would be very helpful!

Oh, I also just made a new necklace today and it is gorgeous! I can't wait to (try to) photograph it and get it posted!!! Keep an eye out!
In the meantime, I'm also getting extremely excited for my brother's wedding! I dyed my hair today to get rid of those dreaded roots ~ I want to look nice in all the pictures. My hair is a plain old brown... very mouse-y. So I dye it, usually a brown that is very close, but just a bit warmer (with golden or red tones). The box I picked up this time turned out to be a bit darker than I usually get, and a bit more red.
I find that these pictures actually make the colour look a little lighter than what I'm seeing in the mirror (and when I look down/sideways). It's probably the lighting (no, I wasn't in the lightbox ~ I was standing next to the window and it's actually sunny here today, after days of rain and clouds). So hopefully, it won't look too dark in the wedding pictures!! Although I guess the dark will look nice against my bright orange/coral/red dress. I can't wait! Only 2 more days until we make the 4-5 hour trip!

Which reminds me ~ Pat bought a suit this weekend. Damn he looks good all dressed up. What is it about guys in suits? They make my insides melt.