Wear Me Jewels Catalog: (click image to view 16 page catalog pdf)

My catalog is finished- woohoo! I actually finished it before Christmas but am just now getting a chance to blog about it. If you have been thinking about making your own catalog- here's proof that it can be done. However, it is a ton of work and I've learned some valuable lessons that will greatly benefit me when I go to have my next catalog printed. Here's some of the the things that I have learned through trial and error:
1. Make a list of the jewelry that you want to include in your catalog. Create a price list with product numbers and fabulous pictures for each item. This is probably the hardest step. It is hard to decide what to include and how to organize all of your items. Include only what you can reproduce and only items that have components that are readily available.
2. Back to the pictures. This was the most expensive and time consuming part of the process. I chose not to take the pictures myself. I found a photographer to take them for me. If you approach a photographer for this project you need discuss the following:

• Choose the background/theme and keep it consistent. I went with a white background.
• You will need either tiffs or 300dpi jpegs (I got both from my photographer). Check with the graphic designer to see what they need (most catalog printing companies have an in house designer- this is part of your printing price). My photographer for each jewelry item gave me a tiff, 300 dpi jpeg (8x8), and a 500x500 pixel web image. That way I had a version for my website as well as for print. This can cost anywhere from $15-$40 per item. I was able to negotiate the lower price because I had a large quantity of items to be photographed. These are large images and will need to be delivered to you on a DVD.
  
• Come up with a way for the photographer to name the image files- otherwise this can be a mess. They may take 10 pics of an item to get the one they like. If they deliver you 100 images that have file names like 1202-A , it is hard for you to find the picture you want. Talk about how they are going to name the image files. Ask them if they can add tags to the files (i.e the product number, description, color). When you deliver a group of items to the photographer to be photographed- include a inventory list with the product number and description of each item. Also- indicate how you want this item photographed (i.e laying flat, hanging..).
• Super important- if you have sets of items (i.e a necklace with matching earrings) or a collection of jewelry- have them photographed at the same time. My photographer did photo editing before he gave me the image files to approve. It wasn't until later that I noticed that the metal in photos he had taken a month earlier didn't match the metal of the matching earrings that I had gotten to him more recently. The problem was that he had taken it in a different light and edited it differently. Technically if you looked at the pictures separately they were good- but when you looked at them as a whole they did not look good together. That happened with a lot of items. If possible give the photographer everything at once or big groups of like items and you will avoid this issue. Be very careful before you "approve" the picture- make sure it's coloring (i.e contrast, lightness, etc..) match the other items on the same page.
• Be super clear with the photographer about what you need and what he will deliver- that will make both your jobs much easier.