How Do You Photograph Sparkly Beads??

Every time I try to get a good photo a sparkly beads, it seems impossible!  The snowflakes look lovely in real life and sparkle beautifully as the light hits the beads but it never seems to show in my photos.  Any photographers out there who can offer advice?

I've tried all sorts of different lighting, with flash, without flash, natural daylight (sunshine can be hard to come by at this time of year and there wasn't any today), sideways lighting.... to no avail!  Those beads must be shy, they just don't want to shine for the camera!

I'm on the great snowflake search at the moment.  I'm looking for the 2011 snowflake that will go in my Christmas cards.  The dark purple one in the third and fourth photos, called Kira's star,  is the one I used last year.  There is a beaded and unbeaded version.

So here's another.

Quite a simple one this time.

From the small book "Tatting Patterns" by Workbasket

I find the "empty" spaces a bit too big on this one.

Maybe re-do it with the points a bit smaller?

Pretty sparkly silvery beads but you can barely see them on the photos, can you?

And what do I do with all of these?

This is just a selection of some of the motifs I've tatted.

They just end up at the bottom of a box somewhere and it seems a shame

not to have a better use for them.

I'll occasionally stick one on a card, or attach a small motif to a gift...

There was a thread started at In Tatters about what people did with their tatting.

I should go and read it again!

How about you?

I bet you also have lots of tatted pieces floating about...

Best wishes,