“Rocky Mountain Photography is wonderful to work with! They create so much value with their services.I recommend Rocky Mountain Photography without reservation!”
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Quick answer
Rocky Mountain Photography provides Denver mineral photography for collectors, dealers, museums, and online sellers of crystals, gemstone specimens, fossils, and meteorites. We use macro lenses, focus stacking, and controlled light to show luster, transparency, crystal habit, and true color, delivering retouched catalog images, detail shots, and rotation videos for sales, records, and exhibits.
Denver mineral photography has a special audience. The city hosts well-known annual gem and mineral shows, and Colorado has a long mining and collecting history, so collectors, dealers, and museums here care deeply about how specimens are presented. A great mineral photo reveals crystal form, luster, transparency, and color accurately, letting a buyer across the world judge a specimen as if holding it.
Rocky Mountain Photography, founded in Denver in 2016 by brothers Jeff and Nick Perry, photographs mineral specimens, fossils, and natural objects in our studio. Specimens present unique challenges, from tiny crystals that need macro detail to large matrix pieces with deep shadows and reflective faces. Our approach is careful lighting, focus stacking, and restrained retouching, so each specimen looks its best while staying true.
Every mineral responds to light differently. Metallic minerals like pyrite and galena need lighting that shows reflective faces and crisp edges without blowing out highlights. Transparent crystals like quartz and fluorite benefit from backlighting or side lighting that reveals internal clarity, zoning, and phantoms. Colorful specimens like rhodochrosite, amazonite, and azurite need light that shows true hue without oversaturation, which matters for collectors comparing pieces. Matte or earthy minerals need angled light to reveal texture. We use small, adjustable light sources, diffusion, and reflectors to sculpt each specimen and often photograph several lighting variations. Backgrounds are usually black, gradient, or white, depending on the specimen and the seller's catalog style. Ultraviolet photography for fluorescent minerals can be arranged when the project needs it.
Fine detail sets top specimens apart: tiny terminations, sharp crystal edges, delicate sprays, and small inclusions. Macro lenses capture these, but depth of field is very shallow at close range, so a single shot shows only a thin slice in focus. Focus stacking combines many frames focused at different depths into one image sharp from front to back. For thumbnail and micromount specimens, stacking may combine many frames. Larger specimens are photographed with wider views to show the full piece on matrix, plus detail shots of the best crystals. Scale is shown with a reference when collectors need it. Rotation videos let viewers see a specimen from all sides, which is helpful for online sales. Jewelry made with stones and finished gems is covered on our jewelry photography page.
Dealers and collectors often need consistent catalog images for websites, auction listings, and collection records. We set a standard background, lighting style, and angle for each size class so new specimens match existing ones. Retouching is restrained: we remove dust and lint and clean up backgrounds, but we do not alter crystals, repair damage, or change color, since collectors rely on honest representation. Any visible damage or repair stays visible. Files are delivered as web-ready and full-resolution images, named by specimen number, and rotation videos as MP4s. Museums can request archival files for records and exhibit graphics. Specimens are handled carefully, kept in labeled trays, and returned or held as you prefer. Large prints of striking specimens can be produced through our printing service, and fine art photography covers wall art.
“Rocky Mountain Photography is wonderful to work with! They create so much value with their services.I recommend Rocky Mountain Photography without reservation!”
“If you're looking for the BEST photography company to work with, you've found it at Rocky Mountain Photography! Our company had so much fun getting our head shots taken! Jeff really knows how to get an authentic expression by making the experience fun! We love our pictures!”
Rocky Mountain Photography was absolutely wonderful to work with. We used several of their studio spaces, black cyc wall, white cyc wall, and green screen audio room, to shoot photo and video for our adaptive wheelchair apparel launch. We look forward to shooting with them again in the future!
Rocky Mountain Photography provided an extraordinary service to our corporate events. They captured fantastic photos of our speakers, exhibitors, and sponsored events. They were also creative and went above and beyond what was specifically requested. We’ve hired them several times and would highly recommend them to any event organizer looking for professional high quality media.
“Great service, quality, and speed. In addition to being a great photographer, Jeff is also a great guy to work with. Thanks again man!”
“Our brokerage has sold millions of dollars of commercial real estate across Colorado. Rocky Mountain Photography has been an excellent partner of ours, creating high quality professional media to showcase these various investment properties. They’re consistently reliable, communicative and on-time.”
Had an awesome time working with Rocky Mountain Photography on a shoot! Great communication through the whole process, excellent attention to detail. Would love to work with them again!
“Rocky Mountain Photography is a fantastic business! We used them for professional property photos for two of our commercial properties and were very satisfied with their work and help. They are very responsive, reasonable and talented. The pictures were exactly what we needed to effectively market our properties!”
“Great and thoroughly professional experience.. Quality, timeliness, delivery, and accounting were all best in class. Above and beyond service, can’t wait to work with this team again.”
Fast, Reliable & Professional Aerial Photography, Video, Virtual Media & Custom Videos for the Real Estate & Construction Professional Across the World
Scheduling made simple. Use our user-friendly website for online booking or connect with project managers for personalized service—because your time matters
Time is of the essence! Count on us for next-day delivery, adding speed and excellence to your commercial, drone, and residential projects.
With coast to coast coverage, we offer professional nationwide drone, photo, and video coverage, capturing properties and projects wherever you need!
Customer satisfaction is at the core of our business philosophy at Rocky Mountain Photography. We’ll always go the extra mile to deliver exceptional quality and beautiful media for our clients.
Trust our video expertise for creating visually stunning service videos, credible testimonial videos, and tailored training video production to meet your needs.
Serving hundreds of businesses and thousands of clients, Rocky Mountain Photography is a trusted choice for exceptional photography, video, & drone services.
Our process begins with a detailed understanding of your project, followed by the assignment of a dedicated project manager. We then determine the ideal package to meet and exceed your media needs.
Once your project needs are understood, our team schedules and captures your photography, video, or drone media professionally from ground and sky, making sure to include all client specifications and instructions.
Upon completion, we meticulously edit and upload the media for your review, providing any necessary updates or revisions before sending the final high-resolution deliverables to you on time and on budget.
We use controlled lighting tailored to each specimen's luster and transparency, color calibration for true hue, and focus stacking for sharp detail. Retouching is restrained, so the image represents the specimen honestly for collectors and buyers.
It combines many frames focused at different depths into one image that is sharp from front to back. It is essential for macro specimen photography, where depth of field is too shallow for a single shot to capture everything.
No. We remove dust, lint, and background distractions, but we do not alter crystals, hide damage, or change color. Collectors rely on accurate images, and honest representation protects dealers' reputations in Denver and beyond. Any visible damage or repair stays visible.
Yes, UV photography can be arranged when a project needs it. Fluorescent specimens are photographed under appropriate ultraviolet light alongside standard images so buyers can see both looks. Please mention fluorescent pieces when you request a quote so we can plan.
Yes. Rotation videos let viewers see a specimen from all sides, which is helpful for online sales and auctions. They are delivered as MP4s alongside still images. A slow turntable keeps the motion smooth and the lighting even.
Request a quote with the number and sizes of specimens, styles needed, and deadline, or book online. We will plan lighting and handling and confirm drop-off or pickup. Specimens are kept in labeled trays and handled carefully throughout.