JEWELRY PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING AND EQUIPMENT SET UP

<p>I have a question regarding lighting jewelry for professional photos<br>

my equipment; camera is a Nikon D300, lenses; Nikon 105mm f/2.8 D AF, Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF, Nikon PB4 bellows, tripod, remote shutter release, Stack Shot Focus Stacking Rail, Helicon Focus, Photoshop CS6<br>

Im currently looking into putting together a lighting setup. Ive used a light tent but i would like to try a light table. can someone please advise me on the types of lights i should be using?continous lights? strobes? LED? florescent?<br>

Im thinking of going with JTL for all my lighting needs, is this a good brand? I just noticed they sell certain types of kits that are convenient for me<br>

i photograph all types of jewelry, from simple bands with and without engraving all the way up to larger size diamonds and colored stones, bracelets, pendants, etc.</p>

Well, what lighting were you using with the light

tent?

My personal preference is for strobes for any sort

of studio lighting, but continuous fluorescent or

tungsten would do just as well for jewelry where

shutter speed isn't an issue. I wouldn't even

consider LED lighting. It's inflexible,

underpowered and overpriced. It can also have colour rendering issues, as can cheap fluorescent tubes.

Just get a little translucent "product table" and continue to use a light tent on top of it. The diffusion of a light tent means you don't have to mess about with additional refectors or softboxes. Of course the light tent should then be a bottomless arrangement. Literally a conical tent of translucent material, suspended from an overhead boom or cross arm.

I have no experience with the lighting brand you mention. It sounds like a cheap fleabay supplier. You might be better off using speedlights than low-priced monolights.