Photographing jewellery with Nikon D300

Hi

 

I started working at a jewellery house, doing their inhouse photography. My

problem is I dont have much experience with jewellery photography - I only did a

part time course and assisted a photographer for 2 and half years shooting people.

 

When I started, I had a Nikon D70 and some desktop lamps to do the jewellery

shots with, and obviously this was not sufficient, the shots looked terrible. We

decided to buy some new equipment, a new D300, bowens gemini kit 500ws,

softbox, light tent, but I still cant get the desired jewellery images.

Now we've spent all this money, but I still cant solve my image problems.

 

The lens I use is a Sigma 105mm macro, and I usually shoot at 125 with f22.

I cant seem to get the whites white, and when I do, the jewellery is overexposed -

Because of this I tend to spend alot of time photoshopping, cutting out the dark

grey backgrounds, but this makes the jewellery piece (mostly rings) look artificial

and "messy".

 

I've tried to download the D300 Manual to see if I can set the white point, or

grayscale, but I cant even seem to Download the manual - so no luck there.

 

If anyone has any tips, or advice, it would be greatly appreciated -

I have searched on various internet pages for advice, but I still cant get my whites

white without overexposing the jewellery pieces.

 

Thanks,

Jeanine<div></div>

Jeanine,

 

I shoot succulent plants to sell online from inside an opaque skinned poly plant house with natural light and a very odd white light inside which cast a lot of blue into my images. I also now shoot with a D300. I now exclusively shoot only after performing a pre-set WB test shot which is really quite easy to perform.

 

Set up your light tent and place a light grey or pref. white flat non reflective sufaced card light a sheet of cardboard or several sheets of copy paper into the area to be photographed, ensuring the lighting you are intending to use is directed at the test card.

 

Set your lens and focus on the test card - be sure to fill the frame 100% with the illuminated test card.

 

Set the WB setting to 'pre' mode and you will see a d-0 on the top LCD info screen.

 

Then hold the WB button down again for a couple of seconds, the letters prE will flash on and off on the top LCD info screen.

 

Take the shot - if the camera likes it it will flash GooD if not re-try the test shot again.

 

I hope this helps with the WB issue.

 

As for over exposure - is the exposure compenstor dialed up too much? I'm not familiar with the Sigma 105mm macro lens you mention - is it an AF model with a metering chip - I expect is it both of the above. If so try shooting in full manual mode and take teast shots of your jewellery subjects and continue to up the shutter speed until your exposures are easy to virew and do not blow out too many highlights.

 

Hope this of use to you.

Jewelry is a very difficult thing to photograph well. More than almost any other subject, it requires a combination of care, patience, the right equipment, and a true understanding of what the light is actually doing. I heartily recommend that you take a few evenings one week to read (and really take to heart) the excellent <a href="<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FLight-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting%2Fdp%2F0240808193%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1212406849%26sr%3D8-1&tag=uplandlife-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank"><b><i>Light, Science, and Magic</i></b></a>. Not because it will expressly show you how to use your exact hardware to light the specific type of jewelry you're shooting, but because it will help you to look at your set, your lights, and the item in front of you, and "get" what you need to do to make the light behave and appear (on camera) the way you want it to.

<br><br>

In general terms, here are some pointers:

<br><Br>

1) Don't stop all the way down to f/22. You're experiencing some diffraction, which softens the image.

<br>2) Use a very solid tripod, and cable release so that you're not touching the camera in order to release the shutter.

<br>3) Shoot in RAW, and use software like Nikon's Capture NX to help you make the most of issues like white balance and tone management.

<br>4) Your example appears, to me, to be under exposed. You don't want to be letting the camera's meter have anything to say about shots like this. Set the lights, shutter speed, ISO, and aperture all manually in order to get what you need, not what the camera guesses to be appropriate.

<br><br>

You'll learn to get the light right. But you can't do this sort of shooting without a good tripod and remote release. If you can't buy a remote release just now, you can use the camera's self-timer to help reduce vibration.

<br><br>

Also: what is the intended use for these images... viewing on the web? Print output for advertising?

'Theoretical white' may be the problem here. If, when you set the 'white point' for exposure, the jewel highlights 'blow-out', you've selected the wrong part of the view. The facet reflections are the brightest part of the image and may be 'whiter-than-white'. They will reflect more than a white piece of paper. On my monitor I feel the White Balance looks about right. If the whites go grey without a hint of colour your WB is spot on. Is the real background white or grey? The trouble with the term WHITE is that it is used variously to describe both lack of TONE and/or HUE. The D300 allows Active D-Lighting. It may work to deliberately underexpose and allow the software to lighten those dark areas. Alternatively, but it may be a bit specialised, has anyone tried HDR on this admittedly difficult subject?

Do what Matts says. My short version to help you get started.

 

Texture is made by cross lighting. Not lighting from on top or on camera. Use just a little fill light as necessary.

 

Set the camera to low contrast, low color,saturation, low everything.

 

Put the rings on a glass suspended above a white background. Light the background separately with two lights at 45 deg keeping the light off the subject. Now you can control how much light goes on the background and how much goes on the subject and you do not get shadows on it. The camera goes on a copy stand above.

 

If you do not want to work in a tent, put the piece on a dead black background which is easy to remove in photoshop.

 

I would never use a diffusion tent or diffusers to photograph a diamond. A small light source such as photogenic mini spots with snouts will work to define the subject., not flood light all over it. The general rule of thumb is the light source should be the same size as the subject. Cut a hole in a piece of foam core to artificaially make smaller lights.

 

Glassware is among the most difficult to photograph. One secret is putting the lights high and BEHIND the subject. Put a fill card in front with a hole for the camera. Diamonds are glass and you photograph with transmitted light, not frontal light. Side light may work

 

Reflector fills rather than lights work better. You probably need only one light and a reflector for the subject. One more for the background for small items if you use the elevated technique. Two for larger subjects.

 

These subjects are not lit like you light a portrait subject.

 

A few ideas here and you need to work out what works with the equipment and space and subjects you have.

 

You have now learned that photography is all about light and CONTROLLING it and has little to do with cameras. Camera sales people will hate me, but all a camera is a box with a lens on it. A D70 would have been sufficient with a micro lens.

strobist.com

 

your D70 was perfectly acceptable, i'm guessing your lighting was not. Check out www.strobist.com to learn how to light properly.

Hi Guys

 

Thanks alot for all of your advice, I didn't expect any reponses this soon, so thank you! I am going to put all of your advice to good use and will let you know when I get my perfect image!

 

To answer your question Matt, we use the images for web, brochures, posters and all advertising purposes, so I really need them to be good.

I am currently using the self-timer and also purchased a new manfrotto 055XPROB tripod, but I'll definately be thinking about investing in a shutter release cable, thanks!

I shoot the exact same kind of shots with my D300 using Sigmas 17-70 macro lens. My client provides a light box which makes my job for them easier but I have the same problem with white balance. It is easy to correct in Photoshop using either a RAW or JPG image.

 

I agree with other comments that you are slightly underexposed.

 

My advise... Do some test shots setting your white balance manually (numerically) until you get the background the right shade of white you are looking for. I would also vary your exposure manually or through bracketing to find the exposure setting that works best for you.

I don't think the camera is a factor here. It's lighting and settings.

 

Jewelry reflects EVERYTHING so you have to control your entire environment. This requires being VERY systematic about adjusting just one thing at a time - the light from this side, the light from that side, its color and intensity and angular size - until you understand each surface's contribution to each little specular highlight. It's tedious and can take hours to get a really good result.

 

Also, if it's glass or other translucent jewerly, I've had the best luck many times wuth most of the light going THROUGH it. You can suspend it for that. I also have a homebrew table with a lexan top that I can put a monologht underneath and a sheet of black velvet with tiny holes to backlight the objects.

 

Finally if you can shoot with models, the jewelry against the model's skin can simplify part of the lighting problem by eliminating 180 degress of stray reflections.

For my taste, the ring is only slightly underexposed, though I think it could be a bit more contrasty. There should be several facets on the diamond that show as pure white, some less than white, some showing colors, etc., but why does the background have to be a blank, featureless, and even glaring white as in your second example? The light gray color of the background in the first shot makes those white facets stand out as sparkles instead of dominating them. They have a quality of emitting their own light, as a diamond should, and if the BG is pure white they will no longer appear to "emit light" since the pure white BG will flood the viewer's eyes with all of that meaningless glare. There is a principle in painting called "simultaneous contrast" in which you emphasize a quality by subtly surrounding it with its opposite. Make something look redder by adding greenish tints to the background, make it seem sharper by surrounding with softness and blur, make it look sparkly and brilliant by having the background not so bright. You are trying to sell jewelry, not white poster board.

If for some reason pure white backgrounds are essential, try a double exposure if the D300 allows it. (I don't have that model so I don't know.) Put the ring on a sheet of glass a foot or so above a white card, expose for a good rendition of the ring or whatever, and then on the second exposure flash the white card only, just enough to render it as white. Don't give more exposure on it or it will cause "flare" that will seem to seep light all around the edges of the ring, weakening its tones. The key is just enough to make it look white, and no more. You might also try this for some pieces, especially silver or platinum: put some pieces of colored construction paper inside the light tent, off to the sides. Pick colors that will not have too jarring an effect. The ring will pick up colored reflections from them, giving it more definition. Pick colors that will look good together; you may have to experiment with different sizes and orientations etc., and best not to use really gaudy colors that could put a color cast into the area you are concentrating on.

Photographing jewelery is primarily about one thing: lighting. It is difficult to precisely light very small objects which have both refractive qualities and highly reflective qualities. Essentially by using big light sources your problem is that are using a 10 pound hammer where what you really need is a scapel. It also takes a lot of patience and is definitely a trial by error ordeal. This is why professional jewelry photographers charge such high rates.

Lots of great tips here. I'll just reinforce what Ronald said, lighting underneath your jewelry. I shoot a lot for some diamond district jewelers here in NYC.

 

The best way, IMHO, to get a 'pure' white background is to shoot on a piece of white plexi with a light (either fixed or strobe) underneath. I use a couple daylight balanced fluorescent rings lamps. Then you adjust your exposure to 'blow out' the BG and have pure white. Then you use other lamps to light the piece at the proper exposure without blowing it out - usually 1 1/3- 1 2/3 lower. Voila.

 

You can pick up the plexi for about $20 for a 18" square.

 

Using low powered fluorescents requires a sturdy tripod, I end up at ISO 100, 1/25, at f13 typically. I always shoot with mirror lock up. I use either the Nikkor 60 mm micro or the 85mm PC lenses on a D200.

I concur with both Ronald and Michael. I've been shooting jewelry for several years and the backlit high-key look works VERY well. Set it up as Michael said and you should have some stunning shots.

 

Your post production work (getting rid of wax, etc) is much more streamlined when the background is blown due to "overexposure".

 

Additionally, there are LED "sparkle lights" that can be used to give diamonds more life. Some people like them, some don't... Also, some slight contrast tweaking in post production can give you an added "pop" for the jewelry.

Aah, the great secret to shooting reflective surfaces ... use a polarizer! I know you are not outside on a sunny day shooting through water or glass, but, polarizer filters work incredible with reflective surfaces and good lighting. I do this at weddings sometimes when shooting the rings, sometimes BIG rocks and white gold, platinum, etc. ... You can check other forums here, and I'm sure some will recommend the same.

Oh, and shoot RAW and adjust the WB in post ... should work great. I have that same camera and I get great results.

It's a shame you spent so much on a new camera when your D70 was fine. Can you still return it?

 

It's the lighting and general photography concepts (such as exposure and contrast) that you need practice with, not a new camera. First of all, I'd return or sell that D300. It is an unnecessary expense for what you are doing with it. Even a D40 would do the job fine. Then I would do a search at your local library for BASIC lighting books. Read about the light itself and don't get too caught up in the equipment. You need very minimal equipment for shooting these shots. Just learn about the qualities of light and you can fake it with almost anything; especially if using continuous lights. Remember: all you are doing is faking the sun. All you need is hard work and practice and you will get better. Read a lot and practice a lot.

 

 

 

Keith

Thanks again for everyone's tips - it is really helping alot - I think my shots have improved - I'm still not 100% happy with them, but I know its going to take a lot of practice and hard work - but thanks for everyones support!