Jewelry/watch photography- shoot through or reflect

[tzvih]

<p>This question might give me away as a beginner but as they say- if you don't ask, you don't learn. I'm working on putting together my basic studio setup for product photography (mostly watched and jewelry) that will mostly be used for online marketing purposes.<br>

So far my "kit" consists of the following:<br>

Canon Rebel xt;<br>

Canon 60mm macro lens;<br>

One AlienBees 800W strobe; and<br>

One 10-foot light stand from Alien Bees.<br>

The next obvious step is purchasing a light modifier. I'm looking at umbrellas and soft boxes. To my untrained eye, the umbrellas seem to be more of a light reflector- i.e. the light is faced towards the umbrella and then reflected back on to the subject. The soft box seems to be mostly shoot through. <br>

Based on the type of products that I will be shooting, what will give me better results?<br>

Additionally, if anyone can add any suggestions to enhance my start up kit it would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

 

[Matt Laur]

<p>A lot of this depends on what sort of look you're after. If you want some sculpting and drama, then you need a slightly harder light source. If you want soft, even light, then something more diffuse is better.<br /><br />You are a prime candidate for a cover-to-cover read of <strong><a href="http://www.laurphoto.com/prdr/light_science_magic">Light: Science and Magic</a></strong>. Why? Because you're taking pictures of shiny things with curved surfaces - and the requires a fundamental understanding of how that influences your choice of light sources, modifiers, and their relative positions/distances. It's a complex subject.<br /><br />Rather than go into what amounts to an entire course on that subject right here, it might help if you could link to an example image that looks the way you'd like your shots to look. That might greatly narrow down the discussion of how to best use/augment what you've already got. <br /><br />For what it's worth, I frequently shoot jewelry with nothing more than a single overhead strobe shooting through a 4-foot diffuser (or through a softbox), and then use a couple of 12-inch reflectors to fill in some shadows or light up a stone. It's also possible to get <em>way</em> more elaborate than that, of course. The book I mentioned is a great place to start.</p>

[tzvih]

<p>I actually purchased that book and will definitely read it cover to cover. Thank you for your help.</p>

[allen_friday]

<p>Yep, read the book and then decide. Light Science and Magic is the one lighting book every photographer should read. It will answer your questions and give you a lot of other ideas on how to shoot watches and jewelry.</p>

[brooks short]

<p>Softboxes or diffusion panels (silks) for diffused light. For kicker lights either fresnel spots or grids work well. Save the umbrellas for people photography.</p>

<p>Here's a watch shot done with an overhead softbox, fresnel spot and small white reflector cards.</p><div></div>

[paf iii]

<p>Hello Tzvi,<br>

Here is a short tutorial from Jim Talkington from pro photolife <a href="http://www.prophotolife.com/2008/07/14/video-episode-21-small-product-problem-solving-in-the-studio/">http://www.prophotolife.com/2008/07/14/video-episode-21-small-product-problem-solving-in-the-studio/</a> I think this will help you alot. also as matt said light:science and magic is a must have book.</p>