Jewelry Photography

[harold sicks]

<p>I have been asked by a friend to photograph jewelry in a jewelry store. I have a 30D and a 100mm macro. I need some pointers especially with lighting. I am using just the pop up or my 580. Thanks Harold</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>You won't get results suitable for use in a jewelry store without more equipment than that and a bunch of practice.</p>

<p>I suggest you start by reading "Light - Science & Magic" to learn how light works. Jewelry is THE most difficult subject to shoot and is not the realm of beginners.</p>

<p>Search here for jewelry photography to see this subject discussed in depth and breadth.</p>

<p>This is a complex subject with lots of "right" answers, none of them simple.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>First, how will the photographs be used?<br /><br />Secondly, will you be doing assembly line shooting of dozens of $100 items, or doing the work to show off two or three $10,000 items? <br /><br />Jewelry photography can be a complex topic, so before we get into all of that, help out with the big picture, here.</p>

[harold sicks]

<p>Matt,</p>

<p>Yesterday I tried taking a picture of a $9,000 ring. I was using available light from his store. He will be using these for publication.</p>

[harold sicks]

<p>You won't get results suitable for use in a jewelry store without more equipment than that and a bunch of practice.<br>

I suggest you start by reading "Light - Science & Magic" to learn how light works. Jewelry is THE most difficult subject to shoot and is not the realm of beginners.<br>

Search here for jewelry photography to see this subject discussed in depth and breadth.<br>

This is a complex subject with lots of "right" answers, none of them simple.<br>

<Chas></p>

<p>Chas,</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply. I am not a beginner in photography. I did a lot of macro work from my crime scene days (CSI).</p>

<p>I am sorry that I did not expound that I "almost" had the photograph but was striving for suggestions on how to improve. Thanks Harold</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Especially with a fancy-pants (presumably diamond) ring, it's all about the light. What sort of look is he after, here? High-key, floating-on-white type stuff, or are we going for some drama, in a low-key, more theatrical approach?<br /><br />What would be especially helpful would be a simple web link to a shot or two, elsewhere, that convey what sort of end results you have in mind.</p>

[yakim_peled1]

<p>

<p dir="ltr">Goggle "DIY light box" or "DIY light tent". Very useful for these kind of shots.</p>

<p dir="ltr"> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Happy shooting,</p>

<p dir="ltr">Yakim.</p>

 

<p dir="ltr"> </p>

</p>

 

[tom_harvey3]

<p>Your best bet will be a shooting tent and a couple of flashes off to the sides. Find one of those fake model necks or hands and try using those.</p>

[mike_oflaherty]

<p>Years ago the Hotel I used to work at would have Jewelers hosting small private show/sales in the guest suites. We made up a rig of florescent 4' lamps with full spectrum tubes in them at the request of the Jeweler. So I would guess that the full spectrum would give off the right light to make the product sparkle under the light if the Jeweler knew what they were talking about. Another suggestion would be go down to a Jewelery Shop look at there displays and ask what type of lighting the use.</p>

[harold sicks]

<p>These are two of the pictures I took</p><div></div>

[harold sicks]

<p>#2</p>

<div></div>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>I'm sorry, when you said you wanted to shoot jewelry for a shop, I thought you wanted results like this.<br>

http://www.harrywinston.com/Product.aspx?alias=001amicropavring&current=rings-jewels&section=jewels</p>

<p>Getting this shadowless sparkle is the difficult part.</p>

<p><Chas></p>

[mike_oflaherty]

<p>Not bad. Try adjusting the angle of the light to eliminate the flare on the bottom stone. The twinkle effect that is there is what you want but not over do it. A little more practice and you'll be there.</p>

[harold sicks]

 

<p>I'm sorry, when you said you wanted to shoot jewelry for a shop, I thought you wanted results like this.<br /> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.harrywinston.com/Product.aspx?alias=001amicropavring&current=rings-jewels&section=jewels" target="_blank">(link)</a><br>

Getting this shadowless sparkle is the difficult part.</p>

<p>Chas</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply. If you see the above two pictures they were my first into this field. Would you suggest a Canon flash ring or the adjustable strobes?</p>

<p>Harold</p>

 

[Charles_Webster]

<p>I would suggest reading the book "Light - Science & Magic" to learn why a ring flash or a light tent are not suitable for high quality gem and jewelry photography.</p>

<p>You will need a couple of studio strobes (or speedlights), a softbox or two, and an assortment of flags, reflectors, mirrors, and similar small scale light control devices.</p>

<p>A trick jewelry photographers often use is to place a small mirror in front of the back-lit piece to provide the specular highlights that provide sparkle. Rings are best shot "suspended in air" instead of a ring form, because then the support doesn't hide part of the ring or necklace.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

[felix_mizioznikov]

<p>do not use on camera flash. do not use in store lighting. get your flash to work of the camera weather by wire or wireless and use an umbrella or lightbox. <br>

if you using a hotshoe flash bounce of a white surface and experiment with angles in relation to the jewelry piece. </p>

[kiloromeo]

<p>What Yakim said.<br>

I bought one from Amazon it's 3x3 ft. and it is amazing. I use it with 2 480ex's.<br>

Try the DIY one and you will probably like it.</p>

[petr_tyll]

<p>Hi Harold, as others said, it´s about the light. You need difused light without hard shadows. What works best for me is bounced light. I use two flash heads - one in the back and one on the side but without softfboxes and bounced. It´s easy to set it up for examp. in the corner of a room with a light walls or I use sometimes big polystyren desks. Usually I either use white or black glass (the black they use here in czech for furnituru or tomb stones). I´ll try to show you the set up if i´ll have time. Then I use black and white cards to bring the light and black reflections in front of the items. Also I found the hard way - best is to be dressed in black - once I had a green color cast from my t-shirt on the silver items. <em></em> Petr</p><div></div>