Thank you, Christine!
I did the work last night, and some of the shots turned out surprisingly
well for two people who didn't have the foggiest notion what they were
doing.
I burned about 150 shots getting the lighting and staging right, but
once I finally got things situated, I got some pretty pleasing results.
I sure do wish I'd had that DIY light box, though! That would've made
things so much easier! I will definitely be using one of those from now
on. Thank you *very* much for passing it along to me!
I wound up using the 50 at f/8 throughout the entire shoot. Some of
them would have been wonderful with a proper background, but we were
using what amounts to black construction paper, which turned out to have
a pretty warm reddish tone to it by the time the camera was finished
with it. I don't think that'll be too tough to deal with in post,
though. I also had some difficulty dealing with reflections at first,
but we got on top of it pretty early. What we did have wasn't overly
obtrusive, though. So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with the results
for my first time out.
Thanks again for the pointers -- particularly the light box! This could
end up being a fairly regular source of income for me, due to the fact
that the next town over is virtually crawling with people who make
jewelry of various sorts. If I can tap into that market with the work
I'm doing with this lady, it could keep me fairly busy.
Best,
Walt
On 12/14/2010 8:03 AM, Christine Nielsen wrote:
Walt,
I've done a little of this type of work... here are a few thoughts for you...
- Currently, I use the fa 100 macro, which I like a lot for shooting
small things, like beads. But, I've used a shorter lens in the
past... a 50 might be better, if you are trying to get a shot of a
whole necklace, etc...
- Use a tripod. You'll want enough DoF to show the entire piece in
enough detail, so stopped down apertures (I usually go f8-13),
especially at close range. Then you don't have to worry about slow
shutter... and it will help with sharpness, too.
- Watch out for reflections in silver/shiny pieces. A white
posterboard or sheet placed strategically can minimize the chances
that your surroundings will be visible in the jewlery's mirror-like
surface.
- Have you thought about using a lightbox? You can make one yourself
for very little $$, and you can use it with natural light, strobes, or
even desk lamps. Check this out:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html
Have fun!
-c
On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 2:19 PM, Walter Gilbert<ldott...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
I have a friend who makes some really nice turquoise jewelry
(http://www.sisdesigns.com/) and she's asked me if I'd like to take a shot at
doing some photographs of her work for catalogs and design conference
submissions. We've already worked on some rudimentary lighting and staging for
the pieces, and are going to do some experimenting today. Before I jump in, I
figured I'd ask if any of you might have any pointers.
Of course, I'll be shooting in RAW, and have decided to bracket the shots.
Beyond that, I wonder if it would be best to use my M-50/2, or my 18-55mm kit
lens, or something longer?
Thanks for any advice anyone can offer!
-- Walt
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