I'm glad it went well, Walt! Yes, the lightbox has come in very handy for me. If you end up doing a lot of this sort of thing, you can also purchase one that is made of fabric & a wire frame, that twists up & folds down like those car sun shades for easy storage. (After a year of use, my DIY set-up was getting pretty ratty, and I was running out of places to stash it, so I splurged. But I definitely recommend giving the DIY version a try.)
Another thought -- check your closet for other backgrounds... I have pressed into service various items of clothing (mine & the kids') to stage jewelry...velvet-like textures, linen, shiny, sparkly, cotton-weaves. I have also found that working with white and black backgrounds is a great lesson in exposure compensation. :) To get the bright "white seamless" look, you'll dial in at least +1 stops, and -1 for deep black. Happy trails... -c On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 9:31 AM, Walter Gilbert <ldott...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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 >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> PDML@pdml.net >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
