black background
After countless hours, sweat, and tears, we have finally achieved some great photos of our silver jewelry for the website. Here is how we have achieved the best results. We have decided to stick with black background for the silver and white gold and white for the yellow gold pieces. Its easier for us amateurs to produce a decent shot with the black background on the silver. To get started, first you will need the right tools for the job.
For the camera you will need a digital SLR with a good macro lens. After that you will need a light box to filter and even out the light, at least three 30 watt(or so) white fluorescent lights with stands, and a good tripod. The watts of the lights aren't as important as getting a good pure white color, vs. the yellow color of most light bulbs. If you plan on taking pictures of rings or standing up other small pieces, some photo wax comes in very handy, and can be found on eBay for about ten bucks. For the black background we use a cheap glossy folder. This can be discarded when its dirty and the gloss gives the silver jewelry a nice shadow. Once you have your equipment, the two most important factors for taking good jewelry photo's are proper lighting and camera settings. You will want a space reserved just for the lighted area because once you get rolling you will want to come back to your work without a lot of re-adjusting.
To set up the lighting you'll need a table that has enough room for at least a two foot clearance around the light box. This will allow you some room to adjust the lights as necessary. Set the light box on the table with your black platform in the center, and position one light to each side and one light above the box. Three lights should be plenty for silver and white gold on black background. The box should be sealed on the top to filter the top light, and you will need to cut a hole for the camera lens if you want to get a top down perspective, if there isn't one already. Make sure all other lights are off in the area you are working, you don't want overhead lights to interfere with the shot. Position the camera on the tripod with the lens just through the hole in the top of the light box.
The goal with each picture is to get as close to a final shot as possible without using a photo program. The reflection on the silver jewelry makes it difficult to adjust it much, aside from touching up the background. We take most of our shots with a high f stop to capture the whole piece, so start there and work down if your looking for a more artsy effect. The shutter speed should be slow to get more exposure in the filtered lighting, and if possible adjust your white balance to the fluorescent light setting. We usually start at f36 and shutter speed of 15 and go from there.
Each piece may take some adjustment to get the perfect shot. If you group the types of silver jewelry you are photographing, such as small rings or pendants, its easier to get more done at a time without a lot of re positioning of the equipment. We often experiment until we have a great shot of a ring at a certain angle, for example, and continue with that same angle for multiple rings. Happy picture taking!
For the camera you will need a digital SLR with a good macro lens. After that you will need a light box to filter and even out the light, at least three 30 watt(or so) white fluorescent lights with stands, and a good tripod. The watts of the lights aren't as important as getting a good pure white color, vs. the yellow color of most light bulbs. If you plan on taking pictures of rings or standing up other small pieces, some photo wax comes in very handy, and can be found on eBay for about ten bucks. For the black background we use a cheap glossy folder. This can be discarded when its dirty and the gloss gives the silver jewelry a nice shadow. Once you have your equipment, the two most important factors for taking good jewelry photo's are proper lighting and camera settings. You will want a space reserved just for the lighted area because once you get rolling you will want to come back to your work without a lot of re-adjusting.
To set up the lighting you'll need a table that has enough room for at least a two foot clearance around the light box. This will allow you some room to adjust the lights as necessary. Set the light box on the table with your black platform in the center, and position one light to each side and one light above the box. Three lights should be plenty for silver and white gold on black background. The box should be sealed on the top to filter the top light, and you will need to cut a hole for the camera lens if you want to get a top down perspective, if there isn't one already. Make sure all other lights are off in the area you are working, you don't want overhead lights to interfere with the shot. Position the camera on the tripod with the lens just through the hole in the top of the light box.
The goal with each picture is to get as close to a final shot as possible without using a photo program. The reflection on the silver jewelry makes it difficult to adjust it much, aside from touching up the background. We take most of our shots with a high f stop to capture the whole piece, so start there and work down if your looking for a more artsy effect. The shutter speed should be slow to get more exposure in the filtered lighting, and if possible adjust your white balance to the fluorescent light setting. We usually start at f36 and shutter speed of 15 and go from there.
Each piece may take some adjustment to get the perfect shot. If you group the types of silver jewelry you are photographing, such as small rings or pendants, its easier to get more done at a time without a lot of re positioning of the equipment. We often experiment until we have a great shot of a ring at a certain angle, for example, and continue with that same angle for multiple rings. Happy picture taking!
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
black background
