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A Different View on Jewellery Photography, using the 458B + 322RC2
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Making your jewelry photographs look interesting and different can set your designs apart from the competition. The old cliché stands true, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." In the on-line world of e-commerce, the more you stand out, the more you are remembered, andthis will translate directly into sales for your sites.
Setting up the camera from a new angle and using controlled lighting to highlight the features of your products are some of the tricks we will cover in this lesson. Looking into different props and backgrounds are also ways to increase the impact of your images. So, with this said, let's get started.
(Click on any image below for an enlarged view.) |
Topics Covered:
- Choosing and Setting up Props and Backgrounds
- Choosing and Setting up the Tripod
- Programming the Camera Settings
- Adding the Macro Extension Tube
- Choosing Your Camera Angle
- Setting up the Quantum Q-Flash
- Setting up Dedo Spot lights
- Using gels and the Dedo gel holder
- Using a LiteDisc to control reflections
Manfrotto Equipment Used:
Other Equipment Used:
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Choosing a Background
Over the past few years we have developed a great relationship with a local jeweler: we give them the photos we take in exchange for the loan of some exquisite pieces, like the sapphire ring we will shoot for this lesson.
Because this item is made of platinum, we felt a dark background would be a good choice to set off the subject and add some drama in the form of contrast.
While on a trip to the local garden shop, I found some stepping stones that looked very interesting. Although we did not need them at home, they were so cool I had to get a few. When this assignment to shoot a new jewelry lesson came along, these stones found their purpose.
The black speckled finish on the stepping stone offers the contrast we wanted to set off the ring. As we mentioned, looking at the subject from an unusual angle will add more interest to the shot, so we decided to set the stone on end and placed the ring on top.
This position gives us the opportunity to set the camera low so we can look up at the subject. To accomplish this setup, we used a large spring clamp to hold the stone in position on the black seamless paper we covered our table with (figure 1 and 2).
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Utilizing a Tripod and Choosing a Camera Angle
With our props arranged, we could then position the camera. To add more drama to the shot, we chose to set the camera below the subject and look up at it. This added implied power and importance to the subject.
A surprisingly great studio tripod for macro work is the Manfrotto 458B. We wanted something solid to hold the camera still since we were working extremely close to the subject, and the 458B Neotec has a fast damping time, meaning it quickly absorbs and deadens any vibration caused by manipulating the camera. The 458B is also extremely fast and easy to operate and make slight adjustments if we need to change the height of the camera. In addition, we also like the fact that this tripod is black. It might seem strange, but when you're working at the very close distances of macro photography, anything to cut down on glare or reflections is a must. With the black tripod, we eliminate all our worries. |
Figure 3 |
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| Since we wanted a low camera angle we did not need to fully extend the legs of the 458B, instead we could use the center column to make final adjustments to the height of the camera. The 458B has a rapid center column, so we can raise and lower the camera precisely with the easy turn of the set knob (figures 4 and 5). |
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| Extending the legs on the 458B could not be easier, simply grab the leg and pull. To retract the legs is just as easy, just push the release button at the top of the leg you wish to retract and push the leg in (figures 6 and 7). |
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Figure 8 |
For the tripod head we chose the Manfrotto 322RC2 Grip Action Ball Head (figure 8) because we wanted to be able to easily position the camera with the simple pull of the trigger. With the Manfrotto 322RC2 grip action Pistol Grip head we can easily position the camera with one hand, adjust focus or zoom with the other hand, release the head and the head is locked into position (figure 9). It's one of the safest heads to use precisely because as soon as you let go of it, it locks in place, so you'll never find your camera tipping over or crashing to the ground. It also keeps the camera's weight low over the tripod so it's more stable and balanced. |
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Programming the Camera Settings
With the camera now in position we can make our adjustments to the settings. First, set the exposure to manual by setting the mode dial to M
We then set the resolution to the TIFF setting for maximum image quality, the focus to the manual setting and the white balance to daylight (5500K) to match the Q-Flash we will use as our main light, and last we set the ISO to 100.
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Adding the Macro Extension Tube
When shooting jewelry, it is important to get as close to the item as possible to better capture the details that make the piece so special.
There are physical limitations to camera lenses that restrict how close a lens can focus on an object. Fortunately, many lenses can be used with macro extension tubes which greatly decrease the minimum distance required between the lens and the object to achieve sharp focus.
We illustrate this point in figures 10 and 11. The first shot of these chess pieces was shot with the 14-54mm telephoto lens set to 54mm without using the extension tube. The minimum focusing distance of about 6-7 inches restricted how close we could get to our subject.
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Figure 10 |
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| Notice that we were able to get relatively close to the chess pieces with both pieces in acceptable focus. After this shot, we added a 25mm extension tube so we could get still closer to our subject (figure 11).
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Figure 11 |
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Notice that we were able to get much closer to our subject. There is much greater detail in our foreground object. Also notice how any focus on the background object has been drastically lost. Very shallow depth of field is characteristic of using extension tubes.
There is also a drop-off in the exposure level when using an extension tube. Expect to increase your exposure by one full f-stop when using a 25mm extension tube.
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Figure 12 |
The extension tube seats between the camera body and the rear of the lens. Figure 12 shows the E1 body with the 14-54mm lens attached before the 25mm extension tube is inserted.
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Figure 13 |
Setting up a Strobe Main Light
We set up our Main, or Key, Light strobe on a boom, attached a light dome. We then attached the battery pack and Radio slave (not shown).
We then positioned the light to shine down from above the subject (figure 13).
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| With our main/key light in place we made some minor adjustments to the ring and checked our exposure with our flash meter. The meter read 1/60 @ f /8.0 so we set the camera accordingly. We then moved the camera in place by adjusting our tripod and moving the head to place the lens at the right angle and made our first shot (figure 14). With the 458B Neotec's horizontal mounting center column, we could even get the camera right in over the table if necessary. |
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Figure 14 |
Figure 15 |
Our results showed that we needed to move the main/key light forward to let some light fall on the front of the ring.
We adjusted the light and repositioned the ring (figure 15).
We checked the light with our meter and got the same reading so we shot a second exposure.
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Figure 16 |
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| This result shows the light we wanted on the top of the ring. The metal looked good, with clean highlights and good shape (figure 16). The stones now needed some work, we wanted to see the facets in the stones and the color of the sapphire come through more vividly.
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Figure 17 |
Utilizing Focusable Spot Lights
To open up the stones and add some color and life to them, we employed a few Dedo Spot lights.
The lights we used were Dedo 150 watt, tungsten focusable light units. We would use three total and would utilize a focusing lens and an assortment of gels.
We set this light to the left side of our set at 90 degrees from the camera and focused it on the ring. To correct the color of the Dedo light, we inserted a blue correction gel into the gel holder slot on the Dedo light (figure 17).
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| We checked the effect of the light through the view finder and had our assistant make some adjustment to fine tune the light. We also made a change to the position of the ring to show more of the stones on both sides. When we were happy with the look, we took another exposure (figure 18).
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Figure 18 |
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Our result showed a great improvement in the detail of the stones, we were finally seeing some sparkle in the facets on the right side. As a nice bonus, the rock we were using for our prop now had some wonderful texture.
To add some of the same look to the left side of the ring, we then set up a second Dedo Spot light on the right of the set. For this light, however, we attached the Dedo light to a DL-Holder so we could boom the light in closer (figures 19 and 20).
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| Again we had our assistant make some final adjustments to the lights while I looked through the view finder. When we were set we took our next exposure (figure 21).
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Figure 21 |
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| Now we were getting close to a noteworthy shot. The addition of the second spot light did the trick for the stones on the right side of the ring. For the last action, we will add a 12 inch LiteDisc to bounce some light back into the subject and open up the metal on the front of the ring (figures 22 and 23).
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| Now with the final pieces in place we were ready to make the hero shot (figure 24).
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Figure 24 |
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| Here is a comparison of our results; you can clearly note the progression of the lighting solution for this lesson when you see them side by side (figure 25).
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| As always there are no hard-set or fast rules to photography, this is just one interesting way to shoot jewelry. Once you have set up the lights, take the time to look at the subjects. You will find many other unique possibilities. These kinds of shots are always different, so have fun with it, and good luck.
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Manfrotto Equipment Used:
Other Equipment Used:
Recommended Links
- To learn more about Photoflex equipment, go to www.photoflex.com
- For more tips and techniques on lighting and cameras, visit
www.webphotoschool.com
and sign
up for access to the Member Lessons.
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