Hey guys, it's been a while since I've been on the forum. Here's my recent project for Corbis stock. My friend had a good-lookin beard and a nice pipe.

Gear: I shot this with a Canon 5D, 24-70mm, pocket wizard with one strobe light shooting through a beauty dish. I'm a big fan of the fall-off that the dish creates on a subject's face.

This expression was nice and sneaky for a smoke break.

josh_smoke-break-sm.jpg

Attached Images

• josh_smoke-break-sm.jpg (1.60 MB)

Hi all,

I've been working the past 6 months developing a website for my Dad's jewelry stores. The site itself is great but one of its most important parts is still missing - photographs of the product inventory. The stores feature higher-end gold and diamond jewelry, and I'm willing to invest both the time and money necessary to make the photography on the site look as if it was done by a professional. With that said, here are the areas in which I would love your input:

1) Purchasing a camera
- From my preliminary research, it's become clear that a DSLR is the obvious choice for the project. However, I'd love some advice on selecting the actual brand and model.

2) Purchasing a lens
- From what I understand, the lens is just as important (if not more important) than the actual camera for this project. Which lenses would you recommend for a macro-jewelry photography project like mine.

3) Lighting and Setup
- This portion is where I will need the most help. Many variables are involved and small mistakes make big differences, from what I'm told. What do I need to know regarding the equipment necessary as well as the actual setup and execution for this project?

Any and all responses will be received with open arms. Thanks for your input!

I have a new client and I just supplied them with the images, and they've come back saying they'd like two changes to how they were shot which were never mentioned before - they're watches and they want them set to a specific time, and in the box they're in they'd like the foam removed.

i'm not sure what the usual protocol is, as it's a new client and we agreed on a flat fee per image. with my other clients i work on an hourly rate and would bill them for this. should i be charging the full price to do it again? i can't afford to piss them off as i'm low on work at the moment :(

thanks very much

I some advice please! i've been hired to do product shots for some watches, and now they're enquiring about doing a shoot with a model (one photo), either in a studio or on location.
the client said "We'd provide a suitable location. The image would be used primarily for a little sign to be displayed behind the watch in some jewellery stores. It may also have other various marketing uses but they're not doing any big media campaigns or advertisements with it."


so they just want me to take one good photo and edit it, i don't have to arrange the model, hair & makeup or any of that. i'm a professional photographer (but i wouldn't say that i'm a great one) and I do either live music or products, i've never done a shoot with a model before so i've got NO IDEA how it works.
i don't know much about how to charge for the usage etc - what would be a ballpark figure to charge? and then you're meant to give them a rate for just one year, and then more after that - is that correct?

to put things in perspective, i have charged $90 per image for the 6 watches i have shot for them. i'm sure that i'm capable of doing this shoot with the model, i'm just a bit iffy about the lighting but i'm going to bring a friend who can help and i'm going to give him a cut of the pay.


if you can give me any help/advice at all i would really appreciate it. my main priority is getting the wording right when i email them on how they can use the photo, because i don't want to sound like i don't know what i'm talking about.


here's one of the photos of the watches so you can gauge my level of experience/quality of work: http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3209/watchx.jpg

thanks so much in advance!

I have a few friends who take magnificent pics of food. Close ups, that show every layer of a biscuit, or syrup that looks like it's literally dripping onto the pancakes, in the pic. As if in motion. I never thought food could be so exciting. I have been dabbling with this lately, and just wondering if anyone here has a fondness for taking pics of food, too?

I've learned that plateware is important. :sexywink: My plateware makes the food look meh, not so good. I think a white plate, is probably always the best way to go. Square dishes, with black napkins. This way, there isn't a distraction from all the beautiful colors of the food you are showcasing.

If you have any pics to share, I'd be interesting in seeing! :=)

(Or am I an oddball for liking to take pics of food?) :}

So I'm sure you guys would love to hear another photo assistant question so hear it goes:

I'm meeting with a local commercial photographer about being an assistant. I live in a college town with a population of about 100,000 during the school year when all of the students are in town but it drops significantly after the semester ends. I had read that for first time assistants about $175 a day is a decent starting rate, I was just curious if this would still apply in a smaller town in the middle of the midwest? also maybe some advice for a first time assistant?

thanks for your guys help!