Cameron Settings on this?

[Kimberly1]

Hello peeps. I'm a newbie here....hello! Anyhow. I need some help here. Take a look at my light box that I made. I have the Canon 50Dm I’ve purchased a few lenses in this past year. It came with a 28-135 Canon lens and I have since purchased a Canon 50MM (1.4) and a Tamron 70-300MM. I also have the 580EXII flash. I need to get some advice from you pros on the settings! I'm taking up close shots of jewelry and other items. I tried many settings, it just doesn't add up. As you can see the box has plenty of lighting. I am wondering, based off my camera inventory and what you see in my picture, what would my the best camera settings be to maximize the lighting and up closeness? Flash or no flash? Help???

Here is my lightbox:

and

The settings I used for these three images were:
Shutter Priority: TV
FStop: f/36
Exposure time: 1/4 sec.
focal length: 135mm
metering: spot
white balance: auto
quality: highest jpeg

My Settings here are:
Aperture Priority: AV
FStop: f/7.1
Exposure time: 1/200 sec.
ISO: 400
Exposure Bias: -0.3
focal length: 135mm
metering: spot
white balance: auto
quality: highest jpeg

My Settings here are:
Aperture Priority: AV
FStop: f/7.1
Exposure time: 1/200 sec.
ISO: 400
Exposure Bias: -0.3
focal length: 135mm
metering: spot
white balance: auto
quality: highest jpeg

The light box that made, I did a tutorial on it here.

 

[Big Mike]

I'd suggest switching to manual mode. Your lighting won't change from shot to shot, so your exposure settings (once figured out) shouldn't change either.

Your camera's meter wants to turn everything to a middle tone (called middle grey). So when it sees so much white, it underexposes it. The solution is to dial in more exposure. So by adjusting your shutter speed or aperture (or ISO), adjust the setting so that the 'needle' is to the right of the --0--. I'd guess that you will want it at about +1 1/3, maybe up to +2.

Use your histogram to check the exposure, you will likely see it piled up to the right, but don't let it tough the right side (clipping highlights). Once you get the 'right' exposure, keep it for all the shots with the same lighting.

Don't mix in flash, as it will likely mess up the colors because it won't match the lights you are using.

 

[Kimberly1]

Thank you!! I will try what you are saying. I'm still a newbie to this camera so I may come back with some more questions on how to adjust it.

I'd suggest switching to manual mode. Your lighting won't change from shot to shot, so your exposure settings (once figured out) shouldn't change either.

Your camera's meter wants to turn everything to a middle tone (called middle grey). So when it sees so much white, it underexposes it. The solution is to dial in more exposure. So by adjusting your shutter speed or aperture (or ISO), adjust the setting so that the 'needle' is to the right of the --0--. I'd guess that you will want it at about +1 1/3, maybe up to +2.

Use your histogram to check the exposure, you will likely see it piled up to the right, but don't let it tough the right side (clipping highlights). Once you get the 'right' exposure, keep it for all the shots with the same lighting.

Don't mix in flash, as it will likely mess up the colors because it won't match the lights you are using.