help! Cant get my photos right! Any help all help appreciated!

[philsphoto]

Ok, here is an edit where I used a layer mask to maintain the available detail on the clasp part. I agree that this area is already blown out. Shooting in raw would help too. I also boosted saturation a bit.


pendant941_edit by Phil's Photography, on Flickr

 

[NEWBIEPHOTOGRAPHER]

http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/32001225/images/purplering.jpg


here is the best un edited photo i could get this afternoon . here are the specs of the picture
now what should be done to the photo to get it perfect?
File Name IMG_6526.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.9
Shooting Date/Time 10/12/2011 6:19:35 AM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/40
Av( Aperture Value ) 16.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 400
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF-S60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Focal Length 60.0 mm
Image Size 3456x2304
Image Quality Fine
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Custom
AF Mode One-Shot AF
AF area select mode Manual selection
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB
Long exposure noise reduction 0:Off
High ISO speed noise reduction 0:Standard
Highlight tone priority 0isable
Auto Lighting Optimizer 2:Strong
Peripheral illumination correction Enable
File Size 2860 KB
Dust Delete Data No
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation
Live View Shooting ON
Camera Body No. 1923137110

 

[vtf]

Where's Bitter when you need him. lol

 

[KmH]

http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/32001225/images/purplering.jpg


here is the best un edited photo i could get this afternoon . here are the specs of the picture
now what should be done to the photo to get it perfect?
File Name IMG_6526.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.9
Shooting Date/Time 10/12/2011 6:19:35 AM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/40
Av( Aperture Value ) 16.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering .......................Use Spot metering mode instead
ISO Speed 400 ......................................................Use ISO 100
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF-S60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Focal Length 60.0 mm
Image Size 3456x2304
Image Quality Fine
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Custom
AF Mode One-Shot AF
AF area select mode Manual selection
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3 ....................................................... Set it to zero
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB
Long exposure noise reduction 0:Off
High ISO speed noise reduction 0:Standard
Highlight tone priority 0isable
Auto Lighting Optimizer 2:Strong .....................................Turn it off.
Peripheral illumination correction Enable.............................Turn it off.
File Size 2860 KB
Dust Delete Data No
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation
Live View Shooting ON
Camera Body No. 1923137110

Usind Evaluative metering diminishes the effectiveness of your lighting and is contributing to your blown highlights.
You can turn the ISO down and make the shutter speed shorter to compensate.
Sharpen locally, and more precisely post process, rather than sharpening globally with the crude in-camera settings.
For the Last 2 settings I highlighted, again, the in-camera controls are crude, and the camera has no clue what you are making an image of, or what your image goals are.

 

[NEWBIEPHOTOGRAPHER]

i made the changes. Here is the picture. i feel going down on iso i get a less clear picture.


http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/32001225/images/trial.jpg

why cant i upload a photo to the forum?

I am interested in buying a photo studio like with soft box lights and stuff. Budget is around $300 any suggestions?

 

[RichardsTPF]

Here is a small group of tutorial: [h=2]Tones & Contrast[/h]

• Understanding Histograms, Part 1: Tones & Contrast
• Understanding Histograms, Part 2: Luminosity & Color
• Using the "Levels" Tool in Photoshop
• Using the "Curves" Tool in Photoshop
• Understanding Image Posterization

I can't open these page.

 

[KmH]

You could copy the title of each link and post that in a search engine as the search term.

Understanding Digital Camera Histograms: Tones and Contrast
Understanding Digital Camera Histograms: Luminosity and Color
Using the Photoshop Levels Tool
Using the Photoshop Curves Tool
Image Posterization

 

[skieur]

The standard approach is to put the jewellry on a light box and shoot it through a reflective dome.

skieur

 

[RichardsTPF]

You could copy the title of each link and post that in a search engine as the search term.

Find them. Thank you Keith.