could anybody give me help on photographing jewelery? eg what is the best colour material to use for the background and what settings is best? i just cant seem to get it right.
Best results are achieved with indirect lighting, a domed reflector and the piece of jewellry on a light box. skieur
build yourself a light box, very cheap and very efective. http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent
Soft diffused light is important. A softbox, umbrella or lightbox are good. Get that flash off the camera and you will see how quickly things improve. If you need a bit of a more visual thing, just PM me and I can try something for you tonight after work, if you want? I know it always helps me to see how things are done.
I can see any dark colour best showing off jewelery better than whites, though it can/has been done in pure white in a few catalogs that I've looked at in the past. Darker colours just seem to give it a much richer/vibrant look.
different stones look better with different lighting...for instance i wouldn't use the same background for an emerald that i would a ruby...keep in mind complimentary colors!
thanks for all the help. if poss i would like to see some examples. i know its cheeky of me nut anyone who can help post them on this thread please. thanks again
Jols, keeping in mind that this is my VERY FIRST attempt at this and given more than 10 min to do this, I could do better, but for waht it's worth, here you go: First attempt, little prep, obviously poor example. The setup used for this and the next pic: Last try before me needing to leave. It is better, but not what I would call ready. Given another 30 min and a few more test shots, I could do better... but at least this gives you a thought or 2?: Ten minutes, 5 shots total. Newbie attempt but hey, I had fun!