Understanding Macro

rightguard · Nov 29, 2011

I'm a glassblower and jeweler and am trying to take photos of my work. I use a d700 with a 18-200mm lens... I want to get the pictures a little crisper and show a little more detail. I'm still working on my lighting but am wondering if a Macro lens would help.

Would you still use a Macro lens to shoot larger items like a 14" tall vase?

Gaerek · Nov 29, 2011

rightguard said:
I'm a glassblower and jeweler and am trying to take photos of my work. I use a d700 with a 18-200mm lens... I want to get the pictures a little crisper and show a little more detail. I'm still working on my lighting but am wondering if a Macro lens would help.

Would you still use a Macro lens to shoot larger items like a 14" tall vase?

Tripod and good lighting is all you should need. All a macro lens will allow you to do is focus closer. If you're shooting something very small, it could be useful, but I'm going to guess that everything you'll need to shoot will be done just fine with a regular lens.

tirediron · Nov 29, 2011

Lighting is the key as mentioned above; to expand on that, diffuse lighting is what you need. Glass can be a very difficult subject to photograph well, and without good lighting and modifiers, it's going to be tough. That said, unless you're photographing very large objects. a couple of good speedlights (off camera flashes), triggers and lots of diffusion material is about all you will need. I would spend some time searching on-line; it shouldn't be too difficult to find some good tutorials.

A macro lens is a special-purpose lens, which allows you to achieve a 1:1 magnification; that is: A subject 1/2 inch long will be rendered 1/2 in long on the camera's sensor. It can definitely be used to shoot larger items, but it may not be ideal for your situation. I would suggest a replacement for the 18-200 however. Putting that on a D700 is akin to putting a Volkswagon engine in a Cadillac. The Nikon 24-70 is a good lens, but without knowing what you are shooting and what type of images you want, it's hard to say for sure.

Overread · Nov 29, 2011

Lighting is the major part of good product photography and you should certainly focus a lot of your attention to perfecting that aspect. However your 18-200mm lens that you are using is a lens that makes a compromise on optical quality so that it can cover such a wide zoom range. You would most likely (almost certainly) see a performance if you were to add a dedicated macro lens to your setup, furthermore it would be an ideal tool for taking shots of your jewellery (items such as rings and the like).

For a good all round lens I'd say a Nikon 60mm macro or a Sigma 70mm f2.8 macro would be ideal options to consider; giving you the close focusing features, but without having you pushed a long distance back when shooting larger items. If you want a bit more distance when working with the rings you could consider a Tokina 90mm macro or even Nikon's own 105mm VR macro lens. Each one will give you great optical quality (and to be honest when it comes to macro prime lenses there are really no bad performers) so its a case of matching your needs to the budget and seeing what fits.

Bitter Jeweler · Nov 29, 2011

"Light, Science, Magic" is the book you are looking for. It has a whole section on shooting and lighting glass. :thumbup:

rightguard · Nov 29, 2011

Thanks that is helpful, I just don't get a good answer out of my local shop.

I shoot two main things. Kite surfing at a long distance and studio shooting glass and jewelry.

I usually use a little Instamatic for all the family type pictures.

What kind of lenses would you suggest?

Bitter Jeweler · Nov 29, 2011

I use Canon's 100mm f/2.8 Macro. Also, 2 (soon to be 3) Flashes.

Bitter Jeweler · Nov 29, 2011

Also, I go into some detail on my set up here: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-gallery/260145-recent-products.html?highlight=

rightguard · Nov 29, 2011

Those are great shots of the jewelry... so what type of flashes are you using and do you think flashes are better than constant lights? Are you defusing the flashes? I've found with my glass that if I use a big diffused box I get too much of a reflection on the piece. It is almost easier to photoshop out a small light than a big diffusion box.

Bitter Jeweler · Nov 29, 2011

I mix bare, and diffused/bounced flash. I never used constant lights, so I have no opinion on them.

As far as shooting your glass, seriously, get the book I mentioned.

mrpink · Nov 29, 2011

rightguard said:
I'm a glassblower and jeweler and am trying to take photos of my work. I use a d700 with a 18-200mm lens... I want to get the pictures a little crisper and show a little more detail. I'm still working on my lighting but am wondering if a Macro lens would help.

Would you still use a Macro lens to shoot larger items like a 14" tall vase?

Why are you using a DX lens on an FX body?

p!nK