Jewelery Photography Tips?

Kyra

You have made a good start with the tent and lamps - this should give you a nice diffuse light and a shadow free image with a plain background. Do not use flash - it will reflect off the object causing white patches on the image.

The camera should be mounted on the tripod. You should use a cable release to prevent nudging the camera when taking the shot. If you do not have a cable release, set the timer before taking the shot - this allows you to move your hands away from the camera and any wobbles to settle down.

Always use the highest quality setting for your images. You can reduce the image size later, but you cannot put back information that isn’t there.

Most cameras do not take the best images with their aperture wide open. The aperture controls the amount of light let into the camera by the lens. On your lens it will be f/3.5 at 18mm focal length and f/5.6 at 55mm, and will vary in between. On most lenses the sharpest image is found at f/8 to f/11.

You should set your camera into the semi-automatic mode that allows you to control aperture. As a Canon user I do not know what this setting is on Nikons. Set the aperture to f/8, and the camera will automatically set the shutter speed.

One problem you may encounter is depth of field. This is the distance away from the camera that is in focus. A large aperture (small number) gives a short depth of field meaning some of your object may be out of focus. Reducing the aperture (larger f number) increases the depth of field. This may be important for something like a necklace, but less so for earings.

You may find that when you view the full size image on your computer, it may be a little over or under exposed. This can either be adjusted in Photoshop, or better still by adjusting the camera settings. Since you will probably be doing this at home, try setting up the tent next to your computer. You can then shoot images straight to the PC using the supplied software, and see them at full resolution immediately.

You may also have a problem with the focal length of your lens. It may be necessary to buy a larger zoom lens to get close enough to get a good image. Alternatively you can buy extension tubes that fit between the camera and lens. This moves the lens further away from the sensor making the image bigger.

Savannah

Camera set so you can select the smallest aperture (most depth-or-field), put camera on tripod as this will mean long exposures. Take picture by using the self-timer this will help against movement when pressing the shutter release. (I’m not sure if this camera has mirror-lock but if so use that too).

Use the light tent to get even lighting.

If you can’t focus close enough when filling the frame with the jewelry then take the picture with the background showing and crop it in photoshop - or some photo editing software - and you can also sharpen it to if needed.

Layne

Very inexpensive way to get up close is with a close up lens kit.
these ***** into your lens like filters. Usually come in sets of +1,+2 and +4. Can be purchased on ebay for between $10-$30. Kits are sold by filter size. No light compensation needed. You already have everything else you need. Because you are using a digital Nikon take multiple pictures with plus/minus exposure select the best one. You may not want to use your vibration reduction feature when using the tripod, new camera may not matter, but the Nikon I use states that the camera gets “confused” if there is no vibration to compensate for. Use a remote shutter or the self timer to eliminate camera movement, and use a high f. stop to give more depth of field.

Giovanna

you stand back, and zoom in…

set F16,on aperture priority… (on a tripod) and thats it…

DONT use flash… use your lights to illuminate the subject

then using photoshop you crop the image to remove all the wasted space… and upload it to ebay (or wherever)