The keys to good jewelry photography are sharpness, lighting, exposure, and in the case of gemstone photography, trying to create some sparkle. (photo left is from Tiffany’s Spring mailer)

Adding sparkle to faceted gems… A light tent provides nice soft lighting for jewelry and makes for a pleasing image. However, the light tent may not provide the direct lighting necessary to “light up” faceted gemstones.  Faceted gemstones like diamonds need to be illuminated by a light source that is positioned at nearly the same place as the camera. Don’t use the on-camera flash does not lead to good jewelry photos.  Not only is the camera’s flash too bright at such a close distance, but it is probably in the wrong position to actually light up the jewelry properly.  On camera flash will also create harsh and distracting shadows.

1. Two lights are normally positioned to sides of the Light tent, which diffuses the light and eliminates glare. These lights provide the main lights for the piece of jewelry. We prefer daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs for lighting .
2. The third light, “the sparkler” light is positioned to shine directly into the gemstone to illuminate the stone. Because this light is not diffused by the light tent, it needs to be a weaker light than the side lights. You will need to move this light until you see the gem light up. Then move the light stand to keep the light in that position.  (Make sure you are looking through the camera’s viewfinder when positioning the sparkler light).  The “sparkler” light is the third  light, and the key to having properly lit faceted gemstone jewelry. This light must be positioned so that you see the stones sparkle
3. Good jewelry photography needs sharp, crisp focus. It is worth getting out your camera’s manual  to find out how to put the camera in “spot focus” mode.  The normal focus mode of digital cameras is some sort of average focus mode.  That means that the camera will look at a wide area of a scene and base the focus on that area.
4. Another key to a sharp image is a tripod.  It is essential to use a good sturdy  tripod or similar camera support when shooting jewelry.

Every fashion and commercial ad photographer has their favorite techniques and equipment. We have found through the years that the simplest of equipment can produce the highest degree of artistic results. Here are a few fashion and commercial ad photography tips from our team of fantastic photographers.

• Our favorite lens is the 50MM lens no matter whether it is a close up or wide shot. This lens makes you analyze your shot and makes you physically move to frame the shot. (at times we also use a 24MM 2.8)
• Research your location either the day before or two hours prior to the photo shoot to make sure there are both no surprises and to foster creative inspiration.
• Before you take the shot, assemble in your head what you envision the end product is going to look like.
• Lighting – Start with one light (key light) – yes, one light! –  and play around with it to see where shadows falls. Remember, mood is created with shadows.
• Play around with your exposure. Look at your meter, when it tells you that you have  the correct exposure, try stepping your exposure down or up. The results may pleasantly surprise you.
• Take plenty of shots! Remember, you are never judged on the shots that you throw away, only on the ones that you keep.

With only a few weeks left till Christmas, many decorate their homes with LED Lights and candles. Grab your camera and seize these wonderful photo opportunities!  Candle photography makes for some of the most beautiful, romantic, and isomorphic  compositions!

Here a some of our examples!

At some stage, almost every photographer will be bitten by the macro bug. Something about seeing things close up in ultra-high definition attracts almost everyone to flirt with the world of macro photography at some point on their photographic path. But a macro lens can be expensive (usually over $500).

One of our favorite alternatives to ease you into the world of macro photography without breaking the bank is to use Macro Tubes. Macro tubes are typically under $100. Check out Macro Tubes Here

If you find that you’re loving it so much and feel that you’re being held back by your equipment, then by all means explore more expensive lens options. Remember, however, that an expensive lens is not always going to improve your skills. As you can see above, there are some very stunning things you can do with the “cheap” options in macro.

This may hit some beginners like a ton of bricks so brace yourself for a mild disappointment here: your lens isn’t wonderful at all f/stops. What?  A Canon 50mm which opens to f/1.8 isn’t at its best when it’s wide open. And by ‘best’, meaning when a lens it at its sharpest. There’s something known as a lens’ ‘sweet spot’ .

Lens Sweet Spot – The aperture at which it’s at the sharpest and sometimes will even offer other things like better clarity.

It’s hard to give a blanket statement about the exact sweet spot for each lens because when you look up the chatter on the internet, there are such varying statements about, say, the sweet spot for the aforementioned Canon 50mm f/1.8. Some say it’s f/2.2 while others claim that the sweet spot is f/4.

A Good rule of thumb –  a lens starts moving more towards perfection about two stops above its maximum aperture.

So where an f/1.8 can open all the way to f/1.8, you don’t actually want to shoot at f/1.8 if you want optimal sharpness and clarity. Try moving up a couple stops to f/2.2 or f/2.8 and compare the results you achieve.