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# 1
Photos
© 2001, Ben Clay, All Rights Reserved
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There are many photographers
who absolutely dread the thought of shooting jewelry. After all, jewelry
is often highly reflective, very small in size, and can be difficult to
work with in creating a composition.
However, anyone armed with
a few basic lighting tools and a rudimentary understanding of camera and
lighting methods can truly work wonders. Thanks to many improvements in
camera and lighting technology, the cost of producing professional-quality
images has become remarkably inexpensive.
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For a modern jewelry look,
we decided to shoot these tension rings against a sheet of brushed aluminum.
We picked out two different sizes and secured them upright on gray ring
stands. We placed the smaller one in front so that it would appear similar
in size to the rear one from the camera's point of view (#1).
We set up our first light source,
a small (16x24") Photoflex Starlite Kit, and positioned it over the set
to illuminate the tops of the rings and sheet of aluminum. Notice how
we propped up the sheet of aluminum by clamping a Photoflex Litedisc Holder
to the edges and securing it to a Litestand (#2).
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I mounted an Olympus E-10 digital
camera to a tripod and zoomed all the way out on the lens to keep the
rings proportionally sized to each other. I set the aperture down to f/11
to maintain a large depth of field, set the shutter speed to 1/30 of a
sec and took a shot (#3).
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Looking at the image playback
on the LCD, I realized that we needed to be able to come in closer. Fortunately,
Olympus makes an optional macro lens attachment for the E-10 for situations
like this. I attached the lens, came in a little tighter, and took a shot
(#4).
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In this result shot (#5), notice
how the attachment lens helped our composition by minimizing the relative
size difference between the rings. Even though the light from the overhead
softbox had lit the top and bottom of the rings nicely, the sides of the
rings appeared dark and flat.
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To add more dimension to the
shot, we set up another small Starlite Kit, positioned it off to the left-hand
side and took another shot (#6).
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The result shot (#7) shows
a big improvement. The transition between light and dark is smooth, and
interesting shapes are formed by the addition of this second softbox.
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Next, we decided to add another
Starlite Kit to the right side to balance the reflections of the ring.
Without changing the camera settings, I took another shot (#8). |
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Although this third light source
filled in the dark areas and balanced the reflections, it still maintained
a good contrast level to the shot and a sense of dimension to the rings
(#9).
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The addition of both side lights,
however, brightened the background considerably. To keep the light solely
on the rings, we attached grids to each of the side softboxes, a set of
louvers to the top softbox and took another shot (#10). Notice how the
background has darkened, and yet the light and reflections on the rings
have not changed.
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The result shot shows a significant
difference in contrast and overall feel to the shot (#11), as the rings
now pop forward from the background.
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Finally, we decided to adjust
the amount of focus on the rear ring. We wanted it to be recognizable,
but not so much that it would draw attention away from the front ring.
I opened the aperture up to f/4.5, adjusted the shutter speed to accommodate
for the correct exposure and took a shot (#12).
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After the shoot, we opened
the Final Image in Adobe Photoshop and used the Rubber Stamp tool to erase
the metal clips that held up the rings. We also boosted the contrast a
little more to make the background appear even farther away.
This lesson will be posted
in the free public section of the Web Photo School at: www.webphotoschool.com.
You will be able to enlarge the photos from thumbnails. If you would like
to continue your digital step by step education lessons on editing, printing,
and e-mailing your photos it will be on the private section of the Web
Photo School. To enroll for WPS just go to www.shutterbug.net and click
on WPS Free Lessons.
Technical Equipment
Camera/Media: Olympus E-10 digital camera; Olympus 3040 digital
camera (for setup shots); Olympus Macro Conversion Lens; Lexar 160MB CompactFlash
card; Lexar 64MB SmartMedia card; Lexar USB CompactFlash reader; Lexar
USB SmartMedia reader; sturdy tripod
Lighting Equipment: 3 Photoflex Starlite Kits (small); 2 Photoflex
Grids (small); Photoflex Boom; Photoflex Boom Stand; Photoflex Litedisc
Holder; Photoflex LS-2218 Litestand; Dedolight focusing light; Photoflex
LS-2212 Litestand; tinfoil
Background/Miscellaneous: Rings and ring stands; foamcore; 3x4
ft sheet of aluminum; product shooting table
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