[Jewelry making - Article 00154] - Re: [Orchid] Adorama Photography Lighting system

[Wayne Emery]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Helen,

    I teach table-top photography to jewelers and gem cutters. 

    Long before my 21 year stint in retail jewelry I owned a photography
    business specialiazing in catalog photography of small items
    (smaller than a bread box, say). 

    One of the fundamentals of good studio lighting is to use no more
    lights than you need to get the job done. This is especially so when
    photographing objects with highly reflective surfaces, because the
    multiple highlights caused by multiple lights creates an unnatural
    image set of reflections. Sometimes, it creates multiple shadows. 

    The introduction of the diffusion "tents" or boxes to the market
    some years ago does go a long way towards solving the problem of
    multiple shadows, but till leaves the multiple highlights problem.
    Sometimes. 

    A MUCH more effective and light-efficient way to photograph jewelry
    is to make an OPAQUE white container with the light source contained
    WITHIN the container, reflecting off the sides of the container.
    This principle is widely used in studio photography, especially with
    live models. 

    A simple box made of foam board (the smaller the better, for reasons
    I won't go into here) with a diffusion material on the top and a
    single PROPER light source placed on top of the box, slightly
    forward of the subject, does the trick. This is a $3.00 solution,
    not counting the light source, and takes up no more than about 18
    inches by 30 inches. 

    All this and much more is discussed at length in my CD "Jewelry
    Photography Made Simple", available by contacting me off-line. I
    will be absent for the next few days, however. I'll be happy to send
    the "plans" for those who can't figure it out and some other info
    for free, just e-mail me off-line, and I'll tend to it this weekend. 

    I'll say again that it is NOT necessary to spend hundreds on a box
    or tent or lighting....save that for the PROPER camera that has the
    PROPER features to accomplish the job quickly, easily and very well.
    Anything less is like trying to size a ring with a soldering gun.
    garbage in, garbage out. 

Wayne Emery
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________