3.31.2008

Photography Tips: Sterling Silver on White

For the longest time, I had a terrible time with my camera while trying to photograph sterling silver on a white background. After some research and some reading on a few web sites, including CameraJim's Guide and TableTopStudio, I'm starting to figure it out.

Two key things needed to happen:

  • I needed to move one of my lights from the top of my lightbox to the front of it. Previously, I had a total of three lights, one on each side, and one on top. I moved the one from the top to the front, without diffusing it. For right now it seems to be working, and the ugly dark gray shadow that was all over the bottom of the photo seems to have virtually disappeared.
  • I needed to add a piece of black paper inside the light box to cast a reflection on the silver; doing so enabled the silver to stand out more against the light background.
Of course, a little bit of Levels editing is done with Photoshop, but this new setup has made it sooooo much easier. Some pics are provided below. I'm starting to really, really love my camera!

8 comments:

Ana said...

Your pics look amazing (as does your jewelry!)

High Desert Diva said...

I wish I really loved mine!

decadentdiamond said...

Wow really nice work! .. although I thought the before photos are nice too!

Good technique with reflecting the silver.

Unknown said...

Great tips! Glad to have found your blog, and your shop - lovely jewelry and lovely photos!

Mimi - Image Beads said...

I too like the angle from the before pictures, but the detail of the wire is great on the after ones.

Merka said...

That's a really great tip. Thank you for sharing that. Your jewelry is fabulous. I LOVE labradorite :)

AuntDsHandcrafts said...

That's awesome! I am still trying to figure out how to take better photos. I have also been playing around with lighting & where to place it.

pressure vessels said...

thanks for the tips.

pv