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Photographing Jewelry Question

Trying to get my lighting setup right.  Seems no matter what I try, gold tone jewelry always looks silver tone when I use a dark background.  I love the way the dark background makes the piece really stand out.  Is there any way I can keep this "wash out" from happening?  So time consuming to edit each one and even then - the color is no where correct.   Thanks!

 

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Re: Photographing Jewelry Question

Your camera is metering the background, not the subject. I suggest you take a reading of the object itself, set the white balance accordingly, then photograph the jewelry on the desired background.

 

Photography shiny objects is not easy.  Personally, I try to avoid black or other dark backgrounds -- neutral light or bright colors seem to work better for me.  These photos are not perfect; at the time, I was using a single Ottlite rather than a pair of LED lamps.   It's fairly obvious that the light source is above and to the right ay about a 45-degree amg;e.

 

The Trifari earrings rest on the plain white back of a business card.  The string of glass beads with a golden clasp is shown on a white patterned placemat.  The Scottie pin on a crocheted doily displays both detail and scale.

trifari841.JPG

 

glassbeads083.JPG

 

scottie055.JPG

 

scottie045.JPG

 

Two critical elements -- pure white light and precise focus -- help define the subject and integrate the minimal background into the overall photo.  I prefer to fill the frame when possible, but tiny objects often demand a "useful" background to reduce shadows and balance the exposure.

 

For vividly colored objects, I often employ bright backgrounds.  The lanyard is arranged on a royal blue peechee folder but a length of blue double-knit fabric serves well for larger pieces such as dinner plates, postcard groups, books or magazine ads.

lanyard457.JPG

 

For your goldtone jewelry, you might try purple, bronze or woodgrain backgrounds.

 

~~C~~

 

 

 

 

My Glass Duchess
Quoting Mom: In polite society, "hey" is for horses.

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Re: Photographing Jewelry Question

Your camera is metering the background, not the subject. I suggest you take a reading of the object itself, set the white balance accordingly, then photograph the jewelry on the desired background.

 

Photography shiny objects is not easy.  Personally, I try to avoid black or other dark backgrounds -- neutral light or bright colors seem to work better for me.  These photos are not perfect; at the time, I was using a single Ottlite rather than a pair of LED lamps.   It's fairly obvious that the light source is above and to the right ay about a 45-degree amg;e.

 

The Trifari earrings rest on the plain white back of a business card.  The string of glass beads with a golden clasp is shown on a white patterned placemat.  The Scottie pin on a crocheted doily displays both detail and scale.

trifari841.JPG

 

glassbeads083.JPG

 

scottie055.JPG

 

scottie045.JPG

 

Two critical elements -- pure white light and precise focus -- help define the subject and integrate the minimal background into the overall photo.  I prefer to fill the frame when possible, but tiny objects often demand a "useful" background to reduce shadows and balance the exposure.

 

For vividly colored objects, I often employ bright backgrounds.  The lanyard is arranged on a royal blue peechee folder but a length of blue double-knit fabric serves well for larger pieces such as dinner plates, postcard groups, books or magazine ads.

lanyard457.JPG

 

For your goldtone jewelry, you might try purple, bronze or woodgrain backgrounds.

 

~~C~~

 

 

 

 

My Glass Duchess
Quoting Mom: In polite society, "hey" is for horses.
Message 2 of 3
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Re: Photographing Jewelry Question

duchess - thank you!  My camera is a point and shoot... so I will step down from black/white and bring in other colors.  It was in the back of my mind gray, gray but I forgot the reason... not necessarily the color but the "less harsh" contrast I was asking the camera to handle.

 

Got it:)  Thanks again for your advise and examples.

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