Getting good pics of beads and detail in metal pendants?

[Arborvita]

Hi,

My product pics were looking pretty poor so I invested in a light cube. It has improved the pics somewhat. The problem is I cannot get transparent beads to sparkle and maintain details and colour on metal pendants. See here http://www.arborvita.co.uk/Valentine-sweetheart-real-Ivy-leaf-necklace-p/nwbic310111.htm

Is there a way to get the balance right?

[BabyBlue]

what camera do you use? i ask because you hae more freedom to control settings on some cameras than on others.

i dont think the black is helping, it swallows light. white is more reflective. for example in your photo here: http://www.arborvita.co.uk/Real-Birch-Leaf-Necklace-Copper-and-Beads-p/nwbbc230211.htm. it looks brighter and more detail is showing.

HTH.x

[Arborvita]

I have a Canon EOS 400D rebel XTI with the stock 18-55mm lens.

The most I use when I download them is increase in exposure, sharpen and retouch.

I think I am starting to get better, clearer pics but they really do need more styling just at a loss of how to get the pro look or at least a good looking as etsy.

[HappySheep]

You can style jewellery on black but it needs to be lit carefully otherwise as Sophie says, it swallows the light. Flat lighting isn't good for jewellery anyway, so you will need to experiment moving the lights around the cube to get the basic lighting right, but you will then need a 'spot' light to highlight details. You can get lights specially for this purpose, but I also use an ordinary angle-poise type lamp and even a torch! If you are near a window, sunlight coming in can produce the right sparkle too (though I know we're in England and sunlight is hard to come by!)

Another trick I use is to have the jewellery 'floating' - either hung away from the black background or on a black shiny base (you can get these in a variety of colours incl silver). Have a narrow aperture so the background is out of focus and all attention is on the jewellery.

Hope this helps!
Judith

[mizgeorge]

It's hard to be specific from quite a small picture, but my immediate reaction is that you don't have nearly enough light. I'd avoid going for too much styling (especially for the main shot) - people want to see the piece, not the props. I also think you could do with getting a lot closer to see more detail. You've got a decent camera - I think you might want to consider investing in a macro lens to really get the most out of it for this type of shot.

[Sarahleigh]

I agree with the others, it's all about the light for this type of photograph.

Try getting some lamps and moving them around until the jewellery looks right. It makes such a lot of difference. For full control, avoid direct light from your camera flash and instead use lamps and maybe a reflector (card covered in tin foil or a white sheet of card can be just as effective) to bounce light back at the jewellery.

The kit lens isn't great, but I have successfully used it with a close up filter for macro work. I would get closer if you can or if not, make sure the image is pin sharp (use a tripod if necessary) and crop in when editing.

[flb89]

try this website for sparkle in ur beads tabletopstudio.com/documents/jewelry_photography.htm