Photography

[KarenFe]

In some topics I've seen people mention a frustration in not being able to capture the the ring or gem very well. Photography is a tricky beast. I'm just a hobbyist but if anyone would like some photography tips, I'll be happy to help.

Shooting in "manual" mode is way better than shooting in automatic, so if anyone wants to venture into manual mode shooting, we can give it a go. A warning though, it can be frustrating at first but you know more of what you want the picture to look like than your camera does..

I have a Canon SLR, but any point and shoot can produce a beautiful picture if you know how to use it.

Either that or you can just ask questions.

A few tips anyone can do:
Basically lighting is very important and I'd highly recommend all natural light (ie - turn off all indoor lighting and use all natural light) unless you know how to successfully edit your color balance. Go outside into bright shade or shoot by a window indoors.

Never use a flash and never shoot in direct sunlight. Many people think direct sun enhances color but it really washes it out.

Make sure your ring is the brightest object in your frame. If your background is really bright, your camera will make your ring really dark. It meters for the brightest thing in your frame and it doesn't know you want your ring properly exposed.

Distracting backgrounds are just that - distracting. Watch what's in your background.

Ok, so I know no one here is looking to be a product photographer, but your rings are SO pretty that they should be photographed in a way to show them off.

I hope this helps.

A few pictures of a ring:

 

[T L]

Thanks for the easy to understand tips!! I never ever use a flash on any photo. It really does wash out pictures.

 

[LD]

I never use my flash either and always shoot in manual mode.

The frustration (certainly for me) is not actually taking good pictures, it's making sure that the colour represented in the photos is accurate. It's easy to put a photo together but capturing the colour truthfully is a challenge.

There are some gems that very rarely replicate well i.e. Emerald, Alexandrite and any colour changer. I find capturing green is a real issue and I know TL and others have felt the same pain. We've tried everything but there doesn't seem to be a perfect receipe! Even some of beloved Emerald vendors have said they have the same problem.

With colour changers the problem is that the camera "sees" one colour way and not the others so, for example, I will "see" the green of an alex, point the camera, shoot and there is a purple/red gem in the photo! The purple/red should never be seen in daylight and only in incandescent but for some reason the camera doesn't "see" this! It's a real phenomen and the reason why even gemstone vendors will photoshop to achieve some degree of accuracy to the colour they actually see.

 

[cellentani]

I never use my flash either and always shoot in manual mode.

The frustration (certainly for me) is not actually taking good pictures, it's making sure that the colour represented in the photos is accurate. It's easy to put a photo together but capturing the colour truthfully is a challenge.

There are some gems that very rarely replicate well i.e. Emerald, Alexandrite and any colour changer. I find capturing green is a real issue and I know TL and others have felt the same pain. We've tried everything but there doesn't seem to be a perfect receipe! Even some of beloved Emerald vendors have said they have the same problem.

With colour changers the problem is that the camera "sees" one colour way and not the others so, for example, I will "see" the green of an alex, point the camera, shoot and there is a purple/red gem in the photo! The purple/red should never be seen in daylight and only in incandescent but for some reason the camera doesn't "see" this! It's a real phenomen and the reason why even gemstone vendors will photoshop to achieve some degree of accuracy to the colour they actually see.

Ditto this!

 

[KarenFe]

Loving Diamonds, thanks for the information. There's probably a lot at play when shooting those little gems. Even the items around the gem in the room can reflect back onto it as well. I guess shooting it in a completely white room with natural light would be optimal.

Then add in the fact that we all see colors differently on our monitors. I've calibrated my monitor, but it still doesn't guarantee I will see what others are seeing. The difference between firefox, Internet Explorer can add to the big bag of color frustration too. That and maybe they just have minds of their own.

I hope to be frustrated one day not being able to capture my stones as they should be , but in the mean time I wanted to offer a little something instead of being just a mooch.

 

[LD]

Karen - bless you for sharing your knowledge. It's always much appreciated.

It's interesting what you say about room colours, the colours you may be wearing etc., reflected back into the gem and it's quite often that we comment on this and say "were you wearing a pink top?" and things like that!!!! I think in an ideal world, we'd only photograph gems in a light box and wear white while doing so, with a silver camera!!!

Interestingly, I've had limited success with a light box and even though I own one, I very rarely use it because I'm not convinced it replicates well for me! I'm sure this is something to do with the user rather than the equipment though! I have the dubious pleasure of living in a grey wet climate so strong sunlight is something I (and my gemstones) crave!!!!! Roll on the summer!