Avoiding reflection on jewellery ring

shakilearl

shakilearl

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Shakil
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Hello,

I've been struggling to photograph a couple of jewellery rings :bang: The main problem is the black reflections which appearing on the rings. Could anyone suggest any tips to avoid these reflections?
 
maybe try posting this in the "Talk Basics" section to get some feedback, this is the wecome forum.......................................

welcome to the forum ;)

Les:thumbs:
 
Hi md and welcome to TP :wave:

Loads of willing helpers on hand to give you some hints, but as Les has said this question would be better off in one of the Talk sections.
Since I'm in here, I'll shift it over for you and hopefully someone will be along soon to help :)
 
Hi, I don't photograph jewellery but a couple suggestions. Try a polarising filter if you are using natural light, if you are using a flash get a cardboard box, cut a large square out on the top and both sides and cover with transparent (tracing) paper, place some white printing paper or other white surface available in the box, put the item to be photographed on the white paper and direct the flash through the transparent paper from outside the box and take a photo, check it and if need be decrease the flash power or move the flash back a little at a time.
Russ
 
shakilearl said:
... Could anyone suggest any tips to avoid these reflections?
Click to expand...
Something "Light: Science & Magic" spend many pages on! :lol:

imho worth the money, if you're going to continue this kind of photography! :thumbs:
 
I use a light tent for photographing swarovski crystal,works a treat.:thumbs:
 
Hello Les and Sarah,
I am new to this forum therefore couldn't realize where to place my question. I need a little more time to familiarize myself. I'll move onto "Talk Basics" for further any query.
 
Hello Russ,
I am using a couple of flash lights at the moment. Anyway, your idea seems pretty good to me and I'll definitely give it a try as soon as possible. I'll let you know of any positive results.
 
shakilearl said:
The main problem is the black reflections
Click to expand...

The black bits are where the light isn't hitting, rather than where it is. They can be just as important as the highlights in creating an interesting image and defining the shape and textures of the ring, so, unless you're shooting a pile of stuff for an Ebay store, I wouldn't advise using a boring light tent. These just throw light everywhere and give you easy, but flat and lifeless images, that are unlikely to show off the jewellery to its best.

Read up on some basics of lighting, and don't be afraid to put your lights very close to the rings.
 
Hello Brian and James,

I do have a 80cm light tent which I bought from amazon.co.uk. I tried it and it gives me better result but the only problem with it is, it gives some white shades over the surface of the rings. I am not sure if it is ok to have it on the rings or...
 
Hello James,
You are very true. That's the problem I am having with light tent. It gives rather a very flat and dull image. The final image doesn't look live and attractive.
Do you suggest any special kind of studio setup to photograph such sensitive jewellery product?
 
The dark areas are reflections (most likely of the room in this case) and the only way to control them is to position something in the area of the reflection so that is what gets bounced towards the lens. The easiest way is to surround the object with white, ie a light tent, but the light is flat and dull and you'll get no sparkle from the bits you want to sparkle. For that, you need several very small light sources such as they always have in jewellery shops.

Basically, not easy. Really top quality product photography like this is highly skilled - check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqC2xpCaG80

The thing to remember is that light bounces off a surface at the same angle it strikes (like a snooker ball off the cushion) however with a curved concave surface like a ring it'll be picking up and reflecting very a large area. And BTW, a polarising filter does not reduce reflections off metallic surfaces.
 
I've seen a few product setups that use the manfrotto bendy arms with little clamps on the end and those "3 hand" soldering holder thingies.

They cut out white/black card and place all around the scene to stop reflection from alien objects, the only thing you will see on the jewelry is the reflection of the cards. You can do multiple exposures and later and mask in PS for a more accurate result. Doing this takes time and practice, but it will produce a far more professional look than using a light tent, but don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with them.

Also try getting a big bit of card cutting a hole same size as lens and popping it through while using a light tent to eliminate the reflection of you/camera etc.
 
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