A Web Photo School Lesson

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Shooting fine jewelry can present a big challenge to those without photographic experience and, for that matter, to a seasoned pro as well. When you consider the high contrast of most pieces of fine jewelry, lighting these items can be a headache. Making the metal look good and getting just the right sparkle in the stones may seem impossible.

With the help of the proper lighting tool this task can be a snap. Photoflex, the leader in the world of quality lighting gear for pros, has introduced a new, innovative product that any one can use.

In this lesson we will look at the Medium LiteRoom Kit, and how right out of the box you can shoot your jewelry and other small items like a pro.

(Click on any image below for an enlarged view.)

Topics Covered:

Using your on-camera flash unit
The pitfalls of the reflector light
The good, the bad, and the ugly of using umbrellas
Using the LiteRoom Kit
Using simple inexpensive backgrounds

Equipment Used:

Camera/Media

Lighting Equipment

Background

2 sawhorses
30"x40"x1/2" plywood sheet
White seamless paper
12"x12" cultured black marble tile

The first step is prepping our set. We set up the sawhorses then placed the plywood sheet on top. Then we wrapped the plywood with the white seamless paper and secured the back with masking tape. (Figure 1)

Figure 1

To secure our ring to the set we used a clay-like adhesive called ghee. This can be found in most any art store under a multitude of names such as "fun tack", "art tack" or "earthquake tack". A small amount is placed on the part of the ring that will sit on the shooting surface and then pressed into place. If some of the ghee squirts out, trim it away or reposition with a smaller amount of the ghee.

Using Your On-Camera Flash Unit

With our shooting surface in place, we can start on our lighting solutions. We will first take a look at the on-camera flash. We installed the Olympus flash unit designed for the E-1, set the camera and the flash to the auto mode, and framed up our shot.

Because we are shooting a subject very close to the camera lens, the flash will not effectively put light on the subject. We held a reflector just behind the subject to help light the ring more effectively. (Figures 2 & 3)

Figure 2

Figure 3

In these set ups, you can see why the on-camera flash is not the way to light this ring. The flash in this position will not get light on the subject.

Figure 4

Here we see a back lit ring, with uncontrolled highlights on the stones and no light coming into the front of our ring, very ugly results for a very lovely ring. (Figure 4)

The Pitfalls of the Reflector Light

In the next set up, we will look at the reflector light, a very common and inexpensive light set up found in most studios.

We started with one light placed to the right of the camera and pointed at our ring. This was our main or key light. (Figures 5 , 6 & 7)

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

With the reflector light in place we changed our camera setting as follows. The exposure was set to manual, the white balance to custom for the new lights , and the focus to manual.

Once the camera was set, we brought out our light meter and took a reading of our reflector light; 1/60 @ f 8.0. We then set the exposure values to our camera and made a test exposure. (Figure 8)

Figure 8

Here we see some of the pitfalls of the reflector light. We get very high contrast, hard shadows, and little or no detail in our subject. Again, not a very pleasing result.

To help this we added a second reflector light on the other side of our set. Our fill light will come in from the front to help fill in the shadows and open up the detail on the front of the ring. (Figures 9, 10 & 11)

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

With the second light placed, we checked our meter readings. We wanted to have the second light just under the first in exposure, or a reading of 1/60 @ f 5.6 1/2. Once this reading was set, we made another test exposure. (Figure 12)

Figure 12

Here we see a better looking shot. Although there are still high contrast and hard shadows, we are beginning to see better detail in the subject. Yet, this ring can be photographed much better.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Using Umbrellas

The next lighting solution we will look at is umbrellas. We removed the reflector lights from our set. To the right of the camera we set our main (key) light by placing a Photoflex ADH umbrella on to a 1000 watt reflector light. (Figures 13,14 & 15)

The broader light output of the umbrella should soften the shadows.

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

With this lighting in place, we took a meter reading, 1/60 @ f 5.6 1/2. We set our camera setting for this reading and made another test exposure. (Figure 16)

Here we see less contrast and softer shadows, but still have issues with the highlight control. Some of the stones look good and some lose detail; this is due to the contrast of the light source. Although the light is softer than the raw reflector we still have more contrast than we desire.

Figure 16

Figure 17

Our next step is to bring in a second light for fill, to help control the contrast and highlights. We placed the second umbrella on to a 1000 watt reflector light and positioned to the left side of the camera. (Figure 17, 18 & 19)

Figure 18

Figure 19

With the fill light in place we took a meter reading to check our exposure and found we needed no adjustments, so we made a few test exposures. (Figure 20)

Figure 20

In this result shot, we are getting some of the elements we are looking for but still have a contrast issue. The highlights produced by the umbrellas light some of the stones but miss others. The inside of the ring has areas that are too hot or too dark. We are close, but not there yet.

Using the LiteRoom Kit

The final solution for this lesson is the LiteRoom. We chose the Photoflex Medium LiteRoom Kit SS. We removed the umbrellas from our set and placed the Medium LiteRoom over our subject. We then adjusted the shooting port on the front of the LiteRoom for our camera. With the camera in place, we put together the first of the two Small Starlite Kits included in the LiteRoom Kit. This light was then placed to the right of the camera to light our ring. (Figures 21, 22 & 23)

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

With the first Small Starlite Kit in place, we carefully opened the access port on the LiteRoom and took a meter reading inside the LiteRoom, we found our exposure inside to be 1/60 @ f8.0. Because we wanted to gain as much depth of field we could we set the camera to 1/30 @ f 11 (an equivalent exposure value) and made a few exposures. (Figure 24)

Figure 24

With just one light we have accomplished what we did with two in the past sections of this lesson. We have soft, open highlights on the ring and the gold and stones look very nice.

To put the final touches on this shot, we will set up the second Small Starlite Kit, included in the LiteRoom Kit, and place it to the left of the camera. (Figures 25, 26 & 27)

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

With all the lighting in place, we made a last check on the light levels inside the LiteRoom with our meter. We found no adjustments were needed so we made a final exposure. (Figure 28)

Figure 28

Now we have what we were looking for in the beginning of the lesson. All the stones look great. The gold is bright and clear and not over exposed. All in all we have made this $5000.00 diamond and emerald ring look like it's worth every penny.

To add the final touch to this shot, we placed a 12"x12" black marble tile into the LiteRoom as our background. With the Photoflex LiteRoom this task is a snap, because it's made without a floor and with easy access camera and product ports. By simply unzipping the camera port and lifting the LiteRoom off the set, we can remove the ring, set down the tile, and replace the ring back in the frame without moving the camera or the lights on the set. (Figure 29)

With the marble as a background our ring really looks worth the price and adds the background contrast that sets it apart from the rest.