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Jewelry Photography Tips

Learn how to achieve and shoot your own professionaljewelry photos.
Check out our Brand New! Jewelry PhotographyQuick-eGuide that summarizesand shows you the step-by-step
process on how to photographjewelry. Lear how to photographjewelry in 10 easy steps.
Jewelry PhotographyTips Menu:

1. JewelryPhotographyin a nutshell- A quick introductionto jewelry photography
2. The Basics: Key elements in jewelry photography
3. How to photographsilver jewelry, white gold, and platinum jewelry
4. Avoiding unnecessaryshadows and reflections
5. Positioningyour jewelry - Using differentjewelry accessories
6. How to photographa ring while "floating" - Using holding wax
7. Giving Sparkles to your jewelry using white natural daylightLEDs
8. Halogenlighting used for photographingred rubies, amethyst, and others.
9. Artistic jewelry photographyby using black and white acrylics
10. How to get a perfectly white backgroundwhen shooting jewelry
11. How to get a perfectly black backgroundwhen shooting jewelry
12. Tools & Accessoriesused in jewelry photography
1.Jewelry Photographyin a Nutshell

Simple steps for photographingjewelry
As you may know by now, jewelry is very difficultto photographbecauseit reflects in many cases up to 99% of
the light is receives. It is very shiny, highly polished and above all this it may contain color stones or diamonds
that make the job even harder.
In many cases, photographinga piece of jewelry is like taking a picture of a mirror – you will see all kind
of items being reflected into the piece – the lights, the camera, yourself, the table etc. Also if you try to use
your new digital camera to do the job, two major things may happen. If you use a flash, you will either wash
out the item (over illuminated) or it will be under illuminatedwith lots of dark areas and uneven lighting from
one side to the other.
The solution to Jewelryphotographyis the use of an enclosedlighting system. The reasons are many. The
enclosedsystem wraps even and balancedlight around the entire product you’re photographing. The advantages
include an even distributionof light, consistent natural lighting, eliminationof glare, and illuminationof hard to
reach spots.
Tips for PhotographingJewelry:
1. Use a closed photographysetup with soft wrap-around continuouslighting
2. Performa custom white balanceaccordingto the light you are using
3. Be sure you have set your camera to manual mode
4. If you are going to photographrings or bands, set your maximumaperture to the highest f/stop in order
to get the maximumdepth of field.
5. Turn off the flash on your camera, and if you can, connect the camera to the wall using a power
adapter. This will ensure that you not run out of batteriesduring the shooting session.
<<< Back to Main Menu
2. The Basics: Key elementsin jewelry photography

As you may know, jewelry is one of the hardest products to photographbecauseof the nature of it's
components. The metals, precious stones, diamondsand other elements that most fine jewelry is made up of,
have reflectivequalities that can easily show reflections, shadows and hard spots in photographsif the right
tools are not used
Therefore, understandingthe nature of jewelry and obtaining the right tools for photographingit is essentialfor
producinghigh quality jewelry photographs. In our opinion, here are the six most importantelements in jewelry
photography:
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1. Continuous natural daylight lighting: To evenly reproduce the colors in jewelry

2. Diffused lighting: To eliminate shadows and hard spots
3. White Balance adjustment: To adapt your camera to the lighting environment used to photograph
4. Depth of Field & Focus: To get a sharp and clear image
5. Shutter Speed/Exposure time: To control the lightness and darkness of your image
6. Stable camera mounting (tripod): To ensure your camera is stable to avoid a blurred photo.
1. Continuous Natural Daylight Lighting

Jewelry is very difficult to photograph because it’s shiny highly polished surface reflects, in many cases, up to
99% of the light it receives. If you use flash photography, you’ll usually end up with glares and hot spots . The
key is to use continuous natural light which has the ability to evenly and accurately reproduce all the
spectacular colors found in the different elements of jewelry. Therefore, for photographing jewelry we will be
using fluorescent daylight light.
Remember: all of our photography lighting systems contain continuous fluorescent lighting in at least the
bottom/platform, right and left panels of the box. Other lighting systems, like the MK "The Box"™ also contain
light on the back, top and doors. Other features include LED lighting, rotating platforms, halogen lighting and
more .
2. Diffused Lighting
When illuminating jewelry, you have to make sure never to expose it to light directly, as direct light will be
reflected on the jewelry, and will create hot spots and shadows. What you need to do is expose jewelry
through diffused lighting, which is light that has passed through some sort of light diffuser.
The diffuser evenly spreads the light, and eliminate all hot-spots , shadows and reflections. Remember, that all
of our photography lighting systems already include natural daylight that is exposed through the boxes ’
thermoplastic housing that acts as light diffusers. View examples of photos with and without diffused light
3. White Balance
A key element of successful product photography is white balance. You need to be able to program the white
balance setting on your camera. Although many cameras will come with pre-program options or presets you
need at least one custom white balance option. This means that the camera can "read" and self-adjust itself to
be able to take pictures under many light conditions. This feature is very important.
If your camera cannot perform this custom adjustment, it’s very likely that you’ll end up with badly colored
product pictures , especially if you are trying to take pictures of products against a white background. You’ll
likely end up with all kinds of color variations: yellow, blue, magenta , green etc .
Do not misunderstand the white balance feature to mean that the background is going to be always white.
White balance means that the camera needs to adjust itself to the ambience light you are using, to give you
accurate and true colors of the items being photograph.
Want to learn more? View our tutorial on Setting the Custom White Balance (Step # 9)
4. Depth of Field & Focus

Setting the Depth-of-field in your camera is an important element in photographing jewelry. The first thing we
need to do is to take advantage of the maximum depth-of-field that any camera has to offer. The camera
should be set to manual mode so that the smallest aperture (For commercial consumer cameras use F 8 .0, for
professional camera use F16.0 ) setting can be selected. This will allow us to focus the entire piece of jewelry,
rather than only parts of it.
The second thing we need to do is to focus the lens to get an image as clear as possible. Most digital cameras
have an auto-focus option which can be used, please select this.
Want to learn more? View our tutorial on Setting the aperture (Step # 6)
5. Shutter Speed/ Exposure Time

Cameras need to control the amount of light so that an image is not too bright (over exposed ) or too dark
(under exposed). Similar to our eyes, light enters through the lens and strikes the inside of the camera. Digital
camera uses a charged coupling device (CCD) to capture the light of an image. Think of a CCD as 'film' in a
conventional camera . Therefore, term exposure generally refers to a combination of aperture and shutter speed
control to obtain the correct amount of light. View examples of over and under exposed photos (See Step 4 .3 ).
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6. Stable Camera Mounting

When photographing jewelry, we recommend you to mount your camera to a stable surface (either a Tripod or
our lighting systems' " L" bracket) in order to get the sharpest photographs possible. If you hold the camera with
your hands, it is very likely that you will slightly move the camera while photographing (even if you don 't
notice - because we as humans can't perfectly hold it still) , and your photos will come out blurry.
3. How to photograph silver, white gold, and platinum jewelry

When it comes to photographing silver, white gold and platinum high -polish (mirror finish ) jewelry, the first
thing one has to understand about silver is the natural properties it has. Silver jewelry, in most instances, tends
to be a natural mirror that reflects everything that is around it. For this reason, one has to carefully place
silver jewelry and with the correct surroundings in order to create an image that can truly show the silver
jewelry piece in its true and natural look .
To illustrate the idea that silver, white gold & platinum jewelry mirrors its surroundings, we have placed a
silver ring in three different photographing environments, and have showed you the result of each of them.
Please view the following images, and read the text along each photograph. After the photographs, you will
find tips on how to photograph silver .
For this tutorial, we have used the MK Photo-eBox™ lighting system & a Canon S5 IS
Note: Photos have had the brightness & contrast adjusted - then cropped . Nothing else
Photo 1 Photo2
Silver appears "Too White" Silver appears natural
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge
In this photo, we can see that the silver looks too white, as it In this photo we can see that the silver looks much more
reflects the lit surface of the Photo -eBox. There is nothing you natural, as it reflects the metallic background it is against. By
can do to avoid this ; as silver will simply reflect everything using this metallic surface, we can make the ring reflect metal ,
surrounding it. The ring looks unnatural, although the and thus appear metallic and natural . Also note that the purple
background is fully white. stone looks more real.
Photo3
The silver ring looks more natural

In this photo we have used a black background. If you take a look at the silver ring, you can see that it reflects
part of the black background and also parts of the white walls of the Photo-eBox. Once you have understood
that silver acts just like a mirror you can understand that when photographing jewelry, its surroundings will
directly affect how the image will appear. View tips
Tips and suggestions for photographing silver, white gold & platinum jewelry:
Try not use a white background when photographing silver jewelry: In order to get a photograph that
presents silver in a much more natural and real way, you want to avoid a white background; as white
will only make the silver look white, dull and unnatural . View silver rings in completely black
backgrounds.
Use dark or metallic-like backgrounds: When using a dark or metallic -like background, you are
allowing the silver , white gold or platinum jewelry to reflect a more natural color; because you are
reflecting it against backgrounds that create a contrast between the white walls of the photography
lighting system and the surface it is against . This contrast, lets the jewelry appear natural in color while
creating a three-dimensional look . View a metallic background
Photograph silver jewelry inside a photography lighting system or light box: In order to provide the
correct lighting and reflections in silver jewelry photographs, you need to have a diffused lighting
source inside a closed environment . Such as the walls enclosed inside the Photo-eBox lighting system.
Learn about diffused wrap-around natural lighting and why you need it.
Don't expect reflection-free photographs: When it comes to the facts of nature, don't expect the
impossible. You have to completely understand the nature and fact that silver , white gold and platinum
high -polish jewelry will always act as mirrors , and will always reflect its surroundings.
Don't expect your photos to be completely reflection-free , as there is nothing you can do about this
(unless you use an editing software). In some photos you will see the reflection of the camera lens, or
other surroundings. It is impossible to completely avoid them. (In photo 1 & 2 above, you can see the
reflection of our camera to the right of the purple stone - it's the black spot you see). To avoid the
camera' s reflection (as in photo 3) we move the ring, so that the purple stone would be directly in
front of the camera lens, and thus avoiding it's reflection in the silver of the ring.
4. Avoiding unnecessary shadows and reflections

When photographing jewelry, there are certain shadows and reflections that might be necessary to create a
three-dimensional look, or that you may simply want as a personal preference. Yet, there are other reflections
and shadows that are unnecessary and that you want to avoid in order to have a photograph that presents your
jewelry in the best way possible.
The first thing you need to understand about reflections and shadows is how they are produced and why they
appear or exist. Though it may seem obvious, shadows are created when an object is exposed to direct lighting
(which can come from light in a room, the sun, or through the use of a regular lamp); while reflections are
created in any object that is composed of reflective materials such as metals or glass.
What you need to do, is to avoid this direct light that creates shadows, and avoid those surroundings that
create reflections in your jewelry. Please read the following steps on how to avoid shadows and reflections in
your jewelry or view example photo.
Steps for photographing jewelry without unnecessary shadows and reflections:

xep 1: Get a photography lighting system with wraparound and diffused natural daylight. Learn why
this is important and view various photography lighting systems.
Step 2: Place your jewelry item inside the enclosed photography lighting system. At this point, you are
making sure that the surroundings of your jewelry are nothing but natural daylight and white
backgrounds.
Step 3: Adjust your camera settings (Learn How) and begin photographing . The correct camera settings
will allow you to take photographs with the correct exposure, focus, colors and qualities of your
jewelry.
Note: Photos have had the brightness & contrast adjusted, then cropped. Nothing else
Photo of a ring without reflections or shadows-photographed inside the Photo-eBox

Using Diffused Lighting (from the inside the Photo-eBox)

This photograph shows no shadows and reflections because it was photographed inside a Photo -eBox ™ lighting system that
contains wrap-around natural daylight . The natural daylight that is exposed through the sides, back and bottom of the Photo -
eBox , avoids all the shadows and reflections in the ring. The lit bottom allows the background to be completely white, and
make the ring to appear to be "floating".
Photo of a ring with reflections and shadows

Non-diffused lighting (from outside environment)
xis photo was photographed outside of the Photo -eBox ™ on a white plastic surface, with the light in the room. You can see
that regular light will create shadows on the ring, while the fact that the ring is in the outside allows the surroundings to
reflect on the ring. The arrow pointing to show reflections on the ring shows the reflections of the walls or ceiling from the
room, which as you can see add an unprofessional look to the ring's photo, and do not show the true colors of the ring.
5. Positioning your jewelry - using different jewelry accessories

There are many accessories you can use to hold jewelry items while photographing, deciding which ones to use
depends on the type of photograph you want, or simply your preference. Jewelry accessories will help you
position rings, earrings, pendants , loose stones, diamonds and other pieces in various positions and angles in
order to get a photograph from the perspective you desire.
Positioning your jewelry correctly is essential for getting a professional jewelry photograph . When shooting
photographs, you have to remember that you want to get the best shot possible of your jewelry, as it is your
photographs the ones that your customers will look at and judge, rather than your actual jewelry. Thus , taking
photos from the correct angles and perspectives is the key to successful shots. View Jewelry Accessory Kits
available
In the next few photographs we'll show you various accessories that you may use:
1. Pyramid Ring Stand 2. Set of two Watch Stands

The pyramid ring stands is used for holding The set of two watch stands may be used for watches as well
rings at a 45 degree angle. They come in black (pictured ), white, as bracelets.
and transparent. Learn to use
3. Pendant Stand 4. Earring Stand

The pendant stand may be used for photographing bracelets, The earring stand is similar to the pendant stand, but it is
pendants and other jewelry pieces that you would like to angles at a different degree . It contains two small holes for
photograph while having the natural pull of gravity. placing a set of earrings. Also gives you the natural gravity
pull .
6.How to photograph a ring while "floating " - using holding wax

This section shows you how to photograph a ring that looks like it is "floating" in space.
Want something to hold your jewelry, that doesn 't appear in your photograph?
The accessory you need is " Positioning holding wax". This specially manufactured wax allows you to position your
jewelry in an upright vertical position or at various angles. The wax is hard and resistant, yet flexible enough
for you to handle it and mold it to your needs.
Using the positioning holding wax in jewelry photography : (pictured below)

Step 1: Grab the wax from the corner and take a very small piece (1 to 3 mm)
Step 2: Take the wax piece and mold it into an egg or oval shaped ball
Step 3: Position the wax on the surface, then kindly place the ring above the it.
Note: The rings were photographed inside the MK Photo-eBox™ and Gem-ebox™ with a Canon Powershot A650
IS. Photos have had the brightness & contrast adjusted - then cropped , nothing else.
Step 1 Step 2

Step 3 - Example 1 Step 3 - Example 2

Step 3 - Example 3 Step 3 - Example 4

7. Giving Sparkles to your jewelry using white natural daylight LEDs

Diamonds and gems presented in jewelry stores do not sparkle as intense as compared to being displayed in the
sun. While the sparkle produced by illuminating jewelry with metal-halide , halogen, and florescent lighting are
good, it could be better.
New advances in technology have created a unique opportunity for the jewelry business. A scientific
breakthrough in light emitting diodes (LED) has produced lighting that matches the full spectrum of the sun. As
a result, retailers can now display their jewelry with maximum radiant potential.
A photograph with the right amount of LED lighting
This photo was photographed inside a Photo -eBox Plus™ and the Mini-Lite 350- 2 LED light.
Utilizing the new LED technology, MK Digital has crafted the SparkleLite™ product line. With MK SparkleLite
lighting your customers will be amazed at the fire and brilliance of your diamonds and gems. Using specially
calibrated and color corrected super white LEDs, your jewelry has the ability to out-sparkle the competition.
While super white LEDs are great, SparkleLite products offer an additional design advantage. By placing the
LEDs on a precise angle, the effect creates multiple points of light, which brings out even more surface sparkle .
Proper LED light illumination:

When illuminating your jewelry with LED light it is important to only use the right amount of light, not too
much and not too little. Most LED natural daylight products will not allow you to control the intensity of the
light with a dimmable switch , but in this example we have used the Mini-Lite 350-2 , that does contain a
dimmer switch and allows you to control the light.
Steps for proper illumination:

Step 1: Turn off the fluorescent light on your lighting system box - View boxes
Step 2: Turn on the Mini-Lite 350-2 or other LED light, and direct it towards your jewelry. Once you
have the light box turned off, you will be able to see only how much LED light you will be using.
xep 3: Now turn on the fluorescent lights on your lighting system box.
Step 4: Take a photograph of your item. Check the photo to see if you like it.
Step 5: If needed, adjust the intensity of the LEDs to a proper level. The correct amount of intensity, is
the one that begins to show sparkles and brings out your jewelry piece to life, but it's not excessively
strong that it is too shiny. View the first photo shown above.
Too much LED lighting No LED light at all

This photo has been exposed to too much LED lighting, This photo has not been exposed to any LED lighting. As
which make the ring appear too shiny. you can see in the blue stone, there are no "sparkles"
This is how we shot the photograph. Inside a Photo-ebox Plus™ and a Canon S5 IS
The gooseneck that you see on the photo on the right, is the Mini-lite 350-2
A few more examples with and without LED lighting:

See more photos with/ without LED Lighting
With LED lighting No LED Lighting

With LED lighting No LED Lighting

8. Halogen lighting used for photographingrubies, amethysts, opals, emeralds,

and other stones.
As we have mentionedbefore, the illuminationof jewelry in photographyis one of the most importantelements
for achieving quality photos. Although most jewelry only needs to be photographedwith fluorescentlight,
certain types of gem stones and jewelry need halogenlight illumination.
Halogenlighting provides a warm light environmentthat provides the optimum viewing and photographing
condition for rubies, pearls, opals, emeralds, amethysts. If fluorescentlighting is used, there will be a shift in
the color of your gem stones and precious stones which might not allow you to appreciatethem in their natural
colors and characteristics.
Note: Please test your jewelry with both fluorescentand halogenlighting, as differentgem stones and precious
stones will act differentlyto both types of lights. While we do recommendhalogenlighting to the previously
mentionedtypes of stones, we encourage you to test both types of light. Please remember that when
photographingwith halogenlighting, you need to adjust the white balanceof your camera. Learn how
Steps for properlyilluminatingjewelry with Halogen lighting:

Step 1: Turn on the halogenlighting on your lighting system box
Step 2: Adjust your camera's white balance's to the halogenlighting. View how (Step #9)
This will adjust your camera, so that the halogen light appearsto be white, while maintainingthe true
colors of your jewelry and stones.
Step 3: Simply adjust the shooting speed of your camera, then photograph. View how (Step 4.3)
The following are photos to show you the difference between using fluorescentlighting and using halogen
lighting for illuminatinga red colored stone in a ring
FluorescentLighting HalogenLighting HalogenLighting

Improperlight- Bad photo Properlight- Bad photo Properlight- Goodphoto
White balancew/fluorescentlight White balanceNOT adjusted White balanceadjusted
Clickimageto enlarge Clickimageto xrge Clickimageto enlarge
Thisis a photo with fluorescent Thisis a photo with halogenlighting. You Thisis a a photo with halogenlighting, but
lighting. You can see that the can now see the stone's red color. Yet, the after our camera's whitebalancewad
red stonelooksverydark and rest of the ring and photo look yellow, correctlyadjusted. Nowthe photo DOES
is improperlyshown. It does which makeit a bad photograph. presentthe ring in it's true and natural
not show the stone's true color.
colorsand qualities.
Note: All photos are completelyunedited in any way, they have only been cropped. Photos were photographed
inside an MK Photo-eBox II™ with a Canon S5 IS. View current camera models
9. Artistic jewelry photographyby using black and white acrylics
http://www.google.com.mx/intl/es/options/ 11/11/2009 13:42:28

Have you ever seen and wonderedhow those fancy jewelry photos on magazineads are photographed? -
Well, here's one artistic effect that's you can easily achieve.
Most jewelry photographsthat are used for catalogs, online stores, eBay, or other forms of marketing, don't
really look too fancy - but they should. Because when it comes to having that cover or front page photo, or
photos that will make a sale, you want to make your jewelry look very special.
A popular product photographyeffect, is the use of a product's reflectionon the surface that it is being
photographed. This is a techniqueregularly used for photographinga very special and unique item, as it has as
a purpose to make the product stand out and look "twice" as nice (the reflection).
Here's a photo of what we are talkingabout. Then's we'll show you how to take it.
xphoto was photographedinside a Photo-eBox™ with a whitereflectiveacrylic& a CanonS5 IS Camera
Steps for photographingin a reflective white surface:

Step 1: Turn on the fluorescentlighting on your lighting system box
Step 2: Adjust your camera's white balanceto the white fluorescentlight. More
Step 3: Place the white glossy acrylic inside of the box.
Step 4: Take photographs, and enjoy the look of the photos!
Now using a Black acrylic

Reflectivephoto with LED light Reflectivephoto without LED light
Clickimageto enlarge Clickimageto enlarge
These photoswere photographedinside a Photo-eBox™

with a blackreflectiveacrylicand CanonS5 IS digitalcamera
Steps for photographingin a reflective black surface:

Step 1: Turn on the fluorescentlighting on your lighting system box
Step 2: Adjust your camera's white balanceto the white fluorescentlight. More
Step 3: Place the black glossy acrylic inside of the box.
Step 4: Add a black velvet or black plastic at the back of the box. This is done in order to get a
completelyblack reflectionon the black acrylic. Otherwise, the acrylic would reflect the white walls
of the box, and would end up looking gray. See below
Step 5: Place your jewelry near the edge of the acrylic and the black velvet.
Step 6: Take photographs, and enjoy the look of the photos!
Please Note: You can add your own backgroundswhen photographingwatches in order to create uniquely
artistic photographs.

set-up, placethe blackor whitereflectiveacrylicon the bottomof the lightingsystembox.

Then placethe blackvelvetpiece on the back of the box. Refer to the imagebelow.
10.New! How to get a perfectlywhite backgroundwhen shootingjewelry

I'm sure this is somethinga lot of people want to achieve, but don't know exactly how to do it and what tools
MK Lighting Systems
they need to use in order to get a perfectly white backgroundin their photos. White is the most popular
View all Products backgroundused in product photographyfor the internet and catalogs.
Steps to follow to achieve a white background in your jewelry photos

1. Get a digital camera that has a full manual mode, which also has a MANUAL or CUSTOM
• Product Tour • Benefits
white balancesetting (which allows you to manuallyconfigure the white balance). This is
• How it Works: Text | Video
essentialin order to manuallyallow your camera to adapt to your photographylighting
• Compare all products
environment(studio).
• Sample Photographs
Learn how to set-up your camera for product photography
• PhotographyStartup Guide
2. Use a wrap-around diffused photographylighting environmentIf
• PhotographyTips & How To's
possible, make sure it has illuminationon the platform (where you'll
place your items, like the one in all the MK LightingSystems), as this
will increase your success of achieving a truly white background. Wrap-
around means that the photographyenvironmentmust enclose your
items from all sides so that nothing from the outside reflects in your
Call Toll-Free: 1-800-258-6230
jewelry. Diffused Lightingmeans that the lighting that illuminates your
to talk with a lighting expert
jewelry should pass through a light diffuser (like the inside of the MK
Lightingsystems) so that the light does not hit your jewelry directly,
which would otherwisecreate shadows in your photos (like sunlight does)
.

3. Place a white backgroundinside your photographylighting system (If it doesn't already contain one).
Preferablyuse a white acrylic (or somethingelse that is white) in the bottom & back of your
photographylighting system or light box.
4. Place your item inside your closed photographylighting system or light box.
5. Choose your desired shutter speed in your digital camera. The shutter speed is usually a fraction that
appearsin your camera screen (like 1/100 or 1/250), when using manual mode. By changingthe shutter
speed of your camera you are able to make your photos darker or brighter. Play around with the shutter
speed and figure out the which shutter speed provides you with the best photo - one that is not too
dark, and not too light. Learn more (View step #4.3)
6. Edit your photo's brightnessand contrast. This will ensure that your background, which might still be
slightly gray (rather than full white) turns into a perfectly white background. By just adding a little bit
of brightnessand contrast to your photo, you'll be able to achieve this. Learn more (View step #4.6) .
For full informationon how to achieve better product photos, read our PhotographyStartup Guide
11.How to get a perfectlyblack backgroundwhen shootingjewelry

Don't like the typicalwhite backgroundeverywhere? No problem. Let's make Black the new White and
changeit a little. Many jewelry pieces don't necessarilylook their best on a white background, and in fact you
can sometimesappreciatea jewelry piece much more when the backgroundcreates a greater contrast in the
photo.
We have found out after testing variousblack backgroundmaterials that the best material to use in order to
achieve a true black backgroundis a piece of black velvet (textile).
Steps to follow to achievea black backgroundin your jewelry photos

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 from above (how to achieve a white background)
2. Place a piece of Black Velvet in the bottom & back of your photographylighting systems. If you want to
shoot straight down from the top, you only need to place the black velvet on the bottom platform (not
in the back).
3. Follow steps 4 and 5 from above, and if needed also follow step #6 (you might not need to).
12. Tools & Accessoriesused in jewelry photography

Lighting Systems used:
Photo-eBox Plus™ Photo-eBox™ & Photo-eBox II™
Photo-eBox Plus™ Photo-eBox™ Photo-eBox II™
LED Lighting used: Cameras Used:

Canon A650 IS Canon S5 IS
Mini-Lite 350-2
New digital camera models: (replaces previous)

Canon SX 110 Canon SX 10
Note: The CanonA650 IS and CanonS5 IS with the necessary

accessoriesmay be purchasedalongwith an MK lighting
systemsas a package. View Packages
Pleaseview a lightingsystem's productinfo to view package
specialsthatincludea photographylightingsystem, a camera
and essentialphotographyaccessories

Accessories used:
Box of Holding Wax Black and white Acrylics
Titling Kit Metallic Background
Product & Jewelry Photography Lighting Systems | LED Natural Daylight | Store | Tips & How To's | Support | Sitemap | About Us | Contact Us
Call Toll Free : 1-800-258-6230. Copyright 2000-2009 © MK Digital Direct. Privacy Notice | Terms of Use
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Jewelry Photography Tips - How to photograph Jewelry Página 1

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Home > Tips & How To's > Jewelry PhotographyTips

Jewelry Photography Tips

Jewelry PhotographyTips Menu:

1.Jewelry Photographyin a Nutshell

<<< Back to Main Menu

2. The Basics: Key elementsin jewelry photography

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1. Continuous natural daylight lighting: To evenly reproduce the colors in jewelry

1. Continuous Natural Daylight Lighting

4. Depth of Field & Focus

5. Shutter Speed/ Exposure Time

http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/jewelry_photography_tips.html 11/11/2009 13:39:35

6. Stable Camera Mounting

<<< Back to Main Menu

3. How to photograph silver, white gold, and platinum jewelry

http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/jewelry_photography_tips.html 11/11/2009 13:39:35

<<< Back to Main Menu

4. Avoiding unnecessary shadows and reflections

Steps for photographing jewelry without unnecessary shadows and reflections:

Photo of a ring without reflections or shadows-photographed inside the Photo-eBox

http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/jewelry_photography_tips.html 11/11/2009 13:39:35

Photo of a ring with reflections and shadows

5. Positioning your jewelry - using different jewelry accessories

1. Pyramid Ring Stand 2. Set of two Watch Stands

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Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge

3. Pendant Stand 4. Earring Stand

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6.How to photograph a ring while "floating " - using holding wax

Using the positioning holding wax in jewelry photography : (pictured below)

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Step 3 - Example 1 Step 3 - Example 2

Step 3 - Example 3 Step 3 - Example 4

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7. Giving Sparkles to your jewelry using white natural daylight LEDs

A photograph with the right amount of LED lighting

Proper LED light illumination:

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Steps for proper illumination:

Too much LED lighting No LED light at all

A few more examples with and without LED lighting:

With LED lighting No LED Lighting

With LED lighting No LED Lighting

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Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge

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8. Halogen lighting used for photographingrubies, amethysts, opals, emeralds,

Steps for properlyilluminatingjewelry with Halogen lighting:

FluorescentLighting HalogenLighting HalogenLighting

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9. Artistic jewelry photographyby using black and white acrylics

http://www.google.com.mx/intl/es/options/ 11/11/2009 13:42:28

xphoto was photographedinside a Photo-eBox™ with a whitereflectiveacrylic& a CanonS5 IS Camera

Steps for photographingin a reflective white surface:

Now using a Black acrylic

These photoswere photographedinside a Photo-eBox™

Steps for photographingin a reflective black surface:

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set-up, placethe blackor whitereflectiveacrylicon the bottomof the lightingsystembox.

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