OPAL PHOTOGRAPHY!!! (the not so talked about subject)

[leaveit]

This is a very interesting subject to talk about. Opals are extremelly hard to shoot, mainly because of their almost incontrolable colour-play under different conditions. Has anyone here shot opal before, or does anyone have any tips regarding lighting, positioning, backgrounds etc??? Please share...
THANKS :D

P.S: i posted this topic here because jewellery and gemstone photography is often macro in nature

[Faolan]

Will this help?

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/HowTo_page.htm

[leaveit]

Nice site. I got some good ideas from there! THANKS! But not quite opal specific. Does anyone else have any info?? Please share...

[LordV]

Have you seen this thread?
http://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?p=149&sid=5b1f47e2d11699298dec8603eabeeb9b

Brian V.

[leaveit]

Yep....i know that one word for word! But thanks anyway. Appreciate the effort. ;)
Anyone else, pls??? (this must be a very specific subject...or am i in the wrong section of the forum??)
Thanks.

[98photo]

I would reccomend a black bg as the colors seem to pop more than white. The lighting depends on the stone, you just have to play with the settings till you get the effenc and color you want to show offf the stone. There are some great examples on ebay, of all places! :rolleyes:

[Raymate]

That link was good . some nice tips on small objects in light tents . now I want a light tent :)

[leaveit]

Ahh yes of course...ebay! THANKS. Yeah iv noticed the lighting direction/intensity and angle of the stone depend very much from one type of opal to the other, but even in the same type, sometimes the requirements are different stone to stone. Have u found that with white stones, less light is often better?
Does anyone know of any lighting devices/aids that are especially good for opal. I know that any type of diffused lighting is way better than direct harsh lighting, but anything specific?

[98photo]

I found a website a while ago, don't ask me what it was, but if you search table top studio there was a special light for gems that brought out the sparkle. It was called the "sparkler" amusing enough. :D

[photobitz]

Can you illuminate from behind the stone with a small white LED or a diffused lightbox and show off the internal characteristics?

[Wilt]

Can you illuminate from behind the stone with a small white LED or a diffused lightbox and show off the internal characteristics?

Opals rely mostly on reflected light, not transmitted light. Furthermore, unless you are dealing with the ultra expensive opals, most lesser opals are really doublet and triplet designs which have an opaque backing layer or two!

Leaveit's comment "noticed the lighting direction/intensity and angle of the stone depend very much from one type of opal to the other, but even in the same type, sometimes the requirements are different stone to stone" nails the problem on the head. You have to alter the position of the stone relative to the light source in order to see all the colors which are present in any specific stone, yet it is probably hard to come up with a 'one solution' lighting. Not sure if multiple directional small point sources of light or one large non-directional broad source of light would work better...I'd need to experiment.

[photobitz]

I see... What about a custom "lightbox" that projects light from the sides rather than the back? Although that might be too hard to correct any reflections...

[leaveit]

Ahh yes, REFLECTIONS!! Thats another prob iv noticed. Obviously the bigger the light, the bigger the reflection on a smooth stone. This why i believe smaller more powerful light sources are better (such as LEDs), or a light tent. Does anyone agree? I know u can remove a reflection in photoshop, but why create more work when not necessary.
And im still finding white stones very hard to catch colour-play in. Has anyone experminented with white stones?

P.S. Would anyone have some examples of stones they have shot?? Pls post...

[photobitz]

Has anyone experminented with white stones?

White stones?... no sorry, not even white powder.

[leaveit]

White stones?... no sorry, not even white powder.

I see. Well...its probably a good idea u stayed clear from that 'white powder'. :lol: I hear it can cause quite a hastle!

[photobitz]

lol :)

[cfpackerfan]

This is not the greatest, and maybe not what you were looking for, but the colors of the opals turned out nice, so I thought I'd share.

I shot this ring using a 50mm 1.4 and 68mm of extension tubes.
I placed the ring on a clear filter case, and placed it near a window with the sunlight shining through. I used on camera flash.

PP includes conversion from RAW to JPG, sharpening, and slight exposure compensation. No cropping.
f7.1
400 ISO
1/40 sec
handheld

[DigitalMDX]

Opals are a tough one. I ended up shooting numerous photos trying different light positions, etc.
I ended up shooting two shots with a single light source and then averaging the two photos together.
Just grab some opals and some different light sources and start shooting, as different as opals are I think you'll find as many different opinions in shooting them.
Be sure to post your resoults...