Newbie, needing lots of help

[diddydianne]

Hi... I'm hoping that one of you will be kind enough to give me a shove in a vague direction!

I'm just starting a business (web based at this stage) selling handmade jewellery and tiaras (all my own work). You will tell very quickly, I'm not a skilled photographer! I've tried a few cameras, including a Canon digital SLR(?!) which my friend let borrow, and this is the one I had the most luck with.

I need some recommendations on the best kind of camera/flash to go for - the camera I borrowed had a fixed position flash, which gave me big problms as it glared off the jewellery/background. I improvised and used a piece of black card to redirect the flash (hope you aren't cringing in horror at my lack of knowledge!)

Essentially, I'm after a camera and associated bits, for around £250, which will serve me well for taking close up pictures, showing all the detail.

Here are some of the photos I've taken so far - to show you the kind of detail I need to pick up (I really struggle with the clear beads): some pictures I'm proud of, some you will agree are not so good.

should say, that my website is a black/dark grey background, so I am taking photos of all items against a black background so they blend in with the site, and the jewellery stands out.

Thanks for your help!

This is the kind of image I'm aiming for: (I' ve managed a fair few like this, but need to get this result every time, not 70% of the time)

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v650/213/96/694386216/n694386216_2347221_4280.jpg

here is an example of the problems I'm having - both bad (one too light,one too dark)

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v650/213/96/694386216/n694386216_2347224_9013.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v650/213/96/694386216/n694386216_2347225_9369.jpg

clear beads - tricky:

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v650/213/96/694386216/n694386216_2347210_8017.jpg

So... I need to get good pictures of my items, but at this stage of my business set up, can't afford to pay someone to take pictures for me. What camera/lighting equipment can you recommend for me please?

Thanks! ;)

[Ook]

Hello,

Nice to see that you've included pictures and want to get creative. Being on a budget, I'd recommend staying away from SLR equipment for the time being - you'd have to hunt for a really good deal on used gear, and waiting for that can be pretty frustrating when the best thing for you to be doing is experimenting with your lighting and composition. Not at all bad that you've used a card to affect the light - you might find yourself starting to use many, many cards to get the best results!

I'd suggest something like a Canon G9 or other high-end P&S, and not work with flash just yet. Cheap lamps will work fine, as long they have the same sort of bulbs inside (and aren't different colours, unless you're going for an effect). Watch these (http://www.prophotolife.com/2008/04/04/prophotolife-instructional-video-diy-studio-product-photography/) four (http://www.prophotolife.com/2008/03/29/prophotolife-instructional-video-lighting-glassware-in-the-studio/) great (http://www.prophotolife.com/2008/04/12/prophotolife-instructional-video-another-diy-lighting-video-the-mother-of-all-stick-in-a-can-lighting-vids/) videos (http://prophotolife.com/2008/04/28/episode-6/) to get an idea of the sort of setup you can make very inexpensively and get great results with. One of the biggest lessons I learned watching them is to keep an eye out for where the light is reflecting off of the items - trying to get good illumination without bouncing light right into the camera, which is the only real issue with your first picture of the red beads. Learning to use post-processing software like Photoshop will serve you well to deal with things like images being a bit too dark.

Good luck!

[JeffreyG]

You need:

A camera with a hotshoe flash (G series, S series or dSLR....the SLR will be best but the others can work). Older dSLRs like the 300D and 350D are perfectly fine for this work and can be found quite cheap used.

A flash unit. Vivitar 285 is quite cheap.

A remote synch cord to trip the flash when it is not mounted on a camera. The is a cord that attaches to the hot shoe on the camera and then to the flash.

A do-it-yourself softbox. Build a frame of bits of wood. Place black felt or paper at the back. Ring the sides and top with translucent crepe paper. Shoot through the front and position the flash to shoot through the paper on the sides. This will diffuse the flash light and get rid of the glare.

[diddydianne]

Thank you very much - very useful! I'll let you know how I get on... hoping to make the most of the January sales and get some good equipment for my £250!

[sapearl]

Hi Dianne - and welcome to POTN.... it's a great place to hang out and have all these terrific people convince you of new ways to spend your money.

Although I have done little of it myself, solid lighting is essential to great jewelry photography. This means you need a good reliable, flexible, even light source that can feature your products in there best..... light :lol:. Jeff makes an excellent suggestion regarding a light box, so check out this excellent thread for a do-it-yourself lighting soft box.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=281524&highlight=light+box

I've used it myself to photograph cosmetics and it's quite versatile. I've used it indoors with artificial light, and also outdoors in a manner that softens the glare of harsh sun. Hope this helps. - Stu ;)

[diddydianne]

Thanks again, feeling a lot more inspired than I was before!

[sapearl]

I know it can be a bit intimidating at first Dianne.

The other thing that is critical in product photography is color fidelity, especially jewelry, fabric, gemstones, etc. I don't know how extensive your post processing skills are, but I shoot everything RAW so I can properly and easily WB everything in photoshop. I tend to use a mix of lights - not very precise - so this is how I deal with it.

Thanks again, feeling a lot more inspired than I was before!

[Spacemunkie]

A cheap tent off Ebay and a couple of cheap halogen desk lamps. I suggest ditching the black too. A lighter colour would be much more flattering for delicate jewelery.

Have a look at this tute:
You can put this together for less than 30 quid.... (http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/411/page/3)

I'd spend the rest on a G9!