David Yurman

[jfrancho]

I took influence from Bloo Dog's high-key sapphire and diamonds post, and someone else's "ghetto lighting setup." Yes, I know it is overexposed, and I like it that way. And yes, there is a "fuzzy goober" stuck in the rope. Next time I'll clean the jewelry before I shoot. That's one lesson learned. I'm looking for more "lessons learned." Another is not use jewelry that my wife wears every day. There are many small scuffs and imperfections in the gold. I'm still pleased with the results. I learned a lot in the four hours I spent on this.

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/17734547-S.jpg

[CDickinson]

ok...i have to ask what's "ghetto lighting"? And which post. I'd love see what alternatives people use to pro studio lighting.

C

[jfrancho]

Well, my version was a poster sized sheet of paper taped to a chair. I suspended a very bright VHO flourescent strip light over the jewelry. This is from my reef aquarium - it is a 2x40w 10,000K setup, very high temperature color (blue). Then added a 75w Phillips "Natural Light" in a lamp pointed at the jewelry to add a little glimmer. The rest is the usual ps workflow: process the RAW file in 16 bit, curves, sat/hue, USM, clone tool for dust and scratches, added a tiny bit of gaussian blur to the moonstone, save as 16 bit TIFF, convert to 8 bit, save as JPEG-12.

[jfrancho]

This still kills me that no one could comment on the image.

[jopfin]

Not sure why it kills you that no one replies, what would you like us to say that you haven't already pointed out yourself. There are no specific questions to answer, you come across as having a firm grip about what you are doing. Not trying to be rude, its a great shot (generic I know). It is over exposed but thats personal prefrence. The ring at a 90 degree angle to the bracelet is nice, it might be better if the bracelet were turned a little more to left IMHO. The shadow is subtle and not overpowering. Maybe a different BG to offset the thejewlery. Its a good product shot. Nice work, just curious as to what took 4 hours though. Again not trying to be rude but what is it your looking for............Joe

Maybe you could add a rising moon in the pic ;)

[jfrancho]

That wasn't rude at all. Eloquent, with a touch of humor. Thanks. The thing is, I don't have a firm grip on what I am doing. Let me rephrase that: I don't always have confidence in what I am doing. So any input is better than none. I don't just assume that because no one replies, that I am a master photog...

The high key exposure and white background are really emulations of current jewelry catalog style. I think the catalog shooters are on to something with this technique. I've tried a few other types of backgrounds, including black velvet, and "play" sand of all things, but they tend to influence the overall reflective qualities of the metal, and absob much of the light, making it difficult to portray the details. This was one about 15 or so shots I worked on during that four hours. It isn't as easy at it looks. If you are interested look at this post (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=61394&highlight=diamonds+sapphires).

A little "extra" for you for taking the time...
http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/17939928-Th.jpg

[jopfin]

Ok my apologies for the "what took fours" comment, completely never crossed my mind that you may have tried other things, sorry. And your right it isn't easy (probably why I don't try it, I'm a wee bit lazy and impatient), but you've done a great job of showcasing the items, the way its lit tends to lead your eye around the rope of the bracelet, the two stones in close proximity is also a plus in my mind, they contrast each other nicely. Next time I will try to think before I type, I think you've done a good job here, and I hope to see more of your "studio" stuff.........Joe

ps thanks for the rising moon shot, and I am glad you saw the humor in it.....J

[jfrancho]

I'm a wee bit lazy and impatientMe too, probably why I only try these about once a month. Doing these has actually really helped me consider exposure and lighting in my other pics. Little things like getting a person to turn just a bit, using the flash to fill in shadow areas, using a reflector. All the techniques apply, they are just on a larger scale, and in some ways more forgiving. When you get down close to macro type shots, minor adjustments are magnified.
It was good chatting with you!

[Titus213]

I generally don't cruise this section. Most of my experiments don't turn out anywhere near as well as yours did. I like the high key stuff and yours is quite nice but I would have tried to burn out the shadow on the left.

[aam1234]

Very nice JF. My first thought was "it looks like an ad in a magazine". Personally I like the shadow on the left.

[jfrancho]

The shadow doesn't seem to be a necessary component to these types of shots. Bloo Dog advised that if it wasn't pleasing, just delete it. I trust his advice. He has actually been most instrumental in helping me with these. You can see a progression of these on my smugmug site, if you like.

[jfrancho]

Since most of these were in a post that was removed, I thought I'd put the images in here. They are from a while ago. Feel free to leave comments/criticism.

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/21748352-L.jpg

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/21748415-L.jpg

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/20837654-L.jpg

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/20261636-L.jpg

[zacker]

i like it, allot. Have you tried "cutting" and pasting into a white background and THEN adding a drop shaodw instead of the orig. background and natural shadow? Maybe it might make a difference...maybe not. just a suggestion.
-zacker-

[jfrancho]

Thanks! I have "tried," but I'm not so good at it. It's far easier to just remove the shadow or tone it down. I also have learned a few new lighting tricks since then as well. These are from some time ago, and I'll be trying some new things out.

[aam1234]

Hi John. You might want to take a look at this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=129355)where people are posting photos of watches.

[jfrancho]

Thanks aam, I saw it. My wife has a Rolex that I might have to use to contribute to that thread. Watches are tough subjects...

[wroberts]

on the first one, i really think the compostion is good and you know the highlites are blown out which most customers would not like that. They want to see detail and see their product exactly as it is. What you might want to do is keep the back light,(lower the intensity) and add a front light to see the beauty of the stone. I think the eye would be drawn to it if lite properly. If you do decide to do this, please post it again. Its a really good start though. Experiment!