Need Help With Jewelry Photography

Hello, I am a begninner, so please excuse my ignorance.

I have a Canon XSI dslr camera. Been using the kit lens along with a light box kit that I had bought to take pictures of my jewelry.

The pictures are comming out decent, but not to the level I would like them. I am publishing the pictures online, so I need nice clean pictures to go on white backgrounds.

I use a professional photographer for most of our stuff, but would like to be able to take some pictures here as well. However I just cannot get the colors in the raw images similar to the professional ones.

I figured I might need a better lens, so please hit me up with some suggestions.

For example here is the professional shot:
http://www.askgoldco.c​om/VJ/Professional.jpg

and Here is my shot:
http://www.askgoldco.c​om/VJ/Mine.jpg

How can I get more accurate colors like in the professional shot?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi,
Your shot is good, just a bit light, nothing that a new lens will help with, save your money.
It just needs a little work with post processing, do you use Photoshop?
John

Use a pre-set for the closest WB to the primary light on the subject. Or use a Custom white balance (WB).
Or shoot RAW & correct the WB in PS.

For Custom WB: It takes about 30 seconds, & you really don't need to buy a gray card. If you shoot the white background paper ON THE METER READING, it will photograph gray, just what the cam needs for Custom WB. Use that exposure for the WB set-up.
It's pretty good for adjusting exposure too, when there are bright highlights that aren't important in the frame.

Gray Card…White Paper. What’s best?

It appears to me that you're lighting the jewelery TOO evenly. You need some definition to bring out the features. I would light it from only one angle and let the light box provide fill through reflection. If that's not enough fill, add another light but pull it back to give a ratio to the primary light.

On the pro sample, notice how you can see the reflections of the shooters light box and it's pretty dark (relatively) on one side.

it may be as easy as using a light meter for exposure. Your shot is nice but as previously stated a little light.

Are you using flashes, or hot lights?

To think that the pro is giving you his/her shots without doing any pp is day dreaming. I took a copy of your image and a quick 1 minute run through photoshop made it just as good as the pro's. Can't post because you haven't allowed in your profile.

I did run across this site that is specific to your requested topic. It does have some good topics.

Personally, I would like to shoot something like that on a background that gave more contrast between it and the subject. It looks like you shot yours more straight on as I think that you can see the reflection of the camera in the middle of the forehead. Shooting at a slight angle would eliminate this.

The pro's pic isn't even that good. Honestly, I made your pic look twice as good as his with some editing. If you'd like to see it, how I did it and an explanation on how what I did works, lemme know. I know it's very frustrating not knowing how to advance. I learn all the time. Just now, I had no idea my edit would look that good since I usually only edit stones (they never really transform that much).

You can't get better until you have fun and just try things. Don't get stuck in a box

Lol. Just realized the date of this. Oh well haha.