lcj2017

Hello,

I own a small jewelry line and need to get my photos looking as professional as possible. Can you guys steer me in the right direction of where to get a decent white box and camera for taking photos? Do I really need a DSLR camera or no? Thanks so much!

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

I think you mean a light box. You can make one with white sheets and a strobe. Camera does not need to be a DSLR, mirrorless will give same results.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Any quality camera can give you quality results. I have something like this, but that fabric never lies completely flat, if that matters.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTRSQP4/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=B06XTRSQP4&pd_rd_r=KWXB49P4M6FTH50CXEQ0&pd_rd_w=MGdbD&pd_rd_wg=DMAlY&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=6V2TDA2TX9XAZ2Z3AD1V&pf_rd_r=6V2TDA2TX9XAZ2Z3AD1V&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=781f4767-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_p=781f4767-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_i=desktop

You can make something yourself with white foam board. Just arrange the pieces for the shot - base, back, sides - and put it away when you're finished.
https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-Simple-Light-Tent/
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyxzC5kqbyw

Lots of others -
https://www.google.com/search?q=diy+light+tent&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS716US717&oq=diy+light+tent&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65j0l4.3559j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=how+to+make+a+photo+light+box

Tips for photographing jewelry -
http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/jewelry_photography_tips.html

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

I happen to like these. They're versatile, inexpensive, light weight and translucent so you can use them like a light defuser if using a strobe or speed light from the outside of the box. When you're done with them they fold down flat and you can put them back in the sleeve they come with so easy storage. They also come with white black and colored backdrops. I use these both indoors and out (I have a small one with the bottom open to put over a plant to keep the wind off of it while shooting). The come in different sizes form about 12" to 60" so what ever you are comfortable with.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=Photo+Studio+Shooting+Tent+Light+Cube+

delkeener Loc: SW Rhode Island, USA

Put "Photo Light Tent" in the search box of eBay and you will get many choices.

Bill_de Loc: US

I like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YKYB08/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Combined with this:

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-LX10K-Megapixel-24-72mm-1-4-2-8/dp/B01LZHIX13/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495800870&sr=8-1&keywords=panasonic+lumix+lx10

I purchased them about 6 months ago. The LX10 does in camera focus stacking which can be helpful for close up work. It can also be controlled with a tablet or phone.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

No light box needed, just a flash will do, as for cameras, yes a DSLR is preferable, but other cameras that allow you to change lenses will also work!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

No, you don't need a DSLR. A high quality point-n-shoot with macro capabilities should be more than sufficient. I would avoid any of those that use super small sensors, such as the tiny 1/2.3. I'd recommend you look for models that use larger 1" CMOS, such as the Canon G series. You don't need a super long, wide ranging zoom lens.... a short telephoto (35mm film/full frame camera equivalent to around 70 to 135mm) is great for tabletop studio shoots. On my DSLRs, I often use a couple prime lenses that are equiv. to 70mm and 90mm. For the smallest objects, I use macro lenses in the 90mm and 100mm (actual or equiv. range).

I would also want a camera that gives me full access to manual controls, has a hot shoe to connect flash or a flash controller, and is able to shoot RAW files (some are JPEG-only, which have less latitude for adjustment in post-processing). Anything from 10MP or larger would be fine.

A light tent or cube is one way to shoot small products. Personally I use a seamless white plastic sheet about 3 foot by 5 foot, that's flexible so I can set up a continuous curve background. I then light the product various ways.... sometimes just by window light (long exposure, camera on a tripod), perhaps with diffusers, bounce cards or reflectors to modify light or with black flags to block light. Here are several examples (soap products), lit only by ambient window light:



Notice the reflections on the plastic wrap in the first image. That was deliberate in that image... but to avoid it in other images I use a circular polarizing filter, so any camera you choose might need means of attaching a filter (not possible with all point-n-shoot cameras).

Jewelry and other objects that are highly reflective and have some transparent portions can be especially challenging.

Here's is one method of lighting a clear glass object... it's sitting on a transparent table and lit from below:



And here's another method.... a large soft box to the right mostly illuminates a white background (but only a 200W modeling light was used), while the goblet was set on a matte black surface and a matte black flag was positioned to the left:



Note: Some of the above examples were shot with 8MP DSLR. Most modern point-n-shoot offer at least 12MP and many are 16 to 20MP... more than enough resolution for large images and way, way more than enough for websites, catalogs, etc.

I use five monolights and a half dozen portable flash, along with a bunch of different light modifiers, stands, backgrounds, reflectors, etc.... some of which I've had for 10 or 15 years or longer.

But for studio work, if I were buying today I would seriously consider LED lighting that's available now.... especially for small products like jewelry.

LED lighting is continuous.... what you see is what you get. Much easier to work with, than flash where you have to try to pre-visual it's effect or use lower powered modeling lights to set it up. With continuous lighting, what you see is what you get! There are other forms of continuous light... But LED and fluorescent are "cool", while a lot of other types of continuous lights are "hot"... literally! Those can be unpleasant to work under or difficult to use for food products, etc.

For really large lights, I might opt for fluorescent instead because big LED panels are very expensive. However, for small products like jewelry, two or three small LED panels should be fine and are reasonably priced. Shop around!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

It really depends on how you want to publish and where you sell. If high value jewelry and print then it is worth going up the value chain. If selling on the web a decent P&S will be good enough. The lighting is very important. A light tent and some studio lights are much easier to work with than flash. Something like this would help, and is probably more important than the camera, plus some jewelry furniture / props: http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Photography-Tabletop-Continuous-Lighting/dp/B004JO6RDM/ref=sr_1_131?ie=UTF8&qid=1495826082&sr=8-131&keywords=studio+lights+light+tent

What are you aiming for? Something like this: http://www.yaeldesigns.com/

or something lower end for selling on the web for individual pieces: http://www.trocadero.com/stores/periodpieces/items/1358538/Peridot-Necklace-Seed-Pearls-in-14kt-Gold

It depends how much time and effort you can invest per image or per piece, but lighting will be the most important investment. A decent point and shoot, bridge camera, mirrorless, or DSLR will all do the job, but don't get one with too small a sensor.

It's also important to decide if you want to project "the romance" which can be good for a jewelry line or accuracy which is important for individual antique pieces.

Good luck

copladocus

I worked in a jewelry shop and did jewelry appraisals that included photographing all the items. I built a massive light box with various lighting sources. It was complex and unnecessary. Get a small "tent" frame of tabletop size and bright white sheets (and a black sheet, and blue....) Get tabletop lamps and put in "daylight" colored bulbs (about 5000 Kelvin). This will give you great neutral lighting to work with. Camera: We used a Fuji Finepix that had what the salesman referred to as a "double macro" setting. It was perfect for us as it was able to photograph medium to major inclusions in diamonds. We were ready to spend major $$$ on a high end DSLR and macro lenses when the salesman steered us to this relatively inexpensive camera. It worked great for us but for your work the macro settings might be a feature you seldom use. If you live anywhere near Louisville I would be happy to help you get a workable setup that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Bottom line, it is all about the lighting.