BebuLamar

Use a tripod and use base ISO. You just pick the aperture that give you the depth of field you need. The shutter speed will take care of the exposure. The jewelries don't move I think and so you can use a very long shutter speed if needed.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

None.
(Maybe he's thinking polarizer.)

tcthome Loc: NJ

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The pop-up flash is looked down upon by many photographers. The lack of such a flash would probably keep me from buying a camera. I use it very often, and I find it useful enough that I consider it essential. You buy the camera you want, not the camera someone else wants.

On the other hand, an external flash is practically a necessity. You can put a diffuser on it or point it at the ceiling to vary the results. You don't have to spend a fortune on one, but a Canon flash on a Canon camera would be a good combination. TTL (through the lens) would be preferable.

https://rolandlim.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/a-simple-guide-to-ttl-flash-photography/
https://digital-photography-school.com/beginners-guide-to-using-ttl-off-camera-flash/
http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/flash.html
http://www.exposureguide.com/ttl-flash-metering.htm

Lexartiste

I like the bottle shot. Your reflection could be cloned out in post.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I started in photography because I wanted to take pics of the gems I cut. 5 years later I have figured out that flash is the way to go. Kevin ladwar Johansson helped me with this. Contact him and just do one lesson with him. I tried lights light tents everything I read about and a lot of things I thought up. My gems never had the wow factor i saw in others photos. Kevin explained gems need light to look good. Not static light but bright quick light. Think about it. A gem needs to be moved to get the sparkle and flash. I experminted with a flash and now my pics are much better. Pm me and I'll try to help you. Am at work for now.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

You didn't mention your camera make. I wouldn't flash jewelry unless it is indirect—through a tent or bounced off of a card.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Yes bouncing is a must to get good shots.

Kaowdo Loc: Michigan

Thank you soooooooooooooo much!

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

When I was assisting back in the '90's, I worked with a photographer who shot ads for Helzberg jewelers.
He shot 8 x 10 film, but his lighting technique would work no matter what kind of camera was used.
Most of his layouts had several items, so the set was pretty big for the subject, shooting an area that was maybe about 11 x 14 inches.

He used powerful strobe lighting fired through a large softbox, with a diffusion panel between that and the subject.
One key thing he added were some small spot lights to make the jewelry sparkle.
Without that, it would look pretty dead by comparison.

Because everything needed to be in focus, a small aperture (that's how it's spelled) was used for better depth of field. I'm guessing it was possibly f/64 or so. (pretty common with a large format lens) The small aperture required several pops of the strobe for proper exposure while the shutter was open. When shooting, all the ambient lighting was turned off.

That's one way the pro's did it.
There may be others.


A light tent would get you pretty good results and you could use your continuous lights or a speedlight (flash) shot through the diffusion panels of the light tent. Wouldn't have to worry as much with camera shake, but ideally, a tripod should be used.


With your relatively smaller-sensored camera, the aperture doesn't have to be as small for good depth of field, and if your subject is in the same plane, getting it all in focus should be easy.
Some advantages to using flash is that it's way more powerful than most continuous lighting letting you use a lower ISO and the actual exposure is A brief duration so you don't have to use longer shutter settings. You can't see the lighting until you shoot, but have an almost instant way to view your results on the LCD screen. Quicker and MUCH cheaper than 8 x 10 Polaroids.

Leitz Loc: Solms

Cameras do not normally come with a flash attachment - you generally have to order it separately.

anotherview Loc: California

Tripod unnecessary for the type of photography you have in mind.

Grahame Loc: Fiji

Not sure how you can come to that conclusion without knowing the exposure needed for the setup that will be used.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Care to explain why not?

anotherview Loc: California