Jewelry is not very "deep", you don't normally shoot a necklace front to back, you shoot it top to bottom, and the "depth" is what - maybe 1/4"? You don't want a wide, or deep, area of focus. You want just the opposite - a very narrow depth of field, with just the jewelry in focus. Go as low as you can - f/4 or lower. You will have to be careful, because the lower the f/ number (wide open aperture) the NARROWER the area that is in focus. But you do NOT need f/16 or numbers like that for jewelry.

Wow, Abbey, I had not looked at your post for a few pages. By the time you're done with this, you are going to be a pro. It's getting really elaborate.
Your existing equipment is fine. all you need is a way to light your product without shadows or glare(aka, specular highlights).
Let's go back to the start.
Build a PVC cage, and wrap it with a white sheet. From home depot, get some of those clip-on work lights(3 of them)and clip them to the frame. You want fairly even light coming through the sheet. Use 100w bulbs and set your camera to tungsten white balance. Get a piece of black velvet or similar. Real velvet is made of silk and very expensive, but has the least refective properties. Go to Goodwill, with luck they have a worn out velvet dress for cheap.
Set your piece up vertical and shoot straight at it, without tilting the camera. This negates using a T/S lens. Get as close as you can with your shortest/closest setting(70mm?).
Take your shot at about f8 on ISO 100-200. Set the speed according to your camera meter. Use full manual. Focus could be manual or auto if it will lock focus. A tripod is better, but you could prop the camera on a box or stack of books(adjustable). Lay a bag of rice or beans on it to hold it steady. Use your self-timer to avoid shake. If you get reflections in the lens, block them with pieces of cardboard bent into L's so they will stand up.
Abbey, this will work fine. It may not be perfect, but very little ever is. If it were, photoshop would not be more popular than cameras.
Stacking programs cost more than a new lens, as does photoshop and I don't think PS Elements will stack.
There is one thing about studio work, the basics are super simple. It sounds easy because it is. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy.
Your not trying to be Avedon.
I'm glad to help if I can.
Good luck. SS

That's exactly my point....why judge the beholder and hold him/her to your professional judgment, but that the beholder experiments and enjoys the world around him/her. A professional, like yourself should encourage a freedom of sight expression of the "frame" and not rely on professionalism in assuming each shot will be a perfection landscape. Your equipment and choice is far beyond the "box camera" view of the Ansell Adams for the frame grab. I am no professional, but pull an occasional frame I can bend in Photoshop as needed. High megapixels are great for the billboard or the ultimate museum showing...that's your profession! The question was if his camera good enough for a great picture. I think the frame capture is interesting enough rather than the multiple professional considered elements that made it.

Hiya!
I'm so new to photography that my ears are not only wet, they are dripping! I need some advice desperately!
I very recently purchased a Nikon D3100 and a Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG macro lense. My goal is to take detailed pictures of handcrafted jewelry to be submitted to judges for shows and uploaded onto a website. Problem is, I'm not sure I purchased the correct camera for the job, (I can still exchange or return it) but that could just be my inexperience. I've taken decent close ups of sections of a piece but cannot figure out how to get detailed shots of the whole object, e.g. a necklace. Plus, the "good" pictures I've managed we're all taken using Live View which is not an option that can be chosen permanently on my camera. I'm also having lighting issues with both, but so far the Nikon pictures are not much better than the ones I took from my iPad. This is not how it should be, I'm sure.