a few questions for our Photographers

[lies and propaganda]

If i may darlings...
I am by no means a photographer and I definitely have the camera to prove it! I design glass jewelry and its a total bitch to take good photos of. I typically do them indoors, and take a million before i get the right one.

I decided to take them outside to try my hand with natural light and I got awesome captures of my glass but a TON of shadow.
i have an ok editing program so I can get a bit of the shadow out, but i was wondering if there was wisdom to be shared here.

here are a few examples so you can see what Im talking about...





and tips you have I would totally appreciate! thanks alot!

[electricmonk]

1. One quick solution

Get a piece of white paper or other reflective material and put it just out of camera view on the opposite side of the sun to bounce light back into the shadow.

A more permanent solution is to buy or build a small light table that lights objects evenly from all sides. I've seen them online for under 40 bucks.

[lies and propaganda]

2. i never thought about building my own table!

and a permanent solvent like that is what Im looking for! great idea, thank you!

[auntAgonist]

3. I don't have any tips but ...

These pieces are beautiful! ALSO ... there is a photography group on DU, you might give them a try :)

:hi:
aA

[lies and propaganda]

5. why thank you! and you would know I found that group just as soon as I posted this, haha.

Something tells me the Loungue is going to get a little more action anyway ;)

[SacredCow]

4. A light table is definitely the ticket...

and you could build one pretty cheaply. Another solution would be a ring light, which does exactly the same thing.

[lies and propaganda]

6. a fellow Louisianan! (though im NW, which barely counts)

Im loving the idea of making a light table, im seeing a few online that my boyfirend would just love to build for me ;)

[SacredCow]

8. Of course NW counts!

You must be in Shreveport, then? Your DU profile says Arizona- which would mean you've had some serious change in scenery and culture!

Regardless, good to have ya here! :hug:

[lies and propaganda]

10. actually the other way around...

grew up outside Shreveport and moved to Arizona about ten minutes after graduation ;)

and you'd be surprised how exactly the same in so many ways Phx and S'Port are, in sick.

but how could you not love BR? I miss the state a ton!

[SacredCow]

11. Yeah, that makes more sense....

Why would one move here on PURPOSE?!?!?!? LOL

BR is OK- I've no burning desire to live elsewhere! My favorite place in Arizona is Bisbee- I ended up there for a couple of days on a spring break trip gone horribly awry... Had a great time and met some wonderful people!

[lies and propaganda]

15. did you by any chance see the Airstream trailer Park in Bisbee?

so rad!

completely restopred to their time period and you get to rent them by the night as you would a hotel. Fantastic!

[SacredCow]

18. I didn't see that....

Is that something new? This trip was in (ahem...) 1993- my last year in college. So now I've dated myself...

Our vehicle broke down between Tombstone and Bisbee and we set out on foot to find a tow truck. A woman pulled over and asked if we needed a ride. This is her car:



She's an artist who has a studio in Bisbee, and she allowed us to stay in the apartment above her studio until the car was fixed. We, of course, immersed ourselves in the local culture and had quite a time...

[Schema Thing]

7. put a paper towel or sheet or milky white plastic or typing paper

between the sun and your object.

with a tiny object like your art, you'll have the equivalent of a 500.00 light box. And then, as someone else mentioned, use a white card to bounce some light back into the shadows.

Another point to think about, is that shadows are not so bad; good photography is not about eliminating shadows, but rather using shadows to define your image). that little pinpoint light that creates the well defined shadow also lights up things like jewelry nicely. In the pics above, if you turned your piece so that the shadow was created more to the bottom and one side, as opposed to the top and one side, I bet you'd like your image much more.

One more piece of advice; I don't know what camera you have, but even most amateur cameras will accept a diopter in front of the lens to enable a better macro capability. You might check with your local camera store, or online to see if you can get that accessory (might be called a "close-up adapter").

Pretty stuff. If this works, you have to send me one :)

[lies and propaganda]

9. what awesome tips!

I never thought about shadows like that. i always assumed it was best to have the whitest background imaginable, but I just play with glass ;)I have a roll of freezer paper im going to do some experimenting with right now!

and you can have you pick of the litter darling ;)

[Schema Thing]

14. ooh, one more tip

you could use some chewing gum, or balled up wax, or somesuch, to lift your pieces up off the background material.

At that magnification, it wouldn't take much space between the object and the background to make the background go a bit out-of-focus, while your object remains sharp.

I've shot jewelry in my past... it's tedious work to do it well.

[lies and propaganda]

16. that would probably work better then what i have tried using...

coins, beads, everything under the sun. I like the beeswax idea.

[Brotherjohn]

12. Use a flash; force the camera to flash if it's automatic and you have that option.

Most better cameras allow you to turn the flash on where it will flash even in bright light. This will eliminate some/all of the shadows.

Same trick recommended whenever taking a pic of someone in bright sunlight, where their face is in the shadows.

Or, use a black background. Don't know what it's make your jewelry look like, but it's worth trying.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. I'm gonna go with AchtungToddler about the shadow -

nothing really wrong with it, except that yours goes to the top left. Make it go bottom left or bottom right, and it will look nice.

Or, take the photo on a black background.

And given the quality of your jewelery (that it sparkles), highlight that sparkling - put a small hole in the background material and shine a light through it so that light is coming through the jewelry.

[lies and propaganda]

17. WOW! i adore the background light idea!

and thank you for the sparkly compliment! There is not a better adjective in jewelry land.

[cobalt1999]

19. here is a great site with lots of tips for digital photography

I use it often...

www.dg28.com/technique.html