Thanks. Ok new project for tonight
112/365/2013 - Bling by
Tim.Garlick, on Flickr
I think jewellery, in particulalr gemstones or diamonds (as in this picture), must be the most difficult thing to photograph ever! When you hold a diamond in your hand you can see it shimmer and sparkle with various colours. Take a photo and it looks like clear glass. The difference is, when you hold the diamond you are moving it, and the light catches your eye as it gets reflected from various surfaces. When you take a still image, you have to be at exactly the right angle, or you get nothing.
A friend asked me if I could photograph an engagement ring for him. He wants to put it on ebay (don't ask) but every time he tried it would come out looking dirty. I said I would give it a go.
First of all, I had to clean it (it was dirty) and started taking a few snapshots aiming the flash at it from various angles. I quickly realised I needed to get in closer, so used my smallest extension tube, but could I capture a sparkle? Nope, not a chance.
I knew I should probably reduce the aperture to get the star shape I was after, so set my lens to F22. Now, I couldn't see anything to focus on, so it was time to bring out the torch. Still every shot made the diamond look flat and lifeless. I tried lighting it from the side, from the front, from the back, from beneath, from directly above...no luck. Finally I decided to try with the flash as close to my lens as possible and there, suddenly, it appeared! There was the "bling" I was looking for.
In conclusion, it would probably have been a lot quicker if I just used my phone, where the flash is in direct line with the lens!
Maybe a few other things to try if I get more time another day:
1) Spend longer polishing the ring
2) Try less light from the flash (I was probably just flooding the stone from all angles most of the time)
3) Try the flash from further away (make it a smaller light source)
4) Try multiple light sources (and multiple colours)!
Anyway, that was my little project for tonight, and my picture for today.