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In need of advice.



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 24th 07, 09:26 AM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Maneki Neko
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Posts: 3
Default In need of advice.

Greetings,

I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice. I have been running
my own business making chain mail jewelry and other fun metal things.
I have fount that the hardest part of running my online business was
getting good pictures of my work. I was hoping that perhaps some of
you folks could hop over to my site and comment on my pictures. Any
advice would be helpful as I am only a beginning photographer. Please
be brutally honest.

a href="http://manekinekodesigns.com"Maneki Neko Designs/a

Amanda Shaw
Ads
  #2  
Old November 24th 07, 07:29 PM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
mbstevens
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Posts: 165
Default In need of advice.

Maneki Neko wrote:
Greetings,

I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice.


I _think_ you mean lurking, not trolling!


I have been running
my own business making chain mail jewelry and other fun metal things.
I have fount that the hardest part of running my online business was
getting good pictures of my work. I was hoping that perhaps some of
you folks could hop over to my site and comment on my pictures. Any
advice would be helpful as I am only a beginning photographer. Please
be brutally honest.

a href="http://manekinekodesigns.com"Maneki Neko Designs/a

Amanda Shaw

A few of the shots don't have enough depth of focus.

Shoot with a lot more light so that you can get your depth of
focus deeper.

Or, get a tripod and take longer exposures with the aperture
stopped way down. Again deeper focus.

You did a pretty good job with thumbnails and file size reduction.

A few are shifted too much toward yellow, like either shooting
indoors with outdoor film or not adjusting the light-type on
a digital camera. This can be largely fixed with the free
Gimp program without having to re-take the shots.
http://www.gimp.org
--
mbstevens
http://www.mbstevens.com
  #3  
Old November 25th 07, 11:11 AM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Maneki Neko
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Posts: 3
Default In need of advice.

On Nov 24, 1:29 pm, mbstevens wrote:
Maneki Neko wrote:
Greetings,


I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice.


I _think_ you mean lurking, not trolling!


That too. =)



A few of the shots don't have enough depth of focus.

Shoot with a lot more light so that you can get your depth of
focus deeper.

Or, get a tripod and take longer exposures with the aperture
stopped way down. Again deeper focus.

You did a pretty good job with thumbnails and file size reduction.

A few are shifted too much toward yellow, like either shooting
indoors with outdoor film or not adjusting the light-type on
a digital camera. This can be largely fixed with the free
Gimp program without having to re-take the shots.http://www.gimp.org
--
mbstevenshttp://www.mbstevens.com


Are the ones with the grey background the better composed of the
group? I just started taking them with that method. I could use some
better lighting, I agree. Is there any way of doing that without
having to get a lot of equipment? I think things would be a little
better it I could get some whiter lights.

Amanda
  #4  
Old November 25th 07, 09:40 PM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
mbstevens
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 165
Default In need of advice.

Maneki Neko wrote:

Are the ones with the grey background the better composed of the
group?


Like the shot of the dice pendant? It seems to fill the frame
better. Any extra background in a jewelry shot for the net
is likely to be wasted.


I just started taking them with that method. I could use some
better lighting, I agree. Is there any way of doing that without
having to get a lot of equipment?


You could try shooting outdoors on an overcast day, covering
the piece with a frosty plastic cup with a hole cut in the
top for the lens to shoot through. You don't get that highly
standardized kind of jewelry image popular for commercial jewelry,
but it can be fun for some kinds of pieces.

I think things would be a little
better it I could get some whiter lights.


It would be nice, but you can make
adjustments with film or your digital camera's
adjustment for light type.
  #5  
Old November 25th 07, 09:40 PM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Sarit Wolfus
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 24
Default In need of advice.

On Nov 24, 10:26 am, Maneki Neko wrote:
Greetings,

I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice. I have been running
my own business making chain mail jewelry and other fun metal things.
I have fount that the hardest part of running my online business was
getting good pictures of my work. I was hoping that perhaps some of
you folks could hop over to my site and comment on my pictures. Any
advice would be helpful as I am only a beginning photographer. Please
be brutally honest.

a href="http://manekinekodesigns.com"Maneki Neko Designs/a

Amanda Shaw


To add on mbstevens' reply, when you add more light, it is recommended
that you use a "light tent". The tent diffuses incident light so that
you avoid strong reflections from your piece.
Sarit.
http://sarit-jewelry.com
  #6  
Old November 26th 07, 06:37 AM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Sterling
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default In need of advice.

If you did a google search on "photographing jewelry" you'd get these sites:

Some are from sites that want you to buy their stuff, but they do offer some
good advice.

http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/...aphy_tips.html

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/docume...raphy_Tips.htm

http://www.home-jewelry-business-suc...g-jewelry.html

http://www.home-jewelry-business-suc...otography.html

http://jewelryphotography.com/

.... well, you get the picture. There are loads of sites on the net that
offer good advice on lighting, technique, method, etc for photographing
jewelry.

Happy Reading

Sterling



"Maneki Neko" wrote in message
...
: Greetings,
:
: I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
: occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice. I have been running
: my own business making chain mail jewelry and other fun metal things.
: I have fount that the hardest part of running my online business was
: getting good pictures of my work. I was hoping that perhaps some of
: you folks could hop over to my site and comment on my pictures. Any
: advice would be helpful as I am only a beginning photographer. Please
: be brutally honest.
:
: a href="http://manekinekodesigns.com"Maneki Neko Designs/a
:
: Amanda Shaw

  #7  
Old November 26th 07, 06:21 PM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Jman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 130
Default In need of advice.

On Nov 24, 1:26 am, Maneki Neko wrote:
Greetings,

I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice. I have been running
my own business making chain mail jewelry and other fun metal things.
I have fount that the hardest part of running my online business was
getting good pictures of my work. I was hoping that perhaps some of
you folks could hop over to my site and comment on my pictures. Any
advice would be helpful as I am only a beginning photographer. Please
be brutally honest.

a href="http://manekinekodesigns.com"Maneki Neko Designs/a

Amanda Shaw



Hey there Amanda,

It looks like you have a good enough camera, as the image quality and
your 'bokeh' looks pretty good.
The crispness and approximation of your object is satisfactory as
well.

I think you have the right idea and you're on track but a few things
could easily be changed
to make a MASSIVE difference in the quality of your photos...

- Tripod... Use one. Essential when shooting still objects for
clarity.

- Light.... Super critical to your photos ! Natural light is
available during the day (obviously) and it
cost's nothing to use it...so,...use it. Go to the front and side
windows of your home and snap a
few photos of the same piece and notice the different results your get
from all sides of the house
at different times of the day.... It's pretty amazing. Now althought
this sounds like a lot of work,
it will really give you a sense of how light is controlled and how you
might duplicate it.
Remember that just like a light box, you can change the 'amount' and
color of light coming in by
merely using tissue paper, an old bedsheet or what have you as a
filter (taped against the window
or vertically around your work)

If you want a more contolled setup, build yourself a simple lightbox
which can really be made of
anything. One of my favorites is my PVC pipe box (jsut straight
pieces with elbows..) with a
very cheap see-through white shower curtain draped over the
structure. For backgrounds I use
a lot of the 16 x 20 colored paper you get get from craft stores, and
similar.... Also, for reflection
and distribution of light within the 'box or tent', I use those dollar
store reflector things some
people put against their windshields to keep their car cool when the
weather is hot... Those
things work GREAT ! Other things like GOLD and SILVER gift wrap make
great reflectors too.

If light filter is what you are after, the colored tissue you see used
in gift bags works REALLY,
REALLY well. They come in a virtual endless array of colors and are
nicely transparent, letting
in a lot of light.

***MAKE sure that you only use these things with the COOL WHITE
bulbs*** Any regular bulbs
will surely catch the paper and or light box on fire and
well.......that usually ends up very bad...
(to say the least.)

As far as bulbs go, Use the "Cool White" brand of lights (the funny
looking coil type) and you'll
get as near to natural light as you can without spending a lot of
money. The "Cool White" bulbs
are in fact just that.... Cool to the touch and shed "very white
light" while at the same time,
saving you a lot of electricity ! (I use them throughout my entire
home.....) I use them inside
a standard inexpensive silver clip lamp (the silver dish type with the
pressure clamp on the end.)
and clip them directly to the PVC or a chair or whatever's handy. I
usually use between 3 and six,
depending on the effect I'm looking for.


Also, for your backgrounds, I wouldn't suggest grey and silver too
much, as it distracts the viewer
from the piece. Because your medium is mostly metal, don't be afraid
to use a lot of light. If you
bounce it back and forth across the lightbox you'll be pleasantly
surprised at how much detail you
end up seeing in your jewelery because of the different angles of
light source.... You can buy these
on E-Bay or even make them if you wish. I make most of mine simply
because of the control I get
from making my own.... Gold, Silver, Bronze and copper foils can
really make a difference in how
harsh or soft the light becomes.... Don't be afraid of colored
backgrounds either... If you have enough
bokeh (depth of focus), even a pumpkin orange background can produce
some really nice shots.

One of my favourites is shooting down or straight on the subject using
'FLOOR TILES" as backgrounds.
They're REALLY inexpensive, and come in a HUGE amount of sizes,
textures and colors.. The
slate and marble tiles can make ANY metal pieces look like a MILLION
BUCKS without detracting
from the piece itself..... I sometimes use a spritzer or eye dropper
and wet the tiles first and then
place the piece on or against some river rock, etc... You can also do
this with SKIN (i.e your model).
Try using a bit of baby oil and a spritzer and gently dab it off...
Metal against that skin will create a VERY
cool effect.

-Tripod
-Light
-Controlled environment
-Props, Backgrounds
-Take a ton of photos, till you get it right...

Hope some of this helps,

/CM
  #8  
Old November 26th 07, 06:21 PM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Jman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 130
Default In need of advice.

On Nov 24, 1:26 am, Maneki Neko wrote:
Greetings,

I've been trolling about the group for a while now and the thought
occurred that maybe I should ask for some advice. I have been running
my own business making chain mail jewelry and other fun metal things.
I have fount that the hardest part of running my online business was
getting good pictures of my work. I was hoping that perhaps some of
you folks could hop over to my site and comment on my pictures. Any
advice would be helpful as I am only a beginning photographer. Please
be brutally honest.

a href="http://manekinekodesigns.com"Maneki Neko Designs/a

Amanda Shaw


Too bad you don't sell to CANADA !
I dig that Persian "Silver and Gold" piece.... Very nice.

/CM
  #9  
Old November 28th 07, 06:18 AM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
Maneki Neko
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default In need of advice.



Too bad you don't sell to CANADA !
I dig that Persian "Silver and Gold" piece.... Very nice.

/CM


I have been wandering about the site set up trying to figure out
exactly how to ship other places. I think I figured it out. Took long
enough right. ^^ Feel free to take a look. Here's hoping!

Amanda Shaw
  #10  
Old December 28th 07, 05:52 AM posted to rec.crafts.jewelry
lavachickie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13
Default In need of advice.

I have greatly improved my photos of glass and silver pieces with just
a few small steps:

1) Make your own light box. This can be SUPER SIMPLE.

- Take small box; seal up one end.
- Spray the inside with a bright white/glossy finish spraypaint. OR,
cover the inside with high brightness (very white, not yellowed) copy
paper. Cover the entire inside. It doesn't have to look pretty, but it
does need to be SMOOTH so it allows light to bounce everywhere.
- Cut a large hole in one side and another in the top. Cover these
with either regular copy paper OR onion skin, just something to
diffuse.
- Position two lamps w/ high wattage bulbs (60+, 100 is best) at the
side and top. I use 100 watt full spectrum incadescent bulbs. (Yes,
you can get them.)
- Use cardboard, foam board or something else flexible to create a
seamless background. Slide it into the box and let is "curl" up the
back, so that you have a gentle slop and not a crease/seam in the
bottom.

Voila, you are ready to shoot.

2) Use your digital camera's white point setting to adjust your
photos! Simply get everything ready to go and place a piece of bright
white cardstock inside. Aim on the cardstock, and set the white point
based on that (see your camera's manual for specifics; I have a
cheaper point and shoot and it allows it).

No more yellow! Just remember to reset it once you take the camera
elsewhere because everything's going to look off.

3) If you have some extra Christmas coin, get one of these: EZ Cubes.
I want one so bad! http://www.ezcube.com/

Amy
 




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