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Phase one 645DF Jewelry Photography

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
It's generally poor form to simply drop a link and run off. It's usually interpreted as being done just for SEO reasons.

That said your work is really good. Could you share more with us about why you've selected this equipment, or about your lighting techniques, or software that helps you get your work done, or something (anything?) else to contribute to the community here?

We'd hate to see someone who produces such good quality work simply use this is a billboard to google for their work.

For instance
Do you use the Schneider 120TS or the 120MF Macro?
What's your preferred method you deal with DOF images (a constant headache in high res macro)? Stacking? Movements? Backing off and cropping?
What light shapers do you use given the small scale of your work?
 

FacetFlash

New member
Sorry about the link drop! I just figured not a lot of people see jewelry photography around so I thought I'd share!

I am using a 645DF body with a p40+ back most of the time which I actually got from digital transitions, Thanks doug! I also shoot with a 7D sometimes. I used to use a TF a lot but over time I have shifted away from it. I currently use a 120mm macro.

As far as software, I mostly use Photoshop for all my needs and have just had lots of experience over time with many other professionals.

Most of the time I like to actually try and get the piece of jewelry in the full frame that way I can get as high res as I need to be able to edit and also have the resolution for print, etc. But sometimes I am cropping the photo for DOF and I also do image stacking sometimes.
I use a custom lighting tent I have created from scratch and built on my own. I shoot everything with one light, being a strobe over the tent.

I'd be happy to answer any questions! Feel free to contact me also!
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
Glad to have you here! Feel free to stick around and contribute to the community anything that strikes your fancy and likewise to ask from the community anything you think we might be able to help with.

Got questions on Capture One? Have to choose between two lenses? Looking for a way to rig a specific widget X to camera-item Y when nothing seems to be available? Usually someone on the forum knows!
 

SergeiR

New member
Aye, this is grrrreat place to find hands-on info, without much fussing, hissing and frowning :)

Calvin - i am pretty sure most of people here do shoot object photography one way or another. Specializing specifically in it? May be not as much.

I for one do shoot it for catalogue, whenever my friend makes new batch - he is specializing in historical jewelry (as in using actual true to the period materials, techniques and so on) but makes it into steampunk and fantasy areas every now and then.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Welcome Calvin.

Thank you for posting the link ... I love seeing table-top work of any kind, and Jewelry is one of the more difficult tasks because of the size and DOF issues ... and especially difficult when diamonds are included.

I like your approach and style, clean and crisp. :thumbup:

One way to contribute to the community is to share specific techniques so we can all gain knowledge from one another. For example, there is also a lighting forum here on GetDpi where we often share an image, then how it was lit ... your custom tent would be very interesting to see, so next time you shoot, take a few wider snaps of the set-up with your other camera, and post it there.

Again, welcome!

-Marc
 

vchiline

New member
Hey Calvin,

You just added me on Facebook earlier today. Yep, another jewelry photographer here. I just bought indirectly, but with some guidance from Doug a new phase one system (IQ160, 645DF, 120 macro MF, 110mm LS, 35mm f2.8 D, and lastly the no. 2 extension tube).

You do some great work indeed. When you said one light in total, how much post processing do you do per item would you say? It's very clean, which we all know even the best jewelry needs tons of work sadly in post. You do paths & gradients, etc?

We do various styles and have various lighting methods depending on the what the client wants... We do plenty of volume generally, having now 2 shooting stations.

Anyways, keep up the good work.

Vadim
 
B

Bitter Jeweler

Guest
Hello!

I just joined, for two reasons at the moment.

First, I just wanted to say, FacetFlash is indeed spamming his website. He did the same on another forum and was called out for it much as Doug did. Another user asked how he got his diamonds so bright, as she was experimenting with jewelery photography. His answer was "years of practice and experience" :/. I questioned him further, and was asked if I was jealous. :| Yeah, it was about web hits to his site.

That being said...

I want to give MAJOR thanks to Vadim, and the information on jewelery photography contained in his blog. Thank you so much for sharing that!

I am a jeweler. I have my own business and have been teaching myself product photography. Hiring someone is not feasible because everything I do is pretty much "on time delivery", so there is no time to send it out. I've been into photography for quite a while, but my love is shooting abstracts.

I have a 5dmkIII, and I love it. It was disappointing to learn of its limitations over a MF camera, and I looked at them, but they're out of my range for my needs at the moment. As I take on learning more about the craft of product photography, and if I can get anywhere near what you guys are doing, I won't rule it out. LOL

In the end, I guess I should thank Calvin for leading me here. It connected me with some great information that googling just didn't bring up.

I now have a gear list, and as I acquire, and start practicing, I will certainly post here for pointers.

Thanks again Vadim for sharing, and helping others learn!

Cheers!

Oh, here's some examples of how far I have to go...









 

vchiline

New member
Hey there,

Thanks for the kind words :) I try to blog, but I don't know how some people can do this so often - with work, I have so little time for that, heck, even my family is upset that I live to work it seems.

I've seen Calvin post his site a little everywhere, I understand in a way why, SEO reasons. In a way I blame Google a little... my site ranks relatively poorly, yet I'm one of the only JEWELRY-ONLY photographers in Canada (there are others, but we're a rare breed). I'm like on page 7, yet I have a real blog about jewelry, not 1 random jewelry blog and boom, I'm on page 1 or 2. :( But I've seen that hard work has given me enough clients to hire additional staff :)

Anyways, the 5D system is still a VERY good system, perhaps a little faster to use than the Phase One system (larger files from Phase One take a little more time to process, then again depends on the back you are using). I've been getting away with less photos to stack versus the 5D Mark II/III. I don't try to fill the frame, I just shoot with it relatively small, but in the end after cropping, it's the same size, if not a bit larger. So I get less photos to take for stacking. Some clients give us 1000+ items to shoot, so you can understand that 6-9 shots per item brought down to 3-5 is better for us (9000 vs 5000 clicks on the high end).

The quality of the images though, I believe are much nicer in MF - the lack of the AA filter, combined with the great 120mm macro lens... deadly combo.

Vadim
EpicMind Studio
Jewelry Photography | Jewelry Retouching | Jewelry Videos
 

Professional

Active member
I love very much to start doing and shooting products including jewels and watches, but the main problem i have is i don't have those product, i have very cheap not so nicely look watch and my mom has some old jewel which lost their brightness or shiny and most are not nice looking though, not rich to buy those hundreds thousands or millions dollars jewels, even cheapo ring that can be affordable is not interesting much to shoot.

I keep reading here and there about lighting setup, i have some lights to use but modifiers are the key somehow, and then camera/lens combo and last workflow, i hope to find some folks who are genius in workflow so they an retouch my work to the best.
 

FacetFlash

New member
Bitter Jeweler. I think you're name says it all. You actually take the time to sign up here just to diss someone because you are obviously jealous. If you wanted to know so much about what I do all you had to do is contact me as I'm not on the forum much. I actually have a life unlike you with 12k posts on TPF. Maybe if you spent more time working on you're jewelry photography instead of posting about other people on forums dissing them. You might actually get better in this specific field. I have actually helped many many people out there and even people that contacted me off the TPF. Stop getting butt hurt over nothing. I have even recently been conversing with Vadim.
 

FacetFlash

New member
I completely concur. I just wasn't the person trying to talk bad on others over nothing. Some people take these forums way to serious.

All the best!

Calvin
 

SergeiR

New member
The quality of the images though, I believe are much nicer in MF - the lack of the AA filter, combined with the great 120mm macro lens... deadly combo.
Actually there is still AA filtering going on, unless you got special edition back or ripped out glass yourself.. just waaaay smaller than on dSLR..

Anyway. For object photography there isnt a lot of replacement to go larger formats and proper movements, indeed (of course the drawback is having to fight shallower DOF. )..

But i am sure you know it already :)
 

MaxKißler

New member
Actually there is still AA filtering going on, unless you got special edition back or ripped out glass yourself.. just waaaay smaller than on dSLR..

Anyway. For object photography there isnt a lot of replacement to go larger formats and proper movements, indeed (of course the drawback is having to fight shallower DOF. )..

But i am sure you know it already :)
Hello Sergei,

how did you experience your step from the ZD Back to an Aptus? Currently I am using an Aptus 22 but have the impression that my ZD Back delivered slightly sharper files? So could it be that the ZD Back uses a shallower AA filter or is it just my fading memory? Moire seems to be less of an issue with the Aptus aswell. Likely that I'm just fooling myself here now that you have mentioned it...
 
Hello all, I would like to show the results of using the compendium of the Nikon D800 + Horseman VCC PRO + 120mm APO Rodenstock Rodagon. This is a watch photo, not jewellery but is similar in technics.
9 shots with different focus proccess in ACR and Helicon Focus. Some basic sharpening in ACR.
Image hasn't been retouched yet of course.



100% crop.

 

MedShooter

New member
Another Jewelry photographer here. Hey I didn't know there were so many of us:)
First off gotta say thank you to Vladim for his blogs and tutorials. They've been a lot of help.
Antonio, have you tried any of the Nikon T&S lenses? I have the 85mm myself and it works pretty good. I know your view camera can get you a lot more shift that the 8° or so that the tilt and shift lenses can get you. Do you have a preference from one to another? I find that going to f18 or so and adjusting with my T&S lens works decently well.
I'm using two strobes, Paul Buff Einsteins but I'd love to see FacetFlash's or others' lighting setup. Care to share a photo?
 
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