Jewelry photography is also considered a relatively professional direction in commercial photography. In e-commerce, How to shoot wholesale jewelry?I saw a lot of advertising pictures of jewelry on the Internet and found that they were all the same pearls and diamond rings, but the effect of the pictures was very different! The reason is the difference in the photography team, because jewelry products are not the general photography team and photography equipment that can capture the atmosphere, dignity and luxury of jewelry! Let me briefly introduce the reasons for you:
One is that jewelry photography is inherently difficult. The complex structure, metal reflection, metal texture, diamond inlays, etc. are all relatively fine, and they are not on the same plane. Jewelry shooting has increased a lot of difficulty. Some jewelry has special craftsmanship that needs to be photographed from the best angle to reflect it, such as inlaid jade and diamonds, which is even more difficult to shoot.
The second is jewellery, jewelry, watches and other valuables, whether it is for network use or album printing needs, the requirements for image quality and accuracy are relatively high. During this period of time in the photography studio in Guangzhou, I have summed up a few shooting experiences of watches and jewelry, which are not the secrets of jewelry shooting, but just a little personal experience and tips gained from continuous photography attempts.
1. The first point of jewelry shooting: Most of the jewelry and watches are metal textured and small in size. Avoid using direct light. The light that goes straight in and out is very hard, and the projection is obvious and it is easy to expose the object. For the transition, a soft box is generally used for soft light, which can well reflect the texture of the metal, avoid other cluttered environments from being reflected into the object being shot, and better express the transition between light and dark on the metal.
2. Jewelry shooting placement is a big problem. Some people say that 7 points for commercial photography and still life photography are 3 points. As for the placement method, as for some special effects and creations, then try it yourself. For watches with watch straps and resin straps, you only need to fasten the straps and find a force balance point. Due to the hardness of the straps, you can stand directly on the table. For steel strap watches, we usually use a Transparent c-shaped rings, the kind usually displayed on watches, prop up the strap before placing it. There is also a metal one that can adjust the size of the c-opening. You can also cut it narrower when you see it. Just avoid it with camera angles. Jewelry will be simpler. Jewelry photography such as rings and bracelets can be glued with double-sided tape or glass glue, and it can be repaired later.
3, 1. Lighting selection during shooting: To take a good picture, the preliminary work is very important, and lighting is the most important link. The characteristic of jewelry is that it is highly reflective, and they can reflect most or even all of the irradiated light back. The simpler the shape, the more difficult it is to shoot smooth reflective subjects. Improper lighting will lead to uneven light or great contrast between light and dark, and many and chaotic flares will appear. Since the texture and reflective characteristics of each jewelry are different, the needs for lighting are also different. The tools generally used for lighting include tracing paper, black, white, gold, and silver reflectors, spotlights, and soft boxes for matching and decoration, so as to meet the shooting needs of different jewelry. A. Lighting of diamond jewelry: The characteristic of diamond jewelry is that diamonds form many cutting surfaces after processing. To achieve such a bright effect. In the light arrangement, the method of filling light should be used to achieve the brightness of different surfaces and the highlights of different edges, so that each edge can produce clear light. But if he wanted to completely eliminate reflections from the jewelry, he could use tent lighting, using seamless paper to erect a “tent” on top of and around the jewelry arrangement. Not only did he cover the perimeter and the top, but he also covered the front, and then cut a hole in it so that the lens could be inserted into it for shooting, but the hole should not be too large, just enough to allow the lens and light to enter. Sometimes the lights are simply placed outside of it. Soft indirect lighting for the “tent”. This allows the light to be even and there are no unnecessary reflections on the jewelry. The “tent” lighting method, the light is uniform, and both the diamonds on the front and the side of the diamond have a shining effect, which can give full play to the reflection effect of each cutting surface of the diamond. B. Lighting of gold and silver jewelry: The color of gold and silver jewelry should be photographed to achieve a golden effect. Most of the shooting of gold and silver jewelry uses direct light. It is also necessary to use various small reflectors, including gold, silver, black, and white reflectors, to fill in light at specific angles to highlight the firmness or roundness of the surface of gold and silver jewelry. C. Lighting of gems and crystal jewelry: Gems and crystals are similar to diamonds in cutting methods, but the difference between them is that gems and crystals should highlight their crystal clearness, gems need to reflect the color of gems, and crystals should reflect Crystal clear. For multi-faceted gemstones, direct light should be used in shooting, and the light should be soft. The so-called soft light means soft. If the light is too hard, you can add a diffuser or tracing paper on the spotlight to soften the light. For the supplementary light of gemstones, it is necessary to display the brightness of each surface and the highlights of different edges. Not only reflectors, but also reflective mirrors and concave mirrors can be used. They can reflect or gather rich levels of light, making each facet Clear and bright. In the process of shooting, you can also use some small stunts, which will make the jewelry more secular. For example, use the star filter to produce dazzling light and activate the picture; use multiple exposures to increase the sense of movement and mystery. If you are shooting transparent crystals, you can dig a hole slightly smaller than the gemstone in black or colored opaque cardboard. After placing the gemstone, cast light on the bottom of the cardboard, and the gemstone will emit a icy and beautiful luster.
4. Photography distance and the choice of camera and lens: Since jewelry is mostly small in size, macro photography is the most commonly used technique in jewelry photography, and professional photography equipment with macro function is also essential. It is very important to choose a suitable camera to photograph a kind of jewelry. As far as the camera is concerned, whether it is a 135, 120 or 4×5 professional landline can be used for macro photography, but the 4×5 landline has great advantages for jewelry photography. It can change the perspective of the effect, and can selectively adjust the focal plane. During the shooting process, the depth of field can be fully compressed by rotating the front plate of the lens, and combined with the use of a large aperture, the focus will fall on the jewelry to be photographed, so as to maximize the theme and emphasize the sense of space in the picture. The adjustment of these technologies is impossible for non-professional landlines. As far as lenses are concerned, since it is macro photography, of course macro lenses are indispensable. The macro lens is specially designed for close-up photography, in which the images are extremely sharp and have good contrast. This alone is beyond the reach of ordinary lenses. Many photographers use ordinary lenses without macro when shooting jewelry, and extend the bellows of the landline to achieve the purpose of magnifying the image. The effect is often disappointing. The resulting photo image is loose and hazy, with extremely low contrast and large fog. This kind of photo does not achieve the desired effect. A photographer I interviewed said: “I have been using the Knight LS professional landline when shooting jewelry. The precision fine-tuning function of this landline is very smooth when focusing, and it is easy to find the focus between extremely short focal lengths, which is also suitable for jewelry photography. right
The demanding requirements of focus. What I use most often is the Schneider 120mm professional macro lens. The imaging sharpness of this lens is very good, especially when the aperture is set between f8-f16. When using a small aperture, pay attention to controlling the length of the bellows, if the bellows is too long, it will cause diffraction phenomenon in the whole lens, thus reducing the image clarity. Other macro lenses and 180mm Schneider lenses are also very practical, and should be selected according to the size of the object each time. “
5. In post-production, many people disdain to do post-production, thinking that it is not what photographers should do, but it is necessary to do post-production correction in commercial photography. Commercial product photography is to make the product as beautiful as possible. Either ask a professional retoucher to do it, or switch to documentary photography. I want to shoot jewelry. 5. There are other miscellaneous things, such as watch mirrors to avoid reflections, you have to slowly find an angle to adjust the light, etc. Metal watch hands are easy to appear completely black, so use angles and lights to avoid it.