A Thread with an Edge

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Originally Posted by JETA

Thanks for posting this. Jewelry is the hardest thing in the world to shoot.

Can I ask you what kind of class this is? Thanks!

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Hey Jeta,

The class I'm taking is called Elements of Photography and Getting the Most from Your Camera. It a pretty basic class that only meets 1 day/week (2 hours) for 3 weeks. It's being offerd at the local university as part of their continuing education program. The instructor is a local pro, and it's the first time he has taught a class like this. I took it more as a refresher, and a way to get to know more local photogs, but I have learned a few things as well.

The instructor asked people what types of things they wanted to learn about, and a couple people mentioned shooting jewelry. That was the reason behind the jewelry demonstration.

Thanks for the info Michael. I really need to take a class, but the ones I've seen are too basic. There's hope and I plan to keep on looking.

Thanks again!

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Originally Posted by JETA

the ones I've seen are too basic.

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That is how I felt about this class, and it really is too basic for me, but I have still managed to learn something new every class.

OT - your thread had me thinking for the past few days and since I had a few minutes last night, I thought to give it a try to see if I could learn from the experience.

I used one umbrella and one strobe and played around with different angles. I found that having just the right amount of background separation made a huge difference. Too much separation and it seems a little lifeless. Not enough separation and the background details compete for the eye. In addition, the angle of the metal surfaces is crucial in how you want the reflections and highlights rendered.

The first image is with the umbrella as a diffuser. The second with the umbrella as a reflector. The background in both are the seats of leather sofas. You could have a lot of fun using different backgrounds - polished aluminum, ground steel, polished granite, a mirror...

Have fun with it!

Those are great detail shots Loupey. Combine those with some shots of the entire knife and you got something that's works for me. Love the detail!!

These look great! I agree - a combination of different angles would be awesome.

Liz

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Originally Posted by Loupey

OT - your thread had me thinking for the past few days and since I had a few minutes last night, I thought to give it a try to see if I could learn from the experience.

I used one umbrella and one strobe and played around with different angles. I found that having just the right amount of background separation made a huge difference. Too much separation and it seems a little lifeless. Not enough separation and the background details compete for the eye. In addition, the angle of the metal surfaces is crucial in how you want the reflections and highlights rendered.

The first image is with the umbrella as a diffuser. The second with the umbrella as a reflector. The background in both are the seats of leather sofas. You could have a lot of fun using different backgrounds - polished aluminum, ground steel, polished granite, a mirror...

Have fun with it!

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OT, Those knives are beautiful!
Jimmy

Thanks for taking the time to explore this project with me Loupey. You make some good points. I hope to continue experimenting with this type image over the next few months.