# Jewelry - Pearl Necklace, C&C please.



## Kenh

My wife has been making Jewelry lately so I of course said I would photograph it for her  

Let me know what you think....Is the background too much?


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## erichards

Personally , I'd use a satin background to go with the necklace.  Everything else is nice and smooth so the fur just doesn't really fit IMHO.


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## Kenh

I think I agree...I tried it on some vinyl and did not like it. We didn't have any satin around but I did have that red blanket.


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## Big Mike

I'd like to see a deeper DOF...with this composition anyway.  
I don't necessarily mind that only the front of the necklace is in focus...but I don't like that it's right at the bottom of the frame.  

Also, with the way the ribbon crosses and is white on red, that's where my eye wants to look, I think the angle & positioning could be improved so that the pearls are more prevalent.


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## Kenh

Good points Mike. I think this calls for a re-shoot. Thank you for your comments.


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## PerfectlyFlawed

I think you should use a silk/satin... and a black.. or maybe a light..like baby powder pink. something subtle. That red furs crazy!  lol


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## Kenh

I'll see what I can dig up. You think the red is too much?


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## PerfectlyFlawed

Kenh said:


> I'll see what I can dig up. You think the red is too much?




I do. it takes away from the subject... but maybe if u want red, go with something with less of a "wow" factor.  or a different material?


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## bazooka

I like the colors, but it looks like you have more light toward the back than the front.


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## cwwallis

I like the fur. Satin, silk black plexi and vinyl is the normal. Way to look outside the box! I do agree that the composition is off. The cross creates a visual bullseye. Just uncross. then your bright lighting is at top. Just feather the light so the front is brighter than the back. That will help keep your eye in the front on the main jewelry.


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## kundalini

I don't care for the fur texture with the pearls.  Have you considered going to your local Home Depot and getting a piece of tile?  I think the reflective nature would go well with the pearls.  They are many colors and patterns to play with.

I'm trying to light this glass skull (unsucessfully so far  :meh, but I light the reflection.







​Just a thought.​


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## Kenh

Bazooka, I agree with you on the lighting. I actually got the opposite of what I was going for.....I hate to admit it, but I think I uploaded the wrong image. :meh:


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## Kenh

cwwallis, I see what you mean about the cross...I will try that.


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## Kenh

kundalini, Glass is tough. It reflects everything. That is  a pretty good shot. Have you tried shooting it on a white background and using black reflectors on each side to define the glass?


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## skieur

You may or may not be interested but there is a standard method for shooting jewellry.  The jewellry is placed on a light table and shot through a reflective dome which can be purchased from a photo supply store.

skieur


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## Kenh

Thanks skieur...I will have to give that a try.


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## Soocom1

A few words of note:  I&#8217;ve done some photography for Navajo and Zuni tribal members doing their jewelry work. The one item they are most specific about is NO flash or reflective light off the piece or any blowout. The concept is to show the piece without overly bright reflections. With both film and digital it can be very hard to achieve this.  How I wound up doing so was to set up a rig OUTDOORS with plenty of reflective light off of white boards and using natural shadow. The end result was a photo that looked like it was done inside but is clear without flash.


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## Kenh

Soocom1....that is interesting... do you have any examples?


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## LearnMyShot

kundalini,
another approach is shooting on a plexiglass sweep lighting from below.


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## Soocom1

I will try to get some soon. I am contracturally prohibited from showing those publicly  because they are for compition use. So I will shoot several new examples and try to post them very soon.


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## bijdez...

i like the picture of the necklace but i do agree that it could use a better background to make the pearls really shine


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## sterlingp

try the use of natural things too....like burlap fabric, shells, drift wood,  tree branches  ...for example.... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			







www.sterlingpickett.com


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## Kenh

photobuff said:


> the red isn't bad but the felt look is really detracting from the necklace.  from what I remember a blue is usually more normal for jewelery, like a satin as mentioned above.  showcasing the piece is the real goal, correct?



You are correct. I tried blue first (vinyl) but the highlights were way more detracting then the red blanket. I will try this again with something similar to what you suggest.


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## Kenh

Soocom1 said:


> I will try to get some soon. I am contracturally prohibited from showing those publicly  because they are for compition use. So I will shoot several new examples and try to post them very soon.



Looking forward to it.


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## Kenh

sterlingp said:


> try the use of natural things too....like burlap fabric, shells, drift wood,  tree branches  ...for example....
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> www.sterlingpickett.com



You have given me some things to think about.........Sand and drift wood might work well with pearls ?


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## sterlingp

I cannot find my pics on driftwood to show you for some reason, here is a pearly  set on a neutral  burlap...I have shot on sand as well


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## Kenh

Nice......what is your light source?


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## sterlingp

Kenh said:


> Nice......what is your light source?


  lightsource.....the sun  I always take my stuff outside to photograph...the ones at sunset were much better of course....but I didn't have any pics on the burlap at sunset to show you


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## LearnMyShot

nice necklace!...but the red takes away from it. I think you could move in closer and crop some of the tie strings so you see the fabulous detail better....but good shot


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## Kenh

Good suggestions...thank you.


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## LearnMyShot

send us more images as you do them...love to see them


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## pearlhours

your wife made a great piece. so unique


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## 925silver4u

Jewelry especially silver jewelry is very difficult to photograph because it reflects in numerous cases up to 99% of the light it receives. It is very polished and above all it may contain color stones or diamonds that make the job even harder. We have done some exquisite photography for our own products. You can see them here facebook.com/925SILVER4U. By the way your photography looks good. Background is just about right.


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## fredgettings

We didn't have any satin around but I did have that red blanket.


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## Bitter Jeweler

Troll?


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## kundalini

Bitter Jeweler said:


> Troll?



Newest member.


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## Bitter Jeweler

Neil Jack said:


> really an awesome one yeah its background is perfect it can be a best part of the bridal sets as the necklace is the most important and best part of the jewelery sets.


Spammer?


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## mishele

Am I the only person that thought the thread was going to be NSFW........:lmao:


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## kundalini

Just for you Mish.


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## mishele

K........get this for your lady friend!!
A Special Necklace For Your Special Lady - Boing Boing


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## weepete

markjames said:


> Jewelry is nice but background is too red, Just try something nice background next time.


Think you're about 12 years late with that one!


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