How do you get such great pics of your stones/rings?

[kristy_lyn]

I''m just curious, since every time I try to take a picture of any ring or piece of jewelry, it looks like a blurry piece of crap....

But, all of your rings... wow!

 

[Lorelei]

I am no expert here but here is what I have learned from the others who take great pics.

Take with the sunlight behind you and use macro mode on the camera ( flower icon) this will give a sharper focus. If you can rig up a tripod so much the better - keep the ring and your hands as steady as possible. Also be aware that out of 100 photos for example, you might only get a few good ones, so keep practising. You can also shoot through a magnifying glass or loupe if you wish.

 

[kenny]

Ideally you'd have a single lens reflex camera that allows you to focus yourself.

Most people don't.
Personally I think this is a tragic development in camera technology.
Giving up focus control is like putting the camera on autopilot.

If you can't control focus you have to find out if your camera has macro mode.
Next find out if it allows you to control "where" it focuses.
Some have one or more little shapes in the viewfinder, like a square, that you can position over what you want in focus.
Others are such that that you center what you want infocus, push the shutter release half way down so the camera focuses on what is in the center then while holding the button down (which maintains the focus) move the camera to compose your shot, and then press the button all the way down.

Look up focus in your camera's owner's manual.
Pay attention to minimum focusing distance.
Even if you have a macro mode there will be a minimum focusing distance.
Resists the temptation to move closer than that distance.
If you DO want the diamond to be even larger take the pic and "zoom" in afterwards by cropping on your computer (some cameras can do this too.)
Note: put the camera on the highest resolution so that after you electronically "zoom" or crop you still have plenty of pixels left.

Also lots of light helps.
It may cause the camera to "stop down" with its aperture which will improve focus by increasing depth of field.
Find out if your camera has a aperture and a shutter priority mode.
Put it on the mode that allows you to select the aperture.
The higher the aperture number the smaller the aperture (hole in the lens) and the greater the depth of field.
Doing this does increase the need for more light and the length of exposure so a tripod is helpful to prevent camera shake.
If you don't have a tripod put the camera down on the table (and position your diamond carefully and NOT on you hand) and set the camera to take the pic via the timer so your hand is not shaking the camera.

Hope this helps.