How does Whiteflash take such great shots of ACA?

[Dr. Know Little Diamond]

How does Whiteflash achieve such brilliant clarity of the internal arrows pattern in their pictures of A Cut Above (ACA) diamonds?

I have seen many pictures of branded and unbranded hearts and arrows diamonds from different internet vendors and posted on this site, but in my opinion the pictures taken by Whiteflash show off the internal arrows pattern the best.

How does Whiteflash capture the internal arrows pattern with such crispness and clarity?

 

[damo]

I'm pretty sure they'd be taken with a digital camera, not 35mm.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Nikon Cool pix and image dome I believe

www.imagedome.com I think is the website.
We use it too and it is cool

 

[Mara]

SuperbCert's stone pictures look similar...very crisp and clear--visible H&A

Interesting about WF's stones (ACA) is that sometimes the color appears off in the picture. For example a D diamond may have a picture that has a tinge of yellow, and then if I see an I stone, it may be icy white. Obviously this seems a little backwards...and I know it's just the picture itself. But it could be a little misleading to some newbie buying a stone.

So if anyone from WF is reading this, pay a little bit closer attn when you take and/or edit the pictures...it sometimes looks a little odd if one happens to compare the stones together!

 

[Pussy Cat]

I think that in Whiteflash's pictures of A Cut Above diamonds, you can see the arrows pattern far better than in Superbcert's pictures of their diamonds. Additionally, the shots at Superbcert are at ten times magnification so you can see the inclusion(s), if visible at that magnification.

In a comparison of the pictures that I have seen showcasing the arrows pattern on such site as Goodoldgold, Niceice, and Superbcert, whiteflash is the best at producing photographs that clearly show the internal symmetry of the arrows pattern. These pictures look so good that, it could lead one to believe that they might be enhanced and this may not accurately reflect the way these diamonds actually look.


Meow

 

[NewbieHere]

Further to the posts above, I agree that the color on some of WhiteFlash's pics make it hard to compare a G to an I, however, having viewed 7 of these H&A's in person AND under a microscope at their offices, I can assure you the pictures of those stones were accurate.

In looking at the Superbcut site with the magnification, personally it made it harder for me to have the diamond "speak to me" when I could see the imperfections! Maybe others prefer to see it all, I prefer a nice photo, certificate and my own eyeballs!

WhiteFlash rocks!

 

[jlim]

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On 7/9/2003 2:20:55 AM Cut Nut wrote:

Nikon Cool pix and image dome I believe

www.imagedome.com I think is the website.
We use it too and it is cool

----------------

Cut Nut - could it be a daroscope?? I tried accessing imagedome.com but you need to be a member.

www.daroscope.com

 

[Heyjud]

A picture's worth a thousand words
As that old saying goes
And if done just right, with time and care
The beauty of the diamond shows!

Keep those pretty pictures coming!!!!

 

[LesleyH]

Thanks for all your great feedback all!

Pussycat - you said "These pictures look so good that, it could lead one to believe that they might be enhanced"

Thanks for the compliment but I assure you that those diamond pictures are not enhanced. They are a result of Brian the Cutter's obsession with perfection both with the ACA cutting process and the photography thereafter. He is glued to that photographic system and often spends far longer than we would like perfecting the shots.

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

 

[mike04456]

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On 7/9/2003 10:43:11 AM LesleyH wrote:
Thanks for the compliment but I assure you that those diamond pictures are not enhanced. They are a result of Brian the Cutter's obsession with perfection both with the ACA cutting process and the photography thereafter. He is glued to that photographic system and often spends far longer than we would like perfecting the shots.

----------------

Most gemstone photographers are inveterate perfectionists, but then they kind of have to be, since getting it right is so darned hard.

 

[barry]

Mara;

Thanks for the compliment on our SuperbCert pictures.

Barry
www.superbcert.com

 

[Mara]

----------------
On 7/9/2003 8

3:32 AM NewbieHere wrote:

Further to the posts above, I agree that the color on some of WhiteFlash's pics make it hard to compare a G to an I, however, having viewed 7 of these H&A's in person AND under a microscope at their offices, I can assure you the pictures of those stones were accurate.

----------------

Actually what I was saying was that a D diamond picture should be crisp and colorless as opposed to having a tint of yellow (could just be lighting as the picture is taken)--while the I colored diamond may not be so crisp and colorless in real life. I'm sure in person the D is colorless and I may have a small tinge of yellow--which is not always accurately reflected in the WF pictures. In taking pictures of stones, IMO its very important to look for these small nuances as a newbie about to buy a stone with no research may be confused.

 

[Pussy Cat]

Lesley,

Thank you for clarifying that Brian the cutter and photographer of A Cut Above diamonds does not enhance the photos he takes of his stones. It just seemed to me that his pictures are so generic looking that it’s still unfathomable to me that these pictures truly represent how these stones actually look to the naked eye.

Since the photographs of A Cut Above diamonds outer facets look flat white instead of translucent, it thereby beautifully enhances the internal arrows pattern. Whatever photographic method Brian uses to achieve this effect is in stark contrast to the other vendor’s photographs of the internal arrows pattern of their diamonds.

In fact, Nice Ice, Good Old Gold, and Superb Cert do an excellent job of photographing their hearts and arrows diamonds. Additionally, in my opinion, their shots more accurately represent they way the stones would look under a loop or microscope.

It would be extremely helpful to potential Whiteflash customers, if you provided pictures of A Cut Above diamonds under magnification and some other pictures without the “photographic system” that results in slightly artificial looking pictures.

Meow

 

[Mara]

Since we're laying out our wish list, one other thing that I think is lacking from SC, GOG, WF sites is a picture of the actual stone not under magnification, set against something like a mm ruler. This may sound cheesy, but faycullen.com does it, and IMO it really gives you an idea of the impact a stone can make in size, esp in the larger ctw. When you look at the stones under mag or with the special photography, they all tend to look the same--you can't tell big from small or anything. I also think the real stone set against a ruler or something will give people an idea of what the stone looks like in person, and the ruler comparison is VERY effective when you are talking something like a 2 or 3c stone! Sometimes I float onto fay's site just to see the big 3c rocks she has set against a ruler!

Also she does hand pictures which also gives you an idea of what the rings look like on hands but that's because almost all of her items are set.

Rhino did this with a few of his pears (not against the ruler)...he took real pictures of the stone and it really showed off the 'sparkle' of the stone without all the added Bscope and mag pictures. Yes those speak to the customer in one way, but I think seeing the stone by itself in great lighting will also help the buyer/consumer really see if they can imagine that stone on their hand/being presented to their fiance. Those pear pix that I think Rook was looking at back a few months ago really were beautiful, and added to all the other items on the GOG page--I couldn't choose between one or the other, they all looked so sparkly and amazing.

My two cents anyway!

 

[Dr. Know Little Diamond]

Hear, Hear, I wholeheartedly agree with Mara and Pussy Cat's wonderful insight and suggestions. Furthermore, I would like to thank you (Furthermore) for your detailed response to my questions. Thanks to one and all.

 

[Pussy Cat]

Since we are discussing and comparing pictures of Hearts and Arrows diamonds from different vendors, I thought it would be appropriate and quite fitting to attach four very comparable stones from the four different vendors discussed on this thread. As the old saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Here is the first shot from White Flash. It is A Cut Above 1.094 D VS2.

Meow

 

[Hest88]

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On 7/9/2003 11:31:26 PM Mara wrote:

Since we're laying out our wish list, one other thing that I think is lacking from SC, GOG, WF sites is a picture of the actual stone not under magnification
----------------

Yep, agreed. That's one thing I've always wanted on the GOG site. It would be really nice to see what the diamond looks like in real life.

 

[Pussy Cat]

Here is the shot from Nice Ice. It is a 1.08 E VS1 Hearts and Arrows.






Meow

 

[Mara]

Ooh pictures. Well to further backup what I was saying (because my rambling posts tend to confuse even me sometimes), here is a picture I snagged from Rhino's site on a Pear he has for sale. This is what I mean. Having the Bscope, the mag pictures, Sarin results, cert copy, etc etc etc AND this picture of the sparkle of the pear in real life to me is the entire package. To me a picture like this will only reinforce the Bscope results, which are still just a 'simulation' of the sparkle in real life.

The other sites don't do this either...and Rhino's pix are far and few between. I want more sparkle!!

 

[Pussy Cat]

oops

shot from Nice Ice.

 

[Mexi]

I, too, would love to see an actual pic of the diamond.

I wish there was a way to judge the color of a stone on a computer monitor. I know GOG has some stones marked for color in this educational section but I still have a hard time assessing its true color without seeing it in person.

 

[Mara]

Mexi--Since that is something that is not likely to be possible (e.g. gauging color correctly on a computer monitor) unless you view the loose stone from top, bottom, side in pictures similar to the one I posted etc...and even then it still is a huge variable depending on your monitor settings.

So my suggestion is to go into a B&M store and familiarize yourself with the different colors of stones. That way even if you are looking at purchasing online, you have an offline education that is 'hands-on' as well. Go into a store that has a good rep (e.g. not a maul store!) and see what their stones look like in person...look at a D or E, an F or G, an H or I and then for fun something like a J. Or even just something like a E, G and I. You will be able to tell the color differences, or maybe not. It's a great way to figure out how sensitive your eyes are to 'color', some people have no gauge for color (I am one of them) until you get to something like the J color category. Obviously it depends on the cut of the stone as well , as well cut stones show less color than non-well cut.

Have fun!

 

[Rhino]

haha... how about shots like this of each and every stone against a ruler?

This would take a lot more time on top of everything else but is possible.

Rhino

 

[Mara]

Rhino--the picture is amazing, but to me it still looks a little artificial and also magnified. The pear shot I posted from your site to me looks very real as how you would see the stone in person with no magnification. (e.g. on someone's hand) But of course YES on a ruler!!

 

[Pussy Cat]

Good Old Gold

1.08 E VS2 H&A

View attachment DSCN2312[1].jpg

 

[Rhino]

Those shots were taken with a 5:1 macro which is why they are blown up. Interesting how you'd prefer the pic of the pear over that. I hear what you're saying about the shot being more true to life (ie. the pear). I'll make the suggestions to my staff and see about incorporating these into our html's if you really think it'll make a positive difference.

Upcoming this month or early next month will be Isee2 results on our stones and the pics this generates gives a completely different perspective with regards to optical symmetry and GRADES this feature as well (the first digital device to grade 3d symmetry). It is so fricken cool.

We wil also be the first to feature full minor facet reports (upper girdle angles, star length/upper girdle ratios + lower girdle facet height/length + angles). What will be neat is that we will also be teaching our clientele what measurements to look for and how they impact the diamond optically covering 40 out of 57-58 facets that you don't get info on in most Sarin/OGI machines.

Peace,
Rhino

 

[Pussy Cat]

I have been repeatedly unsuccessful trying to attach the picture of the 1.08 F VS2 Superb Cert diamond. I think the file might be too large. Anyway, if you are interested to see the stone here is the link.


http://www.superbcert.com/products/index.cfm?Product_ID=421&Product_Subcategory_ID=3&Product_Category_ID=3&Product_Group_ID=1

Meow Meow

 

[Pussy Cat]

mkgnao, mrkgnao, mrkrgnao