taking photos

[Arkteia]

I am ashamed to admit it, but I''ll have to ask my appraiser to take photos of my favorite items to post here. I just never photographed gems myself. I have a 9.1 Casio and a 7 Sony digital cameras. They work great for travels. My Casio pictures of alexandrite, however, came out in two blurry patches, purple and green. (At least the camera is color-sensitive). I do not want to invest in expensive equipment because to me jewelry is a hobby, but could anyone recommend a cheaper camera that I could use for a start? I tried to follow advises posted here about using proper light and a tripod (a stack of books in my case) but I think I have to start with a camera. An advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[FrekeChild]

Do either of those cameras have a macro setting?

And what is your idea of cheaper?

 

[Arcadian]

Taking pictures is sometimes technique, sometimes luck. I''m not formally trained, so trust me, I know!

The sony should be fine if it has a macro button. IMO, Cybershots have some of the best lenses on a point and shoot outside of the Panasonic Lumix cameras.

I am going off my own experience (I wouldn''t want to start a camera war!) But I do recommend Sony and Panasonic very highly. My sphene shots were all done with a Sony Cybershot 8.1.

Gemstone photography is hard, no bones about it. Though I''ve been into photography for a while, gemstones is a whole other ball of wax.

When I take a picture of a stone I try to find the steadiest light source. These are just judgement calls you have to make.

Early morning and late evening pictures are the hardest to take. If its overcast out, the effects may be nifty but they sure aren''t always easy!

Sometimes you have to make your light. That may mean you have a couple of lamps on either side of your object, but if that works for you, its nothing to knock. As it is, my best incandescent light happens to be in the bathroom *lol*

Shoot on a single colored background at first. Most stones I try on white backgrounds first since that tends to work best. If not then I move on to black or a neutral background, if that doesn''t work, try any of the primary colors.

If you have steady hands you can go with the one handed technique (I do this a lot) With certain types of stones though, all that goes out the window!

Since you have an alexandrite, try shooting it on a piece of white paper first, then try it on something neutral like a grayish piece of paper (or sweater, whatever works!!). Be sure to turn off your flash because thats fill light and you don''t need.

Also, make sure that macro is turned on. Do not get so close to your object that its blurry on the screen, My Sony camera will give me immediate feedback when I lightly press the shutter button. This allows me to see on the screen if the shot is too blurry or not.

Tripods are amazing for this type of thing, Joby Minipods are less than 30 bucks on amazon. Those things are amazing and can hook on to anything. This can allow you to set the timer on your camera and actually hold objects to take pictures of them. But whatever you choose to use as your tripod and it works then thats what you should use as long as it steadies your camera. One of the best shots I got while in Iceland was a shot I took while holding the camera with my knees *lol* So experiment with what works best!

Lots of people never explore the manual settings of their point and shoots (thats if they even have them, though most these days do) and its not exactly for the weak let me tell you! But you can really up the quality of your shoot if you want to play around with them.

This is a good article that explains Aperture, ISO and Shutter speed in good detail linky. Its a pretty good read for those that are interested.

If you choose to keep the camera on auto, just make sure the flash stays off. Its not as much fun in my book but auto will work in a pinch.

I pretty much experiment until what I see on screen closely matches what I see in front of me. Digital cameras give immediate feedback which helps a lot.

Patience is a virture when it comes to taking pictures of itty bitty glowy things, so even though its a hobby, it should be a lot of fun! If you get too frustrated, the shots show it, so sometimes its just best to wait another day.

When I shot my first gemstone I took all kinds of shots, and NONE of them came out right! *LOL* talk about sheer frustration! I tried again the next day and the next and I got better at finding the sweet spot.

So please don''t feel terrible if you find it hard because I''m going to tell you that it truly is! Sometimes you just have to shoot in sheer volume to get maybe 10 decent pictures.

-A

 

[chrono]

I use a cheapo point and shoot digital (about $100 Kodak). The only requirement is to have the macro function which looks like a tulip picture/icon. Proper light and a tripod are just to make your experience easier. I like to use outdoor lighting as it seems very easy for me. It’s naturally bright but if the sun is too strong, just go to a slightly shaded location and the light will be naturally diffused. I’m one of those who has to take over 100 pictures in order to get 10 decent ones because my hands shake a lot (blurry) or was not able to capture the true colour.

 

[Arkteia]

Freke - I have enough Amazon coupons for $ 300-worth camera.

Arcadian - thank you so much for your advice/"instructions". Your photos of two peridots were amazing, and the one of a stone-in-the shell, truly, deserves to be reprinted in a calendar or National Geographic. There is a certain mood in it. Also, shots made in my favorite Massachusetts made me feel so nostalgic!

Chrono - you are so very kind to always respond to my posts, and you have a lot of knowledge and wisdom. Never mind shaky hands, mine are steady but as I suspect, they just grow out of a wrong spot...

I''ll keep on trying.

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 12/14/2009 11:48:09 AM
Author: crasru
Freke - I have enough Amazon coupons for $ 300-worth camera.

Arcadian - thank you so much for your advice/''instructions''. Your photos of two peridots were amazing, and the one of a stone-in-the shell, truly, deserves to be reprinted in a calendar or National Geographic. There is a certain mood in it. Also, shots made in my favorite Massachusetts made me feel so nostalgic!

Chrono - you are so very kind to always respond to my posts, and you have a lot of knowledge and wisdom. Never mind shaky hands, mine are steady but as I suspect, they just grow out of a wrong spot...

I''ll keep on trying.

I''m happy to help if I can. (I warn you that I have my motives... I want to see that alexandrite!

)
Thank you so much on the compliments of my photos.

-A