What''s the best way to photograph a diamond?

[Boston]

I took some pictures of my diamond and the ring after it was set and some of the pictures turned out okay, but I was wondering if there are suggestions on how to photograph the ring.

thanks.

 

[Mara]

There are a few threads on this..esp recently, see what you can find using the search tool.

The consensus is that you need either a magnifying glass (or a loupe with a big scope), or a really great zoom lens, esp on a digital camera to get those closeup shots. I posted some pix of my ring a few days ago under the thread 'Pictures of My Ring..finally' so check those out and see if that is what you are interested in. Or if you want more detail or a stone closeup etc. My digital camera has a 3x optical zoom and 6x digital zoom but digital zoom blurs the picture. Some people also have taken pictures of their stones through the IdealScope but it sounds like you want a picture of the ring itself.

Also would suggest, get very good light, direct sunlight if possible as then you do not have to mess with the flash. If the ring is not on the hand, put it in the ring box to keep it where you want it to be while you are fooling around with the camera. When you focus, place the focus box right onto the ring, not next to it or near it, as the camera has to be sure to know that the ring itself (or the main stone in the center) is your objective, not the velvet around the ring, etc.
Those are my suggestions, definitely look at past threads and then I would also suggest to just start playing around. If you have a digi camera its easier because you can snap pix, look at them enlarged on your computer, discard the ones that don't work, take more if you need to, etc. Film is harder to gauge as you have to develop them, and then you waste $$ on ones that don't work out, and you still have to take more if that is the case.

Good luck!

Post the pix of the ring when you get them!

 

[PoopEater]

If you are taking the pictures indoors, I recommend using a tripod. Also try to get even lighting of the ring. I find that my bathroom gives the brightest, most even light out of all rooms in my house. Set the ring in the ring box, or on some kind of felt type surface...this way the background won't detract from the main subject of the photo...your ring. If you have a Nikon digicam, you are in great luck. Nikons are thought to be the best cameras on the market for macro work. Attached is a picture that I took of a small flower near my house. Look at my next post to see how small this flower was. With a little practice, you can take excellent macro pictures!

 

[PoopEater]

here is the perspective shot. The flower was a bit blurry in the first pic, but this was mainly due to my not using a tripod when snapping the picture. Depth of field also played a small role.

 

[PuddyKat]

awesome pictures poopeater!

 

[Lugus]

Wow, that's the biggest penny I've ever seen! Where did you find one so big?