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I am trying to do some pretty jewelry photography and I am wondering what type of lens I would need to create a shot like this? Also what is the lighting environment required to take this shot?

enter image description here

Michael C
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Lee Leion
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1 Answers1

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You want a macro lens. In both Canon and Nikon lineup there is a 100mm f2.8 macro. Both are excellent. If I remember correctly a 100mm macro is made also by Tamron, Sigma and Zeiss. If you don't have one try a prime lens on an extension ring (the basic 50mm works fine).

On a cropped sensor body a 60mm lens would give you similar view as a 100mm on full frame camera, but the 100mm is still better as it gives you more working distance (it comes at premium when doing macro).

Lighting jewelry is tricky, as it is all shine and sparkle. You want as soft light as possible. A macro tent (the smallest one) helps immensely.

Be careful with your aperture. If you push it too hard (f22 or so) you will run into diffraction artefacts. Best to keep it to f11 or lower and add depth of field via stacking.

A stable tripod is must, and a focusing rail and wire release highly recommended.

Jindra Lacko
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  • Or go for shallow depth of field like in this sample shot. Stacking requires a very stable mount. A normal tripod may not be the best way, instead a clamp mount on the same table holding the subject might be better. – Chris H May 02 '17 at 11:07
  • @ChrisH the sturdier support the better. For jewelry a tripod is OK (been there, done that). For smaller subjects such as pinned insects you may need to ger more fancy. But the main message was not to overdo it with aperture. Diffraction is a real problem. – Jindra Lacko May 02 '17 at 11:20
  • I've had tripods that would do very well and others that wouldn't quite do it for stacking. +1 for the diffraction. – Chris H May 02 '17 at 15:34
  • I use a Manfrotto 190XB tripod - decent, while not spectacular - and an old film era focus rail. I have shot lots of fishing flies with it; these are roughly the size of smaller jewelry items. While the standards of angling press are surely not as exacting as jewelry catalogues my work with this setup was good enough to get published for actual cash, not just exposure (tm) :) – Jindra Lacko May 02 '17 at 15:48
  • Why wouldn't you use a lower aperture for a narrow DOF like in the sample photo? Why recommend something as high as f11? – JPhi1618 May 02 '17 at 20:32
  • OP will obviously have to determine the right aperture himself - without knowing the size of his ring and the equipment he will be using this is pure guesswork. I meant the f11 as maximal, not optimal aperture; but having said that the DOF in whereabouts of 1:1 magnification is very thin. I would guess about 5mm (I am certain there is a calculator somewhere) so not very different from the sample picture. – Jindra Lacko May 02 '17 at 20:50
  • Very shallow indeed : 1x magnification is achieved at the MFD of 30cm (Minimum Focus Distance) with the Canon 100mm. At f/11, it yields a DOF of about 2.5mm (dofmaster.com) and 0.6mm at f/2.8. DOF stacking is a serious option too – Olivier May 03 '17 at 05:28
  • What are the advantages of a dedicated macro lens, compared to tubes? I think about light leaks. As for me, I only used tubes.

    Also, why using a prime on tubes? I saw nothing using a zoom on a tube.

    It's about playing with the lens' aperture, i wouldn't give any specific value, as everything varies from lens to lens, tube length.

    My answer would be: macro lens with a short minimal focus distance (my 70-200 has "macro" written on it, despite having a 1m minimal distance), or tubes that are cheaper. And diffuse lighting.

     – Tuan Trinh May 03 '17 at 12:13
  • Light leaks with tubes are usually a non issue. But most people find that primes still give them better resolution than zooms. Macro lenses are optimized for performance at macro distances, while most other lenses at infinity (exception being special purpose lens such as the f1.2 85mm, which is optimized for portrait shooting). This translates to sharper image and less chromatic aberrations. But if your 70-200mm zoom on an extension ring works for you, who am I to judge? :) – Jindra Lacko May 03 '17 at 13:14