Photographing Jewelry

I shot this photo last week while working with Mark Ballard. He had found these really cool rings. Mark is really great to work with. Unlike some artist who try to micro manage photo shoots, Mark lets you know what he wants, and then lets you do your job. He also comes up with some neat things to photograph.

When shooting jewelry or any small objects, you need to have them as big in the photo as you can. This usually means working with a macro lens. Macro lenses have very little depth of field, so you focus and placement is critical. Notice in the top photo, all the rings are in focus. The bottom photo is how the rings were originally placed. Only an inch or so apart, but either the back ring on the finger was in focus, or the ones in front. No way to stop down and have them all sharp.

The solution is simple enough. You just get them all on the same plane. You position them so if you look down from above, they are all pretty much lined up.

Keep your lighting simple, and make sure you don't have any really distracting shadows. Use a background that is complimentary to your subject matter. Use props sparingly. The hand works well to show the top ring, and the lines pull your eye into the picture.
Simlpicity very seldom goes wrong.