Jewelry is another difficult subject to photograph. This is mainly because there is so much detail in jewelry that lighting it properly can be a challenge. I shot this ring for my portfolio. I wanted to have some versatile images to show to prospective employers.

The size of your subject plays a huge factor when photographing jewelry. Usually when photographing jewelry you use special equipment so that you can get the best lighting. I was lacking this kind of equipment so I had to do the best with what I had.

For this image I placed the ring on top of a piece of glass. I elevated the glass so that I could put a light underneath it. I also had tiny little reflectors placed carefully around the ring to reflect light into the desired places. Then, I placed a small softbox above the ring. I took two individual photographs of the ring and later placed them together in photoshop.

First, I lit the band the way that I wanted it to look. Then, I lit the saphire and diamonds, which was the most difficult part of the shoot. After the photography work was complete, I opened each photograph in photoshop and tweaked with the color balance until I achieved the desired look. I finally placed the photographs together to get the final image.

I used a 4X5 camera with a digital back attached to it. This photo shoot took me close to 8 hours to accomplish.