We've been designing websites for Jewelry Designers for several years now. And one of the challenges we've run into is how to take great photographs of the beautiful products that people have.

From the looks of the Photo Albums many of you already have this down pat. But I'm wondering if perhaps we may not want to share some of our tips and tricks for those who have yet to breech that part of the design arts.

I know just from personal experience it can be very frustrating to try to get a good quality image which looks good on a website, much less one which can easily be cropped.

Would there be any interest in perhaps a online course for photography?

I found some excellent resources for Jewelry or still photography. Ranging from items which are purchasable to items which you can build.

One of the keys to taking great Jewelry photographs which can be cropped or used on a web page is to have evenly distributed lighting. That means that there are no shadows, and that the object is illuminated from all angles. The way to do this is by means of defused lighting.

One excellent solution for creating diffused lighting is by means of something called an "EZCube". This is a light weight fold-able cube, within which you place your object. On the outside of the cube you put several light sources. The parachute type canvas of the cube diffuses the light from the lamps, and distributes it evenly within the cube. This creates a optimum environment for a great picture.

Example of an EZ-Cube:



These type of cubes can get a bit expensive however. The EZCubes themselves run from $60-$120. However you will also need some fairly descent pure white sources of light. The entire kit can run upwards of $300-$400. You can find cheaper version on EBay though.

The official source for the EZCube is: EZ-Cube Web Site

That having been said, there are some cheaper alternatives. In browsing the web, I found one site where someone created some excellent instructions for building one yourself from PVC pipe, and some materials. My thanks to Bill Huber for creating this excellent site:

How to build a Photo tent

Hope some of this information helps! Good luck and happy snapping!



www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent