London's sunny and chilly today, just how I loathe it. Expect gale force storms next.
So, I'm sitting inside processing a batch of photo edits of jewellery and scarves for someone tomorrow, and I thought I'd share with you a bit of my process in taking macro pics, in particular of rings for my website and Instagram.
My macro photos lean towards fun rather than perfection, so more colourful settings and less white-web-ready backgrounds. If you want the white background there's the light box/ tent for that, or use a soft box, and pieces of black card and white card for creating dimension on the shiny jewellery surfaces. You don't have to travel far to get great pictures, I went to my local park;
Here's the before and after:
Equipment - Camera
1. Your Brain - the problem solver, use it to get unconventional solutions to finish the job. Remember, it doesn't matter what happened behind the camera, as long as your shot is to your standard.
2. Camera Body that allows different lenses - Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Fuji are good options. My suggestions will definitely work for Nikon and Canon users. I'm using a Canon 70D.
3. Lenses -
a) Macro, like Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens. Dedicated for sharp close ups.
b) Telephoto (Zoom), like Canon 70-200mm f4 L lens. Use to include more set design with ring.
c) Extension Tubes (TTL), my favourite method, like Polaroid Auto Focus DG Macro Set. Great as it converts your standard lens, like my Canon 50mm f1.8 mk1, into a choice of macro lenses, with different magnifications.