Gemstone photography

Years ago, I took a weekend seminar at Metalwerx on digital gemstone photography taught by Charles Lewton-Brain. It was excellent. Does anyone know of any current on-line classes to help a beginner learn how to take good and effective digital photos with emphasis on gemstone color and special physical properties - like asterism, etc.?

Thank you for any ideas.

Mary Stachura

1 Like

Hi Mary,

I suggest taking a look at the courses on www.Photigy.com

there are many jewelry related courses…always a big focus on lighting…which i believe is a key aspect.

you can also take a look at their youtube channel…the videos are older…prior to the website launch…but will give you an idea of the owner/ instructor, and exposure to the other professional instructiors on the site…

i believe it is a complex process…lighting…post-production….etc…but he also shows how to get good quick results…and although he uses pro equioment he is always showing cheaper ways to get to the desired end point…

you can also take the knowledge used for shooting liquid in glass and apply…and for shooting various surfaces and edges from the various product photography courses…shiny…reflective…matte…curved…sharp…etc

great site…great instructors

julie

2 Likes

Hi,

i was just noticing the various membership subscriptions

$19/ month/ cancel anytime/ all access sounds like a great way to check out the courses…

$12.50/ month if you pay 12 months up front

also check out the instructors list…i lnow that Vadim Chiline has a great youtube channel (again, older content, but relevant)

julie

2 Likes

Julie’s online class looks like a fantastic resource!

Since you mentioned Charles Lewton Brain, I thought I’d throw out that Charles has a book on jewelry photography that’s not too expensive.

Like Julie mentioned photographing gems is kind of like photographing glass and liquid. They’re extra tricky.

For me personally, I’ve found that a jewelry specific light box is worth the investment. Most jewelry tool companies sell them in different sizes and costs.

For photo editing, I prefer Adobe Photoshop, but my co-worker, (who is a way better jewelry photographer than me) prefers Adobe Lightroom.

I mention that because shooting the images is only part of the task these days. Photo editing and color correction are equally or often even more important. (that is going to be especially true with gemstone photography)

Best of luck!

Jeff

3 Likes