Working on photography

Yesterday, my husband showed me how to use the goodies -- timer, manual settings -- on our point-and-shoot. I decided to play with it and the lightbox today to see if I took better pictures after his tutorial and our last meeting. Based on my old photos, there's improvement. I don't have Photoshop or the like, so these pictures haven't been manipulated.

Old necklace photo on left; new necklace photo on right:

I obviously still need to work on glare, but I successfully cut down on it in the new photo. The silver isn't blown out this time. I also need to work on focusing better. It looks like the granulation at the bottom of the opal pendant is a bit blurry in the new picture. Focus also is an issue in the next series:

Old ring photo on left; new ring photo on right:












Better focus, but not perfect. So I'll work on that. (Do I need to pull back some? Am I abusing the macro setting?) I seem to have tamed the glare much better in the new photo. I have to admit I'm not sure what exactly I did with the lights. I was constantly fiddling with them -- moving them, tilting them, draping things over them to diffuse the light more. Taking notes after every single picture seemed laborious and I didn't do it. However, maybe I should reconsider until I have the process down.

Photography is a complete mystery to me, so I'm glad I see progress. Getting tools like a lightbox has helped. I need to learn more about the camera itself to deal with some of my issues. But I'm pleased so far. I wouldn't be embarrassed to post these new photos on Etsy, and that's my main photographic goal.

Sharon