Photographing rings
28 DigitalSLR PhotographyJuly 2019
6
LIGHTPAINTA daylight-balancedLEDlightis compactandvery
usefulfordetailshotslikethese;hereI’musinganLEDmacrolight
butyoucouldusethetorchonyoursmartphoneasanalternative.
It’smuchfasterthanrefininga flashset-upandcancreatedramatic
lighting.Movethelightovertheset-uptolightthebackgroundandthe
ring.If yourexposureisn’tlongenoughtolight both adequately, take
two shots and merge them in Photoshop.2
SET-UPIdeallyyou
shouldseeka space
of goodnaturallight
likea windoworopen
shade,however,as
thiscannotalways
bepossible,this
set-upcanbeused
anywhere,in anylight.
You’llneeda tripodto
lockthecomposition
andsupportthe
cameraduringitslong
exposure.Usea macro
lens– a 100mmf/2.8
is idealtoputmore
distancebetweenyou
andthesubjectfor
depth-of-field– but
if you’renotreadyfor
thatinvestment,add
extensiontubestoa
50mm lens instead.3
ADDTOYOURSET-UP
Let’sassumeyou
can’tfindanything
attractivetoposition
theringson– it does
happen,depending
onwhereyouacquire
therings.Thisis when
it’susefultohavea few
tricksin yourcamera
bag.A compactmirror,
sheetsof glitteredor
colouredcard,even
wallpapersamples,
allworkwell.Tryto
carrya smallrangethat
mightworkwithrings
of differentmetals.
Dependingonyour
choiceof set-up,
fairylightsin the
backgroundcanadd
atmospheretoo.5
FOCUSINGAsyou’ll
needthediamond
orspecialdetailsto
besharpthroughout,
you’lloftenbebestto
positionthecentral
AFpointonthearea
withthemostinterest,
lockfocusandthen
recompose.If you’re
workingwithtworings,
makesurethey’reon
thesamefocalplaneas
depth-of-fieldwillbe
shallow– placethem
ontopof oneanother
ornexttoeachother.
UseLiveViewtohelp
composeandrefine
yourfocus– if light
levelsaretoolowyou
mayneedtoswitch to
manual focus.1
LOOKATTHERINGSIt mightsoundanobviousstepbutit’seasyto
forgetin a rush.Makingtheefforttostudytheringswillsaveyou
timeandfrommistakes– arethereengravingsorspecialdesignthat
needtobeincluded,andif shootingbothbands,howdothesizes
compare?Doesthebride’sringfit insideorontopof thegroom’s
neatly,doyouneedtosupportit withstickypadsfora profile shotor
to compose them differently to show key features?4
CAMERASETTINGSShootin RawasyoumayneedtoedittheWhite
Balancelater.KeepyourISOratinglowsoasnottorecordtoo
muchambientlight,andin aperture-priorityormanualmodechoose
anf/stopthatgivessufficientdepth-of-field.AsI’musingextension
tubesthat’sf/10-f/14,butwitha longer,dedicatedmacrolensthiscan
bemuchwider.You’lllikelyendupwithanexposureof a coupleof
seconds or longer and the next step will be light-painting the ring.