Lightbox for Jewelry Photos: Any Advice?

**johnrowe** · 20-11-11, 09:57

Hi Everyone,

I have a client that owns a jewelry store where they make custom rings mostly. He wants to buy one of these light boxes or whatever the correct name is but does not know what to get exactly. This will be so he can setup a catalogue.

Can anyone give me some idea of what would work for him. I looked around BOB listings but do not want to help him buy something only to find out it the wrong item once it get's to him.

Thanks for you help :)

**Miss Jewels** · 20-11-11, 14:10

Hi. See if this link will be of any help. It's where I found my info to make my own box
Google

**Scarboro Fair** · 20-11-11, 20:34

i dont know if this helps? found these and made one for myeslf. They work well.
How to Make An Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY
How to Create an Inexpensive Photography Lightbox - wikiHow
Just a plain cardbord box and white cloth or tissue paper like they say?

**johnrowe** · 20-11-11, 22:36

Great info. Thanks. Honestly, I did not even think of making one and it's looks very easy. Will give this a go in the week.

**ingecrafts** · 21-11-11, 07:46

Originally Posted by Miss Jewels

Hi. See if this link will be of any help. It's where I found my info to make my own box
Google

wiaauw what a briliant idea, i was just taking photos this weekend of a few of my things and it looked horrible, now I will make me one of these.... :)

**Lukeness** · 21-11-11, 08:48

Light boxes/tents can be a great help with jewellery photography as the diffused lighting helps give more even toning and colour. One thing to note though, is that by diffusing your light source you are also going to lose stronger light points that create sparkle. This works when you want to show more details without light obscuring them (diffused light is used for the GISA photomicrographs for this reason) but it will also take away most, if not all, of the 'sparkle'.
For this reason professional jewellery photographers use what they call a "Sparkle Box".
This is basically a light box or tent with the addition of some strategically placed small LED lights INSIDE the box. This way the pieces get mostly diffused lighting with all those benefits without losing the lovely sparkles.
You could easily add your own LEDs to one of the above DIY setups to get good results.

**johnrowe** · 21-11-11, 12:29

Originally Posted by Lukeness

Light boxes/tents can be a great help with jewellery photography as the diffused lighting helps give more even toning and colour. One thing to note though, is that by diffusing your light source you are also going to lose stronger light points that create sparkle. This works when you want to show more details without light obscuring them (diffused light is used for the GISA photomicrographs for this reason) but it will also take away most, if not all, of the 'sparkle'.
For this reason professional jewellery photographers use what they call a "Sparkle Box".
This is basically a light box or tent with the addition of some strategically placed small LED lights INSIDE the box. This way the pieces get mostly diffused lighting with all those benefits without losing the lovely sparkles.
You could easily add your own LEDs to one of the above DIY setups to get good results.

Great info there Lukeness. Thanks. I reckon even great quality images but without that sparkle will not sell as well when placed into a catalogue. The sparkle is hugely important and now I'll make sure I add it into my little project. I never would have thought about it if you did not mention it here.

**pin_nacle** · 18-01-12, 15:36

I've battled for ages to get decent sharp photographs of our watches and jewellery without reflections - my solution was to invest in a Medalight digital imaging box which is pricey but the results are absolutely amazing, with very little effort. No lights to setup - it's all in the box and adjustable. It does however need a LED sparkle light to add the sparkle and shine to diamonds.