Help for Shooting Jewelry

[Gigi1]

Hi all,

I've been asked by a jewelry company to shoot their products for their website and catalog.
I am usually more of a portrait/event photographer so I can use all the advice/tips I can get.

I will be shooting with a Canon 7D. What lens would work best for jewelry? Can I use my 50 1.8 or should I rather go for a macro lens? And if so, which one?

Also, anyone have any recommendations for a lightbox or tent that would work best for jewelry in particular?

Thanks in advance!

[i speak in math]

You're going to want a macro lens since most jewelry is fairly small. You will want to fill the frame usually so you need to be able to get in real close. No need for huge subject to lens distance, so something like a 50mm to 90mm macro would be great.

As for lighting, you will want to read up on lighting specular objects. There is a lot of setup required for shiny things and you will need several lights, flags, black cards, white cards...

There are some good tutorials, before/after, and setup shots on the net if you search. The Strobist 101, 102 and flickr group are great places to start if you don't know much about lighting.

There is also a surprising amount of post processing involved with jewelry. Make sure your PS skills are up to the task.