Day: February 11, 2019

How To: Wedding Ring Macro Photography

Wedding-Ring-Detail-Photos-8.jpg

Well we’re here today to give you a behind the scenes view of how we shot the photo above of this beautiful engagement ring from Brilliant Earth, plus a few more examples.

First, we’ll start off with all of the gear we used.

  • Nikon D810
  • Nikon 105 mm. Macro Lens
  • Nikon SB-900 Speed Light
  • MagMod MagSphere
  • White Foam Board
  • Canvas with Fabric for Background (We got ours from JOANN Fabric)
  • Props (Get creative with these!)
Light is one of the most – if not THE most – critical factor in getting these shots. The best environment is one that provides an abundance of soft, natural light. For instance, we chose to do this in our office space in front of a sliding glass door. Other areas where you can get nice light may be shaded areas where the light is more diffused. 

If you happen to be in a harsh environment where you can’t find shade or nice window light, you can create it by utilizing any tool that allows you to diffuse light – for instance the translucent part of a 5-in-1 reflector or even a bed sheet.

Here’s the setup we used for the succulent photo above. Don’t judge our veggies and hummus in the background 😉

We used the white board as a bounce tool to fill in any shadows caused by the front-lighting coming in through the window. This is important because it provides a more even lighting ratio.

Another thing to keep in mind, for any type of shot, is controlling your background. This is why we have a nice, neutral grey fabric draped across our canvas. It’s not distracting, and it provides a background that brings all of your attention straight to the ring.

One thing we struggled with for awhile was not having the appropriate lens to get these tight shots. A zoom lens could definitely be used, but often times it doesn’t allow you to open up your aperture as much as you need to, and with the added glass, the quality just won’t be as good as it is with a prime lens. That’s why it’s important to have an actual (Nikon) macro lens, i.e.: 85mm, 105 mm.

We are super new to using flash in our photography – we’re all about that natural light! But, it can be super helpful to add a different dimension to your photos. The MagMod MagSphere is just another tool to add depth and for our purposes, really make those diamonds pop without being too harsh.

We used this exact setup for all of our photo examples below:

One editing tip we pulled from the amazing Amy & Jordan is to add an adjustment brush over the diamonds and remove saturation. Depending on your surroundings or the props you use, the colors can reflect off the diamond and give it an unnatural color.

Let us know if these tips or sneak peek to our workflow helped you out! Drop some examples of your detail shots or any questions in the comments!