Suggestion for LF camera & lense to do close up work for jewelry?

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Want to do my own photography for my color catalogs. I need to photograph aprox 36 rings per shot. Can you suggest camera and lense for doing this type of close up work. I need to know the process, step by step, from photography thru 4 color printing process. Where do I take the film for processing when done, how do I get color separations made so I can take the separations to my printer. What type of company makes the separations. I am a total novice who needs to lean professional techniques in a short period of time. Can you suggest any books on techniques for close up work using 4x5 LF cameras. I live in Lakeland Fl, between Tampa and Orlando. Can you suggest a school for learning this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Dan Wilson....PS Thanks for the great web site, it has already helped a lot!

-- Dan Wilson (wiltcd@gate.net), January 08, 1998

Answers

Two options: hire a pro to do it or hire a pro to teach you. Either will be much less expensive in terms of money, time and frustration level. If you are going to a catalogue or product pages you need to analyze the final goal carefully as there may be many ways to produce what it sounds like you need for less money while maintaining top quality.

-- Dan Smith (shooter@brigham.net), January 10, 1998.

I have worked both in the photographer's area and in the printer's area of catalog production, particularly jewellry. I heartily concur with the other gentleman: Hire professionals.

For example:

1 8 x 10 color transparency of one catalog page would typically take us between 3 and 6 hours to set up, light, re-light, adjust highlights, filter, Polaroid proof, re-light etc.

175 to 200 line color seps for a 8 1/2 x 11 full bleed 4-color page can run around $350 to 500 each, less if all the same focus and very close in color balance, etc. But not much less than 3 bills per, if you are to get any kind of quality at all. Then stripping and prep time, proofing, both blueline and color-key or match print, plate-making, press time and bindery all take their cut.

I am assuming that you run your own jewellry business. Think about how much time you have invested in becoming a proficient jeweller, and then apply that to these other disciplines, each of which is a full time, highly skilled profession of its own, and I think you see where this is headed.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), September 08, 1998.


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