noob question: which lens do I need to achieve like the pictures attached?

[hbsh990]

hello guys,

I own a jewelry store and I take the photos of the merchandise by myself. obviously from the question, I am not a professional.

I have been trying to get a specific type of photos but can't get the results that I want.  I will explain from the photos attached that Are taken by other jewelry stores from instagram as examples, they probably take photos from mobile cameras which is easily doable. the red circled areas is where I have a hard time to get them in focus. these areas seem to be OUT of focus in every photo, as you see it's mostly the edge of the necklaces or for example if there are many pendants stacked under each other, it will focus on one pendant and leave another out. How do I get wide area focus? Is it in the settings or do I need a specific lens?

any lens that you would recommend? Or settings in the camera? I have tried 90mm, 50mm and 24-70mm but to no avail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hbsh990]

 

example no. 1:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZppR2KhqPp/?utm_medium=copy_link

here you see pendants stacked under each other. When I tried to take a photo like this, some pendants become are out of focus with the chains near the shoulders at the edge of the photo.

example no.2 :

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYe1o6UPkzL/?utm_medium=copy_link

In my experience, the part of the necklaces near the shoulder, the short necklace and the diamond pendant in the lower part would be out of focus.

example no.3:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYCeGuyrM3b/?utm_medium=copy_link

When I try to get a close up of earrings with a chain necklace like this, either the earrings or the necklace becomes out of focus. I can't get them both.

 

In summary, it seems my setup mostly focuses on the center and extends a little bit around it. It doesn't give me everything in the frame like the examples I have provided.

[hbsh990]

Example no. 4:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaPy0jzJqHs/?utm_medium=copy_link

As you can see from the picture, all the pieces look clear.

if I try to take a photo like this one, the earrings or the bracelet would be out of focus. I can't seem to get the whole frame, only a part of it.

 

[Pieter]

Did you try using a smaller aperture to increase depth of field? Dial in A-mode and turn the aperture dial to about F/8 - F/11 if light permits.

Which lens are you using right now? Some lenses are a bit softer toward the edges or suffer from field curvature (non-flat plane of focus) at close focusing distances.

[XKAES]

Exactly.  First, make sure the jewelry and the film plane are parallel -- lined up on the same plane.  It's probably easier to move the camera that the model.  If the model is leaning slightly backward, and the camera is too, you will magnify the problem. 

Then, stop down the lens until you are satisfied.  Tell us what lens you are using.  A true macro lens will have a flatter field of focus, as Pieter mentioned, but stopping down what you have might solve the problem.  You might need to increase the light because decreasing the speed along might lead to blurring.

[hbsh990]

6 hours ago, Pieter said:

Did you try using a smaller aperture to increase depth of field? Dial in A-mode and turn the aperture dial to about F/8 - F/11 if light permits.

Which lens are you using right now? Some lenses are a bit softer toward the edges or suffer from field curvature (non-flat plane of focus) at close focusing distances.

I will try and see if it works. I am using 90mm and 24-70mm.

I just bought the 24-70mm thinking it will solve my issue, it's a little better as it has wider focus area than 90mm but still don't get me the results I'm after like I explained.

 

Edited February 22, 2022 by hbsh990

[Pieter]

The closer you get to your subject, the thinner the plane of focus (depth of field) becomes. The Sony 90mm macro allows you to get really close, leaving you with a paper thin plane of focus. Especially when shot with the aperture wide open. Take some distance from your subject and close the aperture down a bit.

[alasdairmac]

The best solution would be to focus stack. (If you are not familiar with that there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube). Essentially it is taking a number of images, each focussed on a slightly different area of the object being photographed. You'd normally start on the nearest point of the object that is in focus and then gradually work your way to the back. Depending on the depth of the object and the depth of field you are getting from the aperture you are using combined with your distance from the object, you may need to take quite a large number of shots; 30+ would not be unusual. You can then use post-processing software to combine the multiple images into one new image using the best focussed areas of each. It needs a bit more work than taking a single image but it will be well worth it for the quality you'll get out of it.

[XKAES]

K.I.S.S.