Canon XTi with Sigma 70-300mm for Jewelry Photography

Hi, I recently purchased a Canon XTi with a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom (I am a poor student starting a business and got a great deal on both) and I am in some dire need of some tips. Yes, I have read the manual and yes I have done some research on both the camera, lens and photography in general. The camera is to be used for photographing jewelry for my business. I was wondering what settings/tips would be appropriate for this set up. MORE INFO: I will be shooting the jewelry from a tripod on timer mode. The jewelery will be next to a natural lit window with a reflector on the side furthest from the window reflecting light back on the jewelry. The jewelry will be set on a seemless white Bristol board. What would be my best bet for mode (manual?), aperture, iso (100?), any other important settings?

Since you're in control of the lighting, I'd shoot in Manual mode or Aperture priority mode (Av). That way you're also in control of the lens opening and therefore depth of field. The good news is that you get to experiment all you want and get quick feedback, especially if you move the images to a computer with a large monitor.

Lighting is important for jewelry, and you'll quickly see if you're getting the quality and effect you want. There are many articles available on the internet about photographing jewelry; you should be able to get some good tips there.

seri_art wrote:

Since you're in control of the lighting, I'd shoot in Manual mode or Aperture priority mode (Av). That way you're also in control of the lens opening and therefore depth of field. The good news is that you get to experiment all you want and get quick feedback, especially if you move the images to a computer with a large monitor.

Lighting is important for jewelry, and you'll quickly see if you're getting the quality and effect you want. There are many articles available on the internet about photographing jewelry; you should be able to get some good tips there.

Good advice.

As your subject will be just a small part of the photo and your background white... remember to underexpose if you measure the whole image or, better, measure for the subject alone. This is a good reason to shoot manual.
You'll get the hang of it soon enough.