The Light Tent
The first thing you'll want to do is purchase a light tent. You can find light tents from a variety of photography stores. You can also check out places like www.craigslist.org for a used one.
Light tents will range in price from around $30 - $50 or more depending on the size. Remember when buying your light tent that the larger it is, the hard it will be to light up. I would recommend measuring your largest jewelry display and getting a tent that will accommodate that.
Most light tents will come with a variety of back drops as well. These are usually very easily changed out with a dab of Velcro to stick the new back drop to the light tent.
Lighting
Once you have your light tent, it's time to light it up! I've purchased two small desk lamps that clamp onto a table side for mine. The goose necked lamps make it really easy to maneuver the light to where you need it. For light bulbs, I use True Light Energy Saving bulbs. The kind that last for 8+ years with the coil look. Reason number one is that they give off the best light I've found and reason number two is that they are better for the environment. I always take my pictures indoors, however I have heard that you can get great pictures outdoors on overcast days as well.
Steady Now
The next thing you'll need to get those perfect jewelry pictures is a steady hand! If your camera is shaking at all you're going to get blurry pictures. If you don't have a tripod for your camera, no worries! As you can see I use a stack of old college text books. About 4 books gives me a nice steady surface. I can also place the camera on the edge of the text books to angle it down into the tent for items that I might want to lay flat on the bottom of the light tent. Other items I've used is a jewelry necklace display bust. It has just the right amount of slant to hold the camera steady and get a great 'looking down' shot.
To Flash or Not to Flash
I still have not mastered this, but for the most part I do flash. A lot of times I'll take two pictures, one with and one without the flash. Since they always look different on my computer screen than they do on the camera screen, it's an easy way to choose what works best for you.
The Camera
I saved the most important for last, your camera! Make sure your camera has a spot focus feature. Our camera is a Pentax Optio S40 and it has been a GREAT little camera for us. Read through your manual on how to get good close up pictures and you'll be all set to go!
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