what am i doing wrong with my picture printing?

Question

ok let me explain
iam a jeweller and i need to be able to take nice detailed pictures and print them to send to clients and new shops.
the problem im having is that i take a picture and then i use one of the many photo printing stores on the web were u just upload ur pictures and they print and deliver for you .
i recently did this with some new jewellery and they came back very blurry and not very good.
but iam wondering if its because i edit my pictures to keep the light the same and to crop what id like to know is if its the cropping of the orignal picture that is making the end result look find and detailed on the computer but very blurry and basically crappy on a printed picture ?

any insight would be great as im at a loss

another little side question would be do you think its better to have my pictures printed at a professional printing place like a kodak shop or once i figure out whats wrong with my pictures will a online printing shop be fine ?

i currently use picasso and i think its brilliant the best thing iv found for editing and storing my pictures

i should say that blurry is not really the word for the pictures when they come back pixelated is more the right word as i know people are thinking i need to use a tripod

im becoming quite annoyed at the fact barely anyone has actually given me any advice that is relevant. i DO NOT want to be told i need a new camera and i dont want to be told i should pay a professional i simply asked what i needed to do
im becoming less enthusiastic about yahoo answers simply because you have to overcomplicate every single question some people cant afford to hire a professional or a new camera and i think you should all be aware of that and give advice relevent to the question

Answer 1

If your camera has low resolution, excessive cropping will show the pixels and make the pictures look grainy. Get a screw-on closeup lens and get closer. Make very sure that the pictures are in focus. A good way is to bracket the focus with one you think is correct, one a little under, and one a little over. Eliminate the effects of movement by using a rest, such as a tripod. Consider editing your pictures yourself and then transferring them to a CD or DVD for printing, or get a photo printer. A good, user friendly editing program is Google Picasso and it's FREE. Download: http://www.picasa-free-download.com/

Answer 2

I know this isn't what you want to hear but you need a DSLR with a macro lens and a tripod. You also need a good lighting arrangement. The Oct. 2007 issue of Shutterbug Magazine is devoted to lighting. (shutterbug.com)

Your problem is caused by taking a tiny section of your image and trying to enlarge it to a viewable size. If you shot your images at ISO 25 you might be able to get reasonably decent results - but likely not good enough for a catalog.

If you have a 4x6 print of good quality and decide to make an 8x12 you are making a 4x enlargement. (4 x 6 = 24 square inches; 8 x 12 = 96 square inches; 96 divided by 24 = 4) Any imperfection will be magnified 4 times.

Check out these sites:

mkdigitaldirect.com

tabletopstudio.com

booklocker.com

Answer 3

Hi Vicky,

Could you please send me a few examples of your problem work so I can take a look. Photographing jewelry is somewhat specialized and sometimes photographers shoot nothing but jewelry as there is big money to be made by those that are really good. Lighting jewelry is tricky because not only do you have to "tent off" your set to prevent unwanted reflections but learning to light so your highlights give the viewer the feeling of depth, roundness and dimension of the piece you are shooting but making sure those same highlights don't become a problem by covering any stones, etchings etc.or cause any color shift in the type of metal or stones being used. I am gonna give you a link here to my flickr storage area that is holding my images my new website is rebuilt. If you find the set titled "commercial and illustration" you should find a few jewelry shots in there. Please feel free to email me the images so I can give you some pointers and maybe some idea of what equipment you have so I may also add some pointers on lighting and using reflectors and such. Talk to you soon.
Chris
[e-mail]
www.flickr.com/photos/sweetlight/sets

Answer 4

If you want to do this yourself, then follow Edwin's advice. I'll add, that if you are sending these imges out to clients, then don't settle for CVS/walgreens/walmart prints. Go to a pro photolab local or use an online pro lab like www.mpix.com

My advice to you is...stick with what you are good at...creating jewelry. Hire a product photographer and let them deal with it. I do product shots/still life all the time and there is more to it than taking a snap shot and processing it in software later.

Do what's right to make your pride and joy look it's best.

Answer 5

I would need to see an image to comment!

You should hire the services of a professional photographer, particularly for jewelery sales. Good images sell, bad images are a red flag to question the quality of your product.

My advice.......get a professional and pay a fair price in accordance with the expected profits.