Nikon D700
100mm f/2.8 macro lens
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO 1000
f/3.2
Shooting mode: aperture priority with -1/3 exposure compensation
Metering mode: evaluative
Focus points: single
Focus mode: one-shot
This photo was taken on September 5th at 5:28pm. I took this ring shot inside of the Lemont during the cocktail hour of the wedding I was photographing. I had plenty of natural light via large windows. Click here to see more from Kelsey and Michael’s wedding.
I choose ISO 1000 because because I wanted a shutter speed of at least 1/250 to ensure a sharp image. Because macro photography is shooting close-up, it requires a faster shutter speed than portraits.
Using a single focus point, I focused on one of the main prongs holding the center diamond. This is key. It’s very difficult to focus directly on a diamond as the camera needs an area of contrast (a line between light and dark) to lock a focus.
Below is the original and edited versions. Color and light adjustments were accomplished in Lightroom, ring sharpening in Photoshop. Because I am crazy, I desaturated small areas around the center diamond that were reflecting the colors of the flowers.
Click here for my Photoshop Retouch + Sharpening action. My entire Lightroom workshop is available online: click here for more info.
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I have also included a cropped version of the before/after with just the Photoshop edits. The photo on the left was color and exposure corrected in Lightroom, the photo on the right had the sharpening applied via my Photoshop action.
You might also be able to tell how I removed the color cast surrounding the diamond. This was also accomplished in Photoshop using and adjustment layer, but it could be done in Lightroom with the adjustment brush.
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