All Answers To Questions

flash is 1000 times better constants are slow and lousy for photography, flash is fast 1/10000thy of a second and its perfect illumination, - ever see the still photographer on a movie set? they ignore all the fancy constant light set ups and use flash - - you can see a clean burst of perfect illumination when they take a shot EDIT: studio units have modeling lights they allow one to see the lighting - so do digi polariods......, a light tent is good, i prefer large difussion screens EDIT2: the last set i was on the still fotog took shots between takes - watch the making of a movie sometime -------

Continuous lighting allows you to see exactly how the lighting is covering your jewelry. You will want a light tent to prevent unwanted reflections. NOTE: When I shoot on motion picture sets, flash is specifically banned!!! I would think that this would be evident. When was the last time you saw flashes going off in a feature motion picture? Probably only when the scene calls for a press conference. We use the lighting used on the set and that is incandescent. We are also required to use a blimp to suppress the sound of the cameras shutter. I do use studio flash, but only when there are models in the shot (who move from time to time). A good set of incandescent lamps still allow exposures of over 1/250th second, enough to stop most motion unless the models are jumping And by the way, jewelry is not known to move much while it is being shot

Well, it depends on what you are trying to do. Continuous lighting is my preferred suggestion because you can see how things are reflected and it is predictable. Flash, especially in camera flash, is disgusting when trying to photograph metallic objects to show details in the design. A small tent or even a large sheet of clean paper to create a seamless background will be wonderful for the product. If that is your intention. Now in the case of strobes, if you are going for atmosphere and the details of the product are not important, strobe will be amazing. Absolutely no in camera flash though. http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ This is one of my favorites on strobes and the following is absolutely amazing: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Hot-Shoe-Diaries/Joe-McNally/e/9780321580146/?itm=3&USRI=phtogrpahy+flash

Yeah ill go for the continuous light too. much easier to get an idea while working over shiny things.

I get better shots with continuous lighting. Just my experience. Here's an example. I made the pendant in the picture. http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/ag1kulrn/IMG_0079.jpg