help shooting detail inside a bead?

[mikestuart282]

I have a few beads with a cool swirly pattern in them and no matter what i do i can only ever get a picture of the bead as the color of the detail, copper brown. The glass around the swirl is clear can this contribute to my problem? Or is it just enviromental like my lighting being weird or something? Any help would be appreciated
-mike

[Mike Jordan]

Post a picture of what you are getting so we'll have an idea of what it looks like.

The best way to get detail is to light it from underneath or behind. I like using a clear plexiglass or clear sheet of glass with a translucent cloth over it (usually sport nylon) and I place a light underneath. Sometimes you have to use a snoot or rolled up paper tube or something to limit the light to just underneath the object that is being lit. I've also used a snoot from the side with aluminum foil on it and a hole poked in it to let out just a small beam of light onto the object. This works better with flash because heat can build up quickly with a incandescent light. If you take two pictures, one lit from the front and one lit from the side or bottom and overly the images, you can really bring out the detail.

Mike

Mike