Suggestion for LF camera & lense to do close up work for jewelry?

[Dan Wilson]

Want to do my own photography for my color catalogs. I need to photograph aprox 36 rings per shot. Can you suggest camera and lense for doing this type of clo se up work. I need to know the process, step by step, from photography thru 4 c olor printing process. Where do I take the film for processing when done, how do I get color separation s made so I can take the separations to my printer. What type of company makes the separations. I am a total novice who needs to lean professional techniques in a short period of time. Can you suggest any books on techniques for close up work using 4x5 LF cameras. I live in Lakeland Fl, between Tampa and Orlando. Ca n you suggest a school for learning this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Dan Wilson....PS Thanks for the great web site, it has already help ed a lot!

[Tony Brent]

I have worked both in the photographer's area and in the printer's area of catal og production, particularly jewellry. I heartily concur with the other gentleman : Hire professionals.

For example:

1 8 x 10 color transparency of one catalog page would typically take us between 3 and 6 hours to set up, light, re-light, adjust highlights, filter, Polaroid pr oof, re-light etc.

175 to 200 line color seps for a 8 1/2 x 11 full bleed 4-color page can run arou nd $350 to 500 each, less if all the same focus and very close in color balance, etc. But not much less than 3 bills per, if you are to get any kind of quality at all. Then stripping and prep time, proofing, both blueline and color-key or m atch print, plate-making, press time and bindery all take their cut.

I am assuming that you run your own jewellry business. Think about how much time you have invested in becoming a proficient jeweller, and then apply that to the se other disciplines, each of which is a full time, highly skilled profession of its own, and I think you see where this is headed.