The first thing everyone wants to see after a couple’s engagement is the RING! Personally, I love seeing the ring the groom picked out because it shows me their style as a couple. Rings can be a lot of fun to photograph after you nail your technique. The first time I photographed a ring, I didn’t really know what to do. All of my beginning shots were either blurry, fuzzy, or just not appealing to the eye… Here are a few tips I’ve learned since that first ring shot that have helped me achieve images that I love!

1. Shoot Macro

To make a ring stand out in an image, you need to be able to get CLOSE to the ring. All lenses have a limit on how close it can be to the subject before it won’t focus (resulting in a blurry image). Macro lenses allow you to get closer to a subject compared to your average lens. Macro lenses can be expensive, so if you’re on a budget like me… these Hoya Close-Up Filters do the job just fine!

2. Focus on the Prongs

When shooting a ring, you want to get the big diamond in focus (duh!). To achieve this, you DO NOT put your focal point on the diamond. Focus on the PRONGS holding the diamond. Just trust me on this one. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself!

3. Use a Low Aperture

Aperture is the key to getting that creamy blur in the background of photos. Shooting wide open (a low number aperture such as f/2.8) will give you that background blur that most people want in their photos. It hides distracting backgrounds and helps your subject (the ring) stand out.

4. Choose Your Background Wisely

To help the ring stand out, choose a simple backdrop. You will want to stray away from a busy backdrop and avoid dark spots. If you are placing the ring on flowers, be sure to avoid open spaces in between the arrangement that will photograph as a dark hole.

5. Adjust the Saturation of the Diamond 

In post, use the saturation brush tool and run it over the diamonds. This will help hide weird coloring that was reflected into the ring when the shot was taken and keep the diamond its original color. This idea is from the lovely Katelyn James, and it was a game changer for me!