They are simply beautiful. Is it my screen that shows an oval shape or are these oval, Jeremy? I hope you have several of this darker shade, round if possible! How far have you come with the "putting together" the strands?
Sympathy! Pearls are really hard to photograph well/accurately
That is for sure!
The photo I posted was composed of 27 layered photos. When we shot with less, some pearls did not show their metallic luster. So with 27 photos, nearly every pearl was in direct focus. The only other option we can find is shooting straight down, but I don't really like that look.
No, there are no ovals in the strand. They pearls are true rounds. It looks like there are a few mistakes in the layering of the photo, which makes a couple of the pearls seem off round.
Lens stuff, in brief: Optics can absorb all your time if you let them. The technique involves using multiple negatives or digital exposures to mitigate the limitations of a lens - in this case the principal issue is focal length with a minor secondary nod to lens distortion - so that more can be optimally in focus and correctly rendered for form at the same time. Product photography is an intensely technical art - and this is some good art here! (subject's nice, too )
Yeah, what she said