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After graduating from a technical photography school, I landed a job with a local advertising agency. Little did I know that there was one close to home. 

The bulk of my work was shooting jewelry. If you've ever had to photograph jewelry (or sterling silver or anything reflective) you know how difficult it is. In addition, necklaces were an enormous challenge. Every link had to line up with the one before or after it in a smooth, not twisted alignment. 

We had a special set-up for jewelry. It was an 8 x 10 (size of the negative) camera secured to a railing pointed straight down on a white surface. There was a sheet of acetate that encircled the small, 2 foot photographing area on which the jewelry was placed. Lights were placed on either or both sides of the acetate, diffusing the light. The hardest part was making sure any links in the jewelry were smooth. 

We also had a 4 x 5 camera for other kinds of product shots and an overhead box light, which also softened the effect of the light on whatever was being photographer. We did have other lights as well but seemed to use the box light more frequently due to the great effect it created.

I stayed there about a year maybe a bit more, but due to personal reasons left and got more into the advertising end of things. Which led me to my next job at a local newspaper. It wasn't what you might think. But I'll explain in my next blog.