photographing objects on glass

tsirko_69 · May 3, 2004

hi there
i am astudent of archaeology and i have to take some object pictures. the objects will be placed on glass what can i do to prevent reflections from the flash units???

Big Mike · May 3, 2004

What camera & flash are you using?

The easy answer is to say...Don't shoot so that the glass will reflect the flash right back at the camera. For example, don't shoot straight down onto a horizontal piece of glass (unless you can take the flash off the camera and hold/place it at an angle).

It may be as easy as just holding the camera at an angle to the glass.

A polarizing filter may help with stray reflections in the glass.

tsirko_69 · May 3, 2004

hi there!!!

i am using a nikon f100 and two studio flash units with square box difusers.
the objects are placed on a below lighting table but i have to use the glass because the objects leave marks on the paper and i have to change it all the time.
on the other hand the below lighting comes from bulbs and i am thinking of using a slave flash unit instead of the bulbs so ican fill in the shadows and avoid a backround that is a litle bit blue probably from the colour temperature of the bulbs .

what do you think of that???

Big Mike · May 4, 2004

I was hopping that someone else with more experience would chime in here...

If you have two strobes with softboxes...maybe you should turn the light table off. That might create some problems with the mixed lighting but the objects would still be illuminated by the strobes so maybe it's not a problem.

Again, as long as you are not shooting so that there is a direct reflection path from the lights, off the glass and back to the camera. I don't think there would be a problem.

Could you rig up a soft box to put around the objects you are shooting? This would be the idea situation.

Sorry I can't be of better help.

tsirko_69 · May 4, 2004

Ideals are like stars: you will not succeed in touching them with your hands,
but like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters,
you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny........................

Bruno · May 4, 2004

Do you have to use a flash?

tsirko_69 · May 5, 2004

i have to because i am working in a basement
i am thinking of not activating the flash but use the light that comes from the studio flashes when they are turned on and use a slave flash instead of the table light to illuminate the shadows in the backround and get a more neutral backround.

what do you think of that???