Eyeglass reflection

[tom beard]

I just got my D-90 about a week ago and am stumbling through the book and trying to make sense out of the menus, but I am making progress. My neighbors asked me to shoot some Xmas photos of them to include in Christmas cards. I shot them with and without the built in flash. Most of the frames with flash were unusable because if eyeglass reflection, and a few of them without flash had the same problem. We did manage to salvage some usable frames. Would a Circular polarizing filter have corrected this? I received a SB-600 speed light a couple of days ago, so most of the expensive things are taken care of. I still have to order lens cleaning stuff, filters and a tripod. Should I put the Polarizer at the top of the list?

By the way, I bought from B&H and they were really helpful and had the best prices and great friendly service and I highly recommend them.

Thanks, as always, Tom Beard

 

[snowbear0924]

I can't say for sure, but I doubt the CP would eliminate flash reflection. The normal way is to pose the person(s) with glasses at a slight angle so they aren't looking directly at the flash. You can also try bouncing the SB600's flash off of the ceiling or a side wall. Take a couple of test shots first and zoom in on the preview to check the results.

Good Luck.

Charlie

 

[Derrel]

No, the CP will not eliminate brilliant,specular highlights caused by a flash reflecting off of eyeglasses. The easiest solution would be to bounce the flash off of a wall or the ceiling, to eliminate the hot-spot that eyeglasses so often give.

The circular polarizer would be useful if there's any blue sky where you live during these winter months. It can also be helpful for cutting down the overall amount of light coming into the lens when shooting fill-flash outdoors in bright conditions, like say in snowy areas...you might try the CP on some backlighted closeups in a snowy area if you can get to some snow this Dec-January.

Congrats on the D90 and SB 600! Ain't life wonderful when Santa brings a grown man new toys early?