I Reconstructed So Many Eyes Today ... How to Avoid in the Future?

astrostu

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Wedding photos. Proofs -> Final. Too many of the selected shots had key people wearing glasses with harsh glares, reflections, or spots on them that I then had to go in and re-construct a clean eye. :(

What tricks do you folks use to avoid this? I'm really tempted to ask them next time to just take their glasses off, but I'm afraid that they might object to that because it's "not really [them]."
 
Lighting direction. The strobist had a good article on reflections in glasses. Though sometimes it's unavoidable.
 
Position the lights a bit higher than normal.

Ask eyeglass wearers to lift the temple part of the frames of their glasses a few degrees at the ear position; that angles the lenses downward just enough to avoid a significant percentage of reflections in eyeglasses. That one trick will handle many,many problems.

Smaller main light sources will create fewer catchlight problems on the eyeglass lenses than larger light modifiers like 60 inch umbrellas or huge softboxes. Smaller sources, like 20 inch pan reflectors with diffusers will create fewer reflection problems than many other sources.
 
My first step is always asking people if they're comfortable just taking their glasses off. Lots of people wear them sometimes and don't wear them sometimes, and really don't care which they're photographed in. It's just that they happen to have them on and would never think about it. It's your job to think about it. Some peopleonly exist in their glasses and are horrified with the option of being photographed without them. In that case you can move on to the thing listed above. Or you could ask them not to be in the picture. Haha.
 
Taking them off doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Not because it's not "them" or anything like that... Because they've been wearing them all day, and if they take them off right before you take their picture - they're going to have red marks on their noses.

Yeah, that would be easier to fix in PP than a giant glare though... Derrel's advice sounds very good. That's what I would do.
 
Taking them off doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Not because it's not "them" or anything like that... Because they've been wearing them all day, and if they take them off right before you take their picture - they're going to have red marks on their noses....
Red marks on noses are easier to fix! :lol:

They should get light weight plastic lenses and frames that are properly fit.

My client pre-shoot checklist suggests having their optician remove the glass from their frames just prior to the shoot. I have the optician tools needed to remove or put the lenses back into most frames right there in the studio, but don't take the tools for location shoots.
 
Never ask a wedding party member to take their glasses off. If they are the type of person that doesnt need their glasses or doesnt like to be photographed in them, they will take them off on their own accord. If you end up with some bridezilla that has known a friend or family member her whole life in glasses, she's probably not going to be thrilled when she gets the proofs and sees someone captured in her wedding photos forever and it not portray them as she has always known them. Remember, its not about the friends or family members, your not selling your images to them, its about the clients. The bride and groom.

As a photographer its up to you to make it work. Follow the lighting tutorials, and any unavoidable glares that show, fix them in PS. Its what you are being paid for.

This is all my opinion of course
 
Taking them off doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Not because it's not "them" or anything like that... Because they've been wearing them all day, and if they take them off right before you take their picture - they're going to have red marks on their noses....
Red marks on noses are easier to fix! :lol:

Yeah. That's what I said.

Still - I think Derrel's suggestion is the best solution.
 

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