tips-photographing cathedral platters

Bonnie Rubinstein · Post by **Bonnie Rubinstein** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:19 am

Howdy fusers,

Does anyone have some good tricks for photographing glass platters, etc, all done in cathedral glass? As it is all clear, it is hard to get the right background (white looks best to show the colors, but then the piece looks 'flat"), I need to get it bright enough , but then there is alot of glare; shadows are good to show the shape of the platters, but then the shadow shows down thru to the background, which is visually confusing. A dilemma! Any ideas?

Thanks!!
Bonnie

Tony Serviente · Post by **Tony Serviente** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:37 am

Check out Cynthia Olivers web site. She did a great job. I have had some success using a light table to shoot on, and sometimes putting the work on mirror does the trick.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:39 am

Bonnie,

I would suggest two things:

sign out a book on photographic lighting from your local library. Lighting clear and transparent glass is very difficult and the books I looked at always had an exercise on how to light a clear wine glass.

Try lighting from slightly behind (if the piece is in a stand), or beneath. To light from beneath I set a sheet of white glass on a couple of paint cans an placed the light source directly beneath the piece. If you need to vary the intensity of the light use a dimmer switch.

If you have a digital camera you can get instant images so you can tell what is working.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Bob

Bonnie Rubinstein · Post by **Bonnie Rubinstein** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 11:36 am

Tony and Bob,

Thanks- yes, I should try a professional book on the topic.

I have been playing with the shots for months, literally. I should tell you what I've tried...
I am using digital. Tried on a sheet of white plastic.. lit from below and above.. but then the piece ( a shallow platter), appears flat. Tried a mirror, too refective (since the piece is transparent, all the colors are duplicated and it is too busy). Using just a white table cloth allows you to see the colors, but offers no 'pizzaz' to the shot. I am now toying with putting clear glass on top of the white table cloth, with about 6 lights shinning at it from all directions.

I am aiming for some glimmers of reflectivity..since it is the celebration of glass.. but also the 'classyness' of a shot that would be submitted for a better juried show (which usually discourages the reflections). I am my own worst critic.. so after dozens of shots.. I am still searching for the elusive perfect set up.

Do you think there is one out there???
Bonnie

Bonnie Rubinstein · Post by **Bonnie Rubinstein** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 11:53 am

P.S. One technique that did work well was using a pexiglasss stand, with a white fabric behind it.. the light then can come from all directions.. however, then the stand shows, since the piece is transparent.. and that is very distracting.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:18 pm

Hi again Bonnie,

Two more suggestions:

1) try lighting from the side as well. There should be highlights around the edges that might add that pizzazz you are looking for.

2) When I started photographing my work I did the "guy thing" and thought that if some light was good then more lights were better. I had 4 or 5 lights beaming onto the piece at different angles. The problem became that I had hot spots and glare all over the place and the problems were worse. The only benefit I had in my one sad experience with a professional photographer was that I observed that he used very few lights. I now use only one or maximum two lights and position them to minimize the hot spots.

At the risk of sounding like I am promoting fraudulent behaviour ... you might want to touch up your digital images in something like Photoshop Elements. I touch up all of my images before posting them on my web site. I return the colour balance to an accurate representation of the piece and touchup hot spots, over exposed patches and other lighting problems. I just got Photoshop Elements which is a huge step up from Photoshop 5 which I used for the current images on my web site.

Stick with it... how about posting one of your images ... maybe something will come to mind.

Cheers,

Bob

Bonnie Rubinstein · Post by **Bonnie Rubinstein** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:31 pm

Thanks for the thorough response, Bob.

I have windows XP with 'Photo Smart".. I have played the the exposure, etc.. but never attempted to work on hotspots. I'll see if I can do that.

When you use one or 2 lights, it just appears so dark. I'll give it another try, however.

I will post a photo later today.. (not sure how to do this on this site.) Any advice? Or, I can send it to you directly as an attachment...

Thanks again,
Bonnie

Tony Serviente · Post by **Tony Serviente** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 3:14 pm

Bonnie-I'd urge you to get something like Photoshop Elements. As Bob said, it's great for touchups, but also for major fixes like color correction, removing the thumb that got in the way, etc. I started with Elements, then moved to Photoshop and it's become as indispensible as my glass cutter.

Bonnie Rubinstein · Post by **Bonnie Rubinstein** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 3:36 pm

Hi Tony,
I have HP Photosmart and 'My Photo Center". I wonder how they compare to photoelements. I did some research- photoelemets did get great reviews.. just don't want to go out and get another software package that I may not need. (If it would do the trick, though, I'd buy it ASAP!).

Bonnie

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 3:41 pm

some posts in the past showed great set-ups for doing this with the lighting coming from behind white sheeting of some type ... so the light was diffused, and glare was dramatically reduced. check the archives for this ... it was this year. sorry i can't provide the link; maybe somebody else will chime in here with it. somebody else was looking for this particular set up about two or three months ago, and i saw the link posted again then. this was a set-up using pvc pipes and sheeting, etc.

Lisa Allen · Post by **Lisa Allen** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 4:36 pm

Here's a link that might help with set up to diffuse the light. http://www.pbase.com/image/13989420

Also, to get a faint reflection, have a white bottom surface and then put a piece of plexi down, then the piece on top of that.

Bonnie Rubinstein · Post by **Bonnie Rubinstein** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 5:11 pm

Thanks, Lisa..
I have looked thru the archives in the past months on my 'photographic quest'.. again, it is the issues of 1) transparency, 2) wanting some 'sparkle', ((celebrating the glass), but 3) not wanting too much, cheapening the look.. I am using white plexi, and it is, so far, a pretty good option. I'll just keep playing with it.

Your pieces look great, by the way.

Bonnie

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:04 pm

hey lisa, i like those confetti pieces! they're a bit like that good'n'plenty one i made of pink, white, gray and black. nice departure 4 u. i likes it.