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Can somebody give instructions on taking digital photos of finished glass art. I keep getting reflections in photo and of course they are always in the critical area. I can create a light box with opaque plexiglass or some other type of diffuser to eliminate bright spots, but what type of lamps should i use to get true colors in the photos? Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Halogen lights are the best for true color. You can find lots of lighting tips here
http://www.lightingmagic.com/
-Amy

One of the big advantages of digital photography is the ability to obtain a very good white balance with almost any broad spectrum light source (quartz, fluorescent, daylight, tungsten, etc...). Quartz halogen lamps are inexpensive, readily available and easily positioned to minimize reflections. Large diffusers are nice, but if they are not positioned properly, they can cause large reflections in the glass. There are diffusing domes available for photographing small pieces of glass (such as jewelry), but they become difficult to use with larger pieces like bowls and platters.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh2.sph/Fra ... 47C71F6D20

Also, make sure that the glass is placed a small distance from the background to reduce harsh shadows. Use a continuous background such as roll paper and drape it from above the glass, continuing under and below the glass so there are no corners in the background.

Tony

The angle of the light going toward your glass will equal the angle of the light reflected off of your glass. Bottom line if you shoot your object with the light straight on it will all reflect back right into your camera. You want to set up your object with the lighting coming from 3 different directions preferably. These are the top and both sides. Actuall you want the light on the sides just a little towards the camera but not much more. The light on top you may want a diffuser as depending on the object and it's position you will see the light in your object.

If you have a camera with programmable settings you want to set the camera for apature priority. Set your camera for the highest F stop possible. ( This sets the opening of the iris of the camera) The higher the F stop the smaller the opening of the iris on the lens. This gives you a deep field of focus so that the back and the front of your glass is in focus. This is at the expense of shutter speed. Since you have cranked the iris down the camera will ask for a longer shutter speed. On my camera the highest F stop is F11. (Digital camera F stops don't go as high as standard 35mm cameras. That is a different discussion.) Typical shots at F11 require a 2 second shutter exposure. Because of this I use a tripod and use a remote shutter trigger.

Tony is right in that you want a smooth background. I went to WalMart and got some plain black fabric. I hang it on a large dowel rod about 7' off the ground and drape it so it makes a gentle slope down to the table. From the perspective of the camera this gives a black background that goes off to infinity.

In most photography, the lighting is key. I went to the expense and got good photography lights as I figure I'm going to do all of my own photography. Some people on the board go to photographers, which is fine too. If you are intersted the place I got my lights from is http://www.alienbees.com. Funny name but they are great lights and they stand behind their products.

Hope this helps,

Phil

Tony - thanks for the link - would you recommend that tent set up for taking pictures of dichroics?

I am having a really hard time getting the colors to show up and I know from seeing other people's work that it can be done.

Any other suggestions gladly welcomed! Kim K

Photo tents are great. They're also cheap and easy. The light source is controlled. Hot spots are virutally eliminated. You'll get the colors out of your dichro.

My tent consists of pvc pipe and heavy white fabric. Halogen lamps clamp where ever I need. Top light, side light, or backlight. And, it also breaks down for storage.



jerry

Tony Smith >>> ...snip...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh2.sph/Fra ... 47C71F6D20

Also, make sure that the glass is placed a small distance from the background to reduce harsh shadows. Use a continuous background such as roll paper and drape it from above the glass, continuing under and below the glass so there are no corners in the background.

Tony <<<

Sorry to be so "dim", but the lamps and other equipment in the photo look like they are very close to the tent. Is the tent supposed to function like the background roll paper you mention, or are the photographer and the artwork inside the tent? It doesn't look very big...

Thanks!

Erik

Erik Brown wrote:Sorry to be so "dim", but the lamps and other equipment in the photo look like they are very close to the tent. Is the tent supposed to function like the background roll paper you mention, or are the photographer and the artwork inside the tent? It doesn't look very big...

Thanks!

Erik

the tent acts as a diffuser, in that it prevents hot spots and spreads the light over the entire area.

I just read a pretty good thread yesterday on photographing jewelry with a digital camera on the crafts report site: http://www.craftsreport.com

One of the problems with trying to photograph dichroics with an on-camera flash is that you don't get any of the color reflecting back at the camera. The best way is to use diffuse lighting in from the sides... Another way that will require some trial and error is to take a piece of white cardboard or foamcore and stand it up behind your dichroic pieces (assuming that the dichroics are laying flat). Now tip the white cardboard back toward the camera. This forms a diffuse reflector and will reflect some of the flash from the camera back toward the glass from another direction which will make the dichroic colors show up.

Tony

IMO - never use flash with this type photography. It'll create hot spots everytime and you'll never get the colors.

I'll have to remember the white card stock trick. Reflected and diffused light make all the difference.

Jerry,

If you are off axis and can get some fill from the reflective card, you can get away with it... sometimes.

Tony

Tony,

Thanks for the tip. I can't wait to try it. Finally bought a decent digital camera just don't have much tiime right now. Shows coming up. So all that's getting done are builds. I could sure use a clone at times.