what is the easiest way to get rid of reflections when shooting a picture of something under glass

Photographing clear or colored glass without glare

There are a few different ways to photograph drinking glass, but the well-nigh flattering and visually-hitting method is past lighting a glass product from behind.

This simple technique is called "backlighting" and information technology will flatter any glass product by taking reward of glass' translucency to give your product that pleasing "crystal-articulate" appearance.

You can acquire how to create a photograph studio at dwelling house at a very low cost post-obit our DIY Photograph Studio Guide.

Step 1: Arranging your Setup

In guild to create a backlighting setup, you lot volition demand a decently-sized shooting area, specially since you volition be handling a fragile production. Exercise your best to safety-proof your studio past taping down light cords and brand sure to utilize a sturdy tabular array or platform to elevate your product in accord with your light source. Position your calorie-free source backside the production and so that the brightest area of light shines directly through the glass and emphasizes the natural outer lines and curves of each slice. If you lot have problem leveling the low-cal and the product, try lowering your light or elevating your product with a block. You tin can use continuous lighting or strobe lighting—either style is fine because you lot will exist utilizing a tripod.

Next, you demand to diffuse, or soften, the light source with an umbrella and/or several layers of rolled paper or thin white fabric. Position the white newspaper or fabric betwixt the production and the light and supplement that past placing white foam board under the product and to both sides, every bit shown to a higher place.

The foam board volition assist to reflect light back onto the production and cause it to wrap effectually the field of study softly. Nosotros suggest adding an boosted piece of white paper or material on pinnacle of the setup in society to reflect low-cal onto the subject from above besides.

Think of this "box" lighting setup as trying to imitate soft window light—you want the calorie-free to wrap around your subject evenly without creating harsh "white spots" or distracting reflections.

The foam board will aid to reflect low-cal back onto the production.

For bolder outlines and colors, endeavour using black foam boards to either side of your product. This will meliorate saturate your colors and emphasize the edges of your glassware. In the prototype series beneath, you can see the differences between using no foam boards on the sides, using white boards, using black boards, and using black boards pulled in tightly next to the product. Most notably, you lot will notice that the outer black line of the vase gradually becomes more than defined as foam boards are added, darkened, and moved in closer.

No boards – Reflections

White boards

Black boards

Black boards in closer

You will besides need a tripod to proceed images of different products consistent from frame. Make certain to align your tripod to level information technology exactly with the production to become an accurate perspective of your product.

Finally, earlier you lot brainstorm adjusting your camera settings and shooting photos, double check that your product has been cleaned with glass cleaner and is complimentary of dust and smudges. This volition assist to make your mail service editing even faster!

Step 2: Setting your Camera

Depending on what style of lighting you choose to implement in your lighting setup, adjust your white balance accordingly using your camera's internal shooting carte du jour. In this tutorial, we volition be using strobe lighting, so nosotros have gear up our camera's white balance to the flash setting to compensate for the blue cast of the strobe'due south bulb. When in doubt, use your automated white balance setting.

You volition be focusing on one of the outer parts of your glassware because your photographic camera's autofocusing organisation needs a divers object to focus on. Choose some element of your subject that is noticeable and will be easy for your camera to recognize. In our example, we have focused on the bottom edge of the vase since information technology is darker and more credible.

We recommend shooting in Manual manner, which will permit yous to have total control of how your photographic camera interprets lite and records your images. You will want to ready your aperture to f/11 or greater (such as f/16) in order to capture as much detail every bit possible. Similarly, employ the lowest ISO (such every bit ISO 100) setting possible to preserve the virtually item and prevent unappealing grain that begins appearing in images captured at higher ISOs.

If y'all are using continuous light, you lot may cull to use your camera'south meter reading in the viewfinder to dictate your shutter speed. However, since it is important to overexpose, or "blow out," backgrounds in backlit images in order to properly expose for your bailiwick, you volition probably demand to adjust your shutter speed downwards one or two stops from what your camera's low-cal meter recommends, as shown in the image series below.

Too light

Perfect

Besides picayune light

Don't be agape to take test shots and spend some time making modest adjustments to your setup and camera settings in guild to capture the best images possible to promote your products!

You can learn more about how to accept advantage of your camera settings past reading our DSLR Camera Settings Guide.

Pace 3: Post-Production Processing Your Images

Fortunately, the backlighting should accident out any imperfections on your glass product, which will greatly simplify your post-product workflow. Withal, if any spots or smudges are visible, clone them out. Afterward that, work on desaturating and cleaning upwardly your groundwork to pure white. These unproblematic quick touch ups will make your images expect nifty.

The post-obit images were shot with the same "box" backlighting setup that we demonstrated earlier on in this tutorial, which you can see is flattering to each piece.

Photographing Detailed Glassy Products: Sunglasses and Watches Product Photography Guide

Photographing glassware is piece of cake because you're able to overexpose the glass itself, just other reflective products similar sunglasses and watches incorporate details that yous cannot blow out with backlighting.

These types of products demand to be lit differently and then that customers will be able to see the full production that you are trying to sell.

Step ane: Sunglasses and Lookout man product photography lighting setup

Yous will need a big table to set your sunglasses or lookout on and ane big light diffused past an umbrella positioned to the left of your product. Next, hang white rolled paper then that it sweeps down underneath your production, equally shown higher up; for best results, connect the cease of the sweep to the bottom of your camera lens to reverberate some low-cal back onto the product and eliminate any foreground reflections.

Like to the "box" backlighting setup, y'all will need to place foam board side by side to the sunglasses on the side opposite from the calorie-free source, which tin be either a continuous lamp or a strobe. It's best to tape two pieces of foam board together into a "V" to funnel the reflected light around the sunglasses and achieve soft, even light.

The sunglasses photos below demonstrate both bad and expert lighting techniques.

The reflections here will likely distract customers from the product and even lower customers' perceptions of their quality.

Attaching the white newspaper to the bottom of the camera lens allows for a much more than becoming reflection.

To reach the effective lighting in the scout photo on the right, we moved our light source from directly side lighting to 45-caste side lighting and so that the watch's face up would get brighter without causing a spot glare on the face.

Y'all volition besides need to utilize a tripod with this setup to keep your paradigm framing consistent. Position your camera slightly higher than yous would to light a backlit glass production so that yous are shooting slightly down at your production. This volition eliminate reflections and permit for a flattering angle of your product. And equally e'er, make sure that your product has been cleaned thoroughly.

Stride 2: Setting your Camera for Sunglasses and Scout production photography

As with the backlighting setup, you volition need to adjust your white residual according to the type of lighting you are using (e.g. tungsten, fluorescent, daylight, etc).

Focusing is much easier with sunglasses and watches because these types of products contain more details that your camera's autofocus will easily be able to lock onto. Focus on the center part of your object and use an aperture of at least f/11 to get the sharpest images.

With side lighting, it'southward fine to simply follow the promptings of your photographic camera's calorie-free meter nearly what to set your shutter speed. If yous're having trouble finding the right settings, set your camera to Aperture Priority mode and your photographic camera will optimize shutter speed for you.

Don't forget to set your ISO to the lowest possible setting! If you've taken our advice to utilize a tripod, you should exist able to use ISO 100 without a problem!

Gear up your ISO to the everyman possible setting, or apply ISO 100 with a tripod.

Step 3: Editing Sunglasses and Watch Product Images

Proper execution of the side lighting technique ways that you should just need to very minimally post-procedure your images. Brand sure that your product is free from smudges and dust specks, that the background is pure white with no shadows or spots, and that the color of your product is authentic. This is as well the time to clone/heal and defects or amercement to the sample that you lot weren't able to fix prior to shooting, such every bit hardware scratches and scuffs. Don't be agape to select your product, place it on a white background, and add together your ain shadows if needed. If y'all're looking for efficiencies, use Pixelz retouching service to scale retouching quickly and economically.

If you are going to sell your products on Marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, make sure to comply with their marketplace image guidelines to get better results.

The images below were all shot using the side lighting technique.

Photographing Metal Objects

Metallic objects are the most difficult to photograph due to their high reflectiveness.

With near, if not all, metallic objects, yous are able to see all of your surroundings on the object'south surface.

This two-lighting setup looks complicated but tin be broken down into easy steps.

The following lighting technique should help you lot to successfully photo smaller metal objects without those distracting reflections.

For bolder outlines and colors, try using black cream boards to either side of your product.

Step ane: Arranging your Setup

Place your object on a sturdy surface, such as a tabular array or a block, and position two large studio lights next to it, one on either side. Both lights should be diffused with umbrellas. Y'all will then need to hang a white sheet of rolled paper backside the production so that information technology sweeps underneath the production and attaches to the lesser of your camera lens to block any autumn off reflections coming from the foreground and to reflect more calorie-free dorsum onto the subject.

No foam board is necessary for this setup, since you lot'll be relying on two diffused lights to softly illuminate the production. Position your camera on its tripod so that you are shooting slightly down at the product, as with the side lighting setup.

We recommend using strobe lighting for metallic products considering strobes allow for more lighting command, but continuous lighting would suffice. Whatsoever you lot decide, position your lighting to a higher place your product to either side, angle them downwardly at the product, and set them to the same ability. This, along with the diffusing umbrellas, volition aid to evenly fill the frame with calorie-free without creating ugly vivid spots on your product.

Before y'all brainstorm shooting, brand certain to wipe away whatsoever fingerprints or smudges that yous created on the product while positioning it in the shooting space. You can spot clean the product as yous go, but if possible, clothing gloves to eliminate this pace.

Equally you can see below, ineffective lighting is very ineffective for metallic products, and so the importance of mastering this 2-light setup is paramount.

Exercise whatever it takes to eliminate ugly reflections like those in the images on the left and create the fifty-fifty, reflectionless lighting in the images on the right.

Step two: Setting your Photographic camera

By at present, we take explained all of the necessary camera settings that y'all volition need to attain the highest quality images that your camera can deliver. Apply a large aperture of f/eleven or greater and a shutter speed that properly exposes your production according to the lite meter in your camera'due south viewfinder. Prepare ISO as depression as possible, preferably ISO 100, and focus on the middle of the production to ensure that you get everything in focus. Auto white balance usually works fine, merely it is too worth information technology to consider manually adjusting white residual co-ordinate to the "warmth" of bulb used past your light sources.

Step 3: Post-processing your Images

Similar to the section on camera settings, postal service production should be relatively straightforward. Use healing and cloning tools to eliminate smudges, fingerprints, grit, and other types of imperfections and amercement to make your production wait its best. Pay special attending to colour accuracy and, above all, make certain that your background is clean and white.

The images beneath were shot using double overhead lighting.

There are many means to calorie-free reflective objects, simply these three uncomplicated lighting setups can cause your product images to wow customers and stand out from the rest!

Sometimes the post-production process can feel tedious and lengthy, especially if you lot feel that your product images need extensive work to await their best. If you're feeling overwhelmed, attempt an outsourced retouching service like Pixelz who tin can make your images shine with very fast turnaround. Outsourcing can help to alleviate some of your post-production and marketing workload so that you tin focus on mastering these lighting techniques and making sales!

merrickupoldn.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.pixelz.com/blog/photographing-highly-reflective-products/#:~:text=Position%20your%20camera%20slightly%20higher,flattering%20angle%20of%20your%20product.