how to light shiny (polished) items

[jlemire]

A friend of mine has asked me to help him put together a web site for

his business. He's a Hopi Indian and has a gallery that sells Hopi

arts and crafts (katsina dolls, woven baskets, silver jewelry). I

took photos of some of his inventory today, but had problems lighting

his silver jewelry, especially the pieces with inlaid, polished

stones. The glare was terrible of the surfaces. We have a limited

set-up, using only what we can find around the shop - essentially

floor lamps and overhead incandescents. I am using a very simply

digital camera (a Fuji S5100) with an on-the-camera flash (which I

did not use). Any advice on how to best light these subjects or how

to "fix" glare in PS? I have attached two photos - one resized and

cropped, but otherwise unmanipulated and one is my attempted fix.

 

I figure going outside on a cloudy/overcast day would help, but

unfortunately we don't get many of those in Northern Arizona!

 

Please help if you can.<div></div>

[jlemire]

my attempted fix<div></div>

[RobertChura]

Try hanging a white bedsheet over the light (sun) to make a softbox?

[michaelging]

Jim , as said above you want to make a light tent to make reflections on the shiny surfaces. You can do this with a sheet, as said above, or you can take a white 5 gal paint bucket and cut a hole in the bottom with a hole saw. The ones you use to cut a door for a door knob. You can also use a pillow case.You just want even light on the object (light tent)that are being reflected on your surfaces.

[antonrussell]

What the other two said - no flash, just a big white sheet as a tent, outside somewhere.

[garry edwards]

Light tents will work up to a point, but the results are usually very dull and uninspiring. The best advice I can give is to read this - http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007tNJ

[watchin]

You could also try a form bounce flash.

I've used AB-800 bounced off a white ceiling and my Nikon SB80dx

with a lightsphereII, both will give a flatter less glaring light.

The LSII still gives a point light but less intense.

 

With the 5100 you'll be a little more challenged as it doesn't have

any external flash connect points. You'll need a slave tripper (the

SB80 has one built-in) and I'd put a 3x5 index card in from of the

on-camera flash to mute and diffuse it.

 

Using the big yellow bulb will work as well, but you'll need to

fashion a go-bo as mentioned.