Taking pictures of glossy/reflective photos

[Merlin66]

My wife is very active in Genealogy and has to take images from books etc under normal library/ museum conditions.
The general lighting can cause headaches with reflections and are difficult to avoid.
I'm thinking about adding a Polaroid filter (C-PL) to her camera to see if that helps....
Anyone had any success with this sort of work???

[JA]

Yes a polarising filter would be a good idea together with very even and diffuse lighting of the subject. If control of the lighting cannot be achieved because the item is secured under glass, untouchable etc... then a polarising filter used with a diffuse flash adaptor an/or reflective white sheet and bounce flash may help. May be even a ring light type flash as used in medical or photo-reproduction work. If the subject can be handled then a photo-reproduction type stand with lighting on both or multiple sides would also be good.

Best
JA

[Regulus]

If you are using a tripod for this then strong lighting isn't a problem because it doesn't matter if the exposure is long (use the self timer if you don't have a cable release).
You can usually flip the centre pole around and mount the camera from underneath and point it down. And with the legs on minimum you can sit it on a table at a good working height.
Then use side lighting. Either a door or window, or even a good torch will do. You can correct colour balance in software later. The idea is to limit reflections, so any light coming straight down will reflect straight back up and cause 'hot spots'.
If you set up next to a window with low sunlight coming in, then diffuse it with something. I have used a light silk-type blouse a girlfriend loaned me taped to the window [be spare with the tape. You don't want to have to tear metres of it of the fabric or the girls get a bit stroppy :-)]
A polarizer won't work for indirect, reflected, or muted light, and it will rob you of at least 1 f-stop.
If the photos are small and you don't have a macro lens, or setting, then get a +3 or 4 close-up filter.
Hope some of this is useful.

Trev

[Merlin66]

Thanks guys.
Usually flash is not allowed in these areas.
I have tried occasionally the tripod routine but with limited success.
I think the key is to suppress the bright hot spots may be with a sheet of white paper or plastic sheet.....acting as a diffuser.

[peterl]

Hi Ken.
I am doing a lot of Genealogy as well. Research and copying photos.
Very simply. position the book or document any where so there is no lighting behind you which will reflect on the image. For example on a table where there might be a gap between lights on the ceiling behind you. Use a LED or similar lamp at about 45 degrees to one or 2 sides to illuminate the image on the page.
Position the camera square to the image so it fills the view in the viewfinder in camera. Any image that might not be exactly square I fix or crop in photoshop to tidy the image so it reproduces well in your document.
If the light is persistant behind you just get a piece of cardboard or similar to block out the problem.

Hope that helps..:)


peter

[mental4astro]

Like Peter says, the light needs to come from the sides so that the reflection does not go into the camera. This is what I do when I photograph my sketches. Scanners can be problematic, which is why I photograph my work. I also follow Peter's suggestion of masking out problematic lights. Glare coming off a piece can be tricky to control and it takes a bit of time to figureout the problems. Overhead lights can be a bugger as they are reflected off many surfaces and spot reflections can create problems.

Polarizing filter will only help if you are using polarized light, otherwise it is a waste of effort.

Tripod does help, especially when you try to standardize your photographic process to make it efficient and constant. I use a rig that always holds my work in the same place and position , no matter its size, and the tripod takes away any issues with the camera, such as fiddling with settings and aiming.

Just some ideas :)

Alex.