Help on Photographing Shiny Reflective Metal Surfaces
The following is a most helpful conversation between myself (Jason Mabry) and Steve Nelson (of Boston's FayFoto Photography Studio and Boston Scenic Photography fame) in which I solicit advice from a master regarding studio photography. Specifically my inquiry is in regards to shooting shiny metal surfaces without all the glare, flashback, reflections etc etc etc. His advice was golden, check it out:
help with a shoot? - Jason
I've got an appointment next week to shoot photos for a website I'm doing and am hoping I can get some advice on shooting in this particular setting (that is if you're not to pissed about an amateur doing a mediocre job where a professional is required )
Here's the deal, I'm gonna be taking photographs of machined metal under flourescent lighting! WooHoo! Actually, the lighting is pretty even and I'm confident I can get good photos in the shop area, what's really worrying me is the flash on the metal.
I've taken lots of diagnostic and documentation photos of machined metal and it's really no fun, but at least this time the shop is beautifully lit.
I'll be using a Nikon Coolpix 4500 which does have several preset environment modes or you can gain full control of it's manual capabilities. I'm most certainly a photographic n00b but you probably won't find anyone more willing to study and listen to good advice!
Oh yeah, btw Steve, there's one good photographer in town (I've found out the hard way) and he's good for studio portraits and weddings. I've tried 2 "professional" 'industrial photographers' in the past and one came out with a 2megapixel kodak that she pulled out of her purse, NO KIDDING, the other had all the coooool gear but was a portrait photographer mostly, his hardrive crashed (damn Macs!) and he lost all our photos. Pity you don't make long distance house calls
Details please - Steve
When you say "taking photographs of machined metal" - do you mean the actual *machining* (meaning the tool marks on the metal)? Or the finished pieces?
Assuming the latter, how big are they likely to be? What's the finish? Paint? Machined steel/aluminum? Chromed?
You're worried about "the flash on the metal" - that means you're worried about what will happen if you use the camera's flash? Or you're worried about hot reflections on the metal from the ambient light?
More Details - Jason
Not the action of machining but rather finished pieces.
Size would probably vary in diameters from an inch to 10 inches.
Finish would be likened to a steel tubular object, or steel shaft, as well as possibly anodized aluminum. At any rate, tubular with a fine surface finish, not chrome, but a fine finish, no paint. ex: 1 2 3
I'm not too worried about the ambient light as it's very even, soft flourescent lighting, mostly the flash on the metal objects. I'm hoping it can be done well without a flash.
I've taken a few snaps inside the building before and there's a southfacing wall that has some translucent panels on it that let sunlight in during the day, as long as you keep that to your back the photos come out great, facing it is another story and requires a lot of adjustment for the backlighting. But I reckon that won't have much bearing and I can keep that source behind me when shooting the products.
Open the Floodgates - Steve
Okay. Don't even think about using the camera's flash. And I'd probably avoind the window too - its too variable. I'd stick with the overhead flourescent. But...
If I were going to shoot the type of product you linked to (and that's the sort of photography I do for a living - about those plane tickets...) I'd bring lights with me. Studio strobes. But more important than the lights are the light modifiers. We have these things we call "soft boxes". They are sort of loosely shaped like a pyramid. The top is where the strobe head goes. The sides are an opaque nylon material - black on the outside, white inside. The "base" is a translucent nylon scrim material. Very light weight and portable. As opposed to an umbrella reflector, the soft boxes present a smooth, evenly illuminated rectangle of light which can be positioned quite close to the product. It is designed to create the feel of the even illumination of a north facing window. In fact, it's much flatter than the magical north window, but quite effective at creating a broad, soft, simplified light.
You of course don't have one of these, and aren't likely to go off and get one before next week. But you might be able to simulate it. The advantage to the ambient light is it's consistancy. The disadvantage is that the individual fixtures are at quite a distance, and there are lots of them. Each one will contribute a small, annoying highlight to the cylindrical products and be very distracting.
If you have access to a graphics arts store, I'd invest in two things: a pad of the largest bristol board you can get for the background (bristol board is very white and very smooth - but it will get dirty, so buy a pad and bill it to the client), and the biggest sheet of velum you can get. Velum - like architects use. Sometimes you can find it in rolls, but hopefully you will be able at the least to get a very large sheet - 16x20, 20x24 - that range. Bang together a simple frame of strapping and staple the velum to it as taut as possible. You have your diffusor.
It will probably be easiest to work on the floor (get used to a tired back). Tear off a sheet of bristol board for later, and lay the first product down on the pad. The far edge of the velum stretcher can be on the same level as the floor the near edge will have to be propped up, and that's probably the trickiest part. Don't be ashamed to stoop to yard sticks and masking tape. In my business you do whatever is expedient now, 'cause tomorrow will be different.
I assume you will hand-hold the camera. I wouldn't be absolutely perpendicular to the product; somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees. Get the near edge of your diffusor as close to the camera as possible. Find a cardboard box or something and use it to prop up that first sheet of bristol board (the one you tore off and saved aside) to make the third side of the triangle - side one is the plane the product lies on; side 2 is the diffusor; side three is the bristol board reflector. Camera peeks through the gap between side 2 and 3.
This is going to be somewhat physically awkward, but - it should look nice!
The diffuser is going to even out the busy ambient light, but it will also cut out a significant amount of light. I assume your camera has different sensitivity settings. Since you are going to be in a somewhat strained position, I'd jack up the sensitivity. I think you can get away with it, especially since these are for a web site and not print. I'd set the white balance to flourescent (assuming that's what's in the room). The velum may affect the color some, but the Bristol board will serve as a white reference if you need to adjust the color later with curves. (You might also use a custom or auto white balance if you camera supports it and if you feel like learning how this works; otherwise, stick to a preset - you shouldn't need to adjust it too much afterwards.)
The only other thing is exposure. Light metal on a white background might throw the camera meter for a loop. Even though Nikon metering is pretty smart, it's still built to expect an "average" scene and it might therefore make these non-average images too dark. If you trust the LCD, and if it looks dark, there should be bias controls - plus 1/3 or 2/3 should do it. Just remember you don't want to overexpose a digital capture - you can lighten a dark imag better than you can reclaim tone that's washed out. I'm guessing you'll be fine though.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Oh yeah - one other thing. I always say this, and people laugh like it's a joke. Photography is one of those careers in which the longer you do it the LESS confident you get. Don't sweat it if you feel awkward or slow. Digital helps, because you get that instant feedback, and you know what you can do after the fact in Photoshop, but product photography is a very plodding, deliberate discipline. You will prevail!
Links to more supporting information:
The results of Steve's advice applied to my first "professional" shoot.
You can view the awful results of my solo effort, pre-advice here. Shining testament to the value of good advice, good friends and desire to learn, probably most of all, how to follow good directions like a robot!
To read this conversation in it's entirity, superfluous banter and all, check out the Photography Forum at the Gurus Network.