Bruce & resident wizards.....

[eddie haskell]

As I've shared before (many times) I am employed as my wife's in-house official photographer. As such, I'm trying to capture her art work in a manner that lends itself well, or lets say, hooks the viewer to realize they need to purchase her bead(s). Tho even at this stage of my prowess of digitization people realize her skill and keep her wares in very low inventory....
So, in all honesty I guess I ask the question for myself!
How can I get more color and less light reflection? I'm in a tent, and I even have a cover on my lights....do I need to bounce my illumination as opposed to a direct source?
I shoot an aperture that allows the contours to show, which she likes, but I'm still wanting to get a better representation.....HELP!

Here is an example. I get 4 shots per listing, per bead...... THANKS!!!!!

[chicagojohn]

My wife does glass, and I recently found that if I direct the strobes towards the ceiling and walls to create a totally reflected light diffusion that tries to simulate the light you would get outdoors on a fully overcast, cloudy day, that that is the best way to photograph her work. Theoretically a tent should do that, but it still has hot spots.

Glass is very difficult to photograph, but you might want to consider trying it outdoors on a very overcast day to see what that light might be capable of, and then, if it looks promising, try to replicate it in your studio.

[brucep]

Eddie, those look great with the exception of the entry zipper and maybe the corner "spring" edges. Can you put that zipper side someplace where we won't see it reflected? My favorite "tent" of all time was a small white room I used to do bottle shots in. In essence, I was inside the tent. In Photoshop, I did just a little blending and cloning to smooth away the room lights, etc. Very easy to do. Bottles are easier to retouch, though, than your wife's multi-faceted, multi-colored shapes.

What I'd like to find would be something like the Oscar Mayer wiener-mobile white and inside out. A seamless, corner-less white room (fiberglass?) with the long dimension along the lens axis with a white "infinity" table (like an infinity pool) running down the center. Place a couple of lights under the table, and you have perfectly flat light. Fire only one of those lights, and you have directional light with very soft shadows showing the shape of the object.

[Edvins]

Hey Eddie, invest in a Gary Fong diffuser for your flash(s). It will definitely help.

I also highly recommend the book "Light: Science & Magic" by writers Hunter, Biver, and Fuqua. It's published by Focal Press.

[eddie haskell]

Hey Bruce....how come when I try to imagine that tent/room you describe I keep seeing Woody Allen standing in it?

Thanks guys, you have given me some great ideas.....one being I think I'll try and find a big white plastic mixing bowl at the thrift store. My wife's beads are for the most part an inch or less, so I can squeeze it into a relative small tent. Again, Thanks!

[Baron von Smoogle]

Can't help with the original question but I also do some bead work, not nearly as good as your wife. Are these soft glass with Double Helix colors?

[mishlove]

Eddie: FYI

http://www.photigy.com/dealing-with-...ind-the-scene/

[eddie haskell]

Can't help with the original question but I also do some bead work, not nearly as good as your wife. Are these soft glass with Double Helix colors?

Yes.....and other stuff too (not these, but others)

[Cadwell]

Here is a slightly left-field suggestion. If I was looking to reduce unwanted reflections caused by light bouncing off of a non-metallic object, I'd stick a polarizing filter on the front of my lens.