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Author Topic: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table  (Read 26729 times)

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Offline David E

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #20 on: June 21, 2016, 02:23:17 PM »
You need to alter the white balance of the camera to adjust for the different types of light. Trouble is, if you're using two different light sources, like tungsten and fluorescent then you'll get two different colours in the image, which is very difficult/impossible to remove.

Another trick for clear glass. If you place two pieces of black card (hey, a book will do!) quite close to the sides of the object, then this refracts the dark light to show up what can otherwise be very pale edges against a white background. Quite useful when the glass is plain and not cut.
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Offline Paul S.

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #21 on: June 21, 2016, 03:54:51 PM »
thanks David - will give that a go. :)

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Offline Anne

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #22 on: June 21, 2016, 10:18:06 PM »
I said that in my reply #10 earlier. ;)
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Offline Pinkspoons

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #23 on: August 15, 2016, 10:19:24 AM »
We have a similar set-up - ours uses a large metal frame we put together from parts of a modular exhibition display that I bought in a moment of madness, but it could easily be constructed from timber.

The gubbins are inaccessible without dismantling parts of the table, and I never photographed it whilst putting it together, so I'll have to tell rather than show + diagrams.

It's a ~1m^3 cube with an additional, continuous, cavity underneath (40cm), behind (40cm) and on top (~15cm) that each contain 10 evenly-spaced Osram Lumilux Deluxe 954 fluorescent tubes (so 30 in total - wired to three plugs so they can be operated in blocs) on mounted reflector battens. The outsides of the cavities are boxed in to prevent light-leakage.

The cube is floored with 1m^2 of 25mm clear acrylic, which will take very heavy items, and then a continuous ~3m length of translucent matted film - the type used to print back-lit posters on bus stops and in cinema foyers - is tacked to the top, the back and the floor with double-sided tape, leaving quite a loose curve where it meets corners to avoid jarring lines and shadows from the cube's frame (it's called an infinity curve). The floor is then optionally topped with a 2mm sheet of acrylic (matted/frosted on one side) to protect the film and/or create a reflection (although the films are easy to replace when they get worn) - but this will create a line at the back of the cube where the acrylic refracts shadow, and will need to be 'knocked out' with a couple of GU10 5400k LED spotlights mounted to the front of the cube. They also come in handy for highlighting gilt, enamelling and signatures. If you're only photographing small items, you can also negate it using depth of field with your camera.

Suspended inside the cube on thin wires running parallel to the front opening of the cube are two 'curtains' made from stiff black fabric (I cannibalised a cheap roller blind and stapled the fabric around stripwood at the top and bottom for rigidity and weight) that can be pulled as near as you need to transparent objects to give them something to refract. They're suspended on hooks, so they can be easily removed/replaced.

Opaque items with fiddly shapes might need an additional light source at the front (we've a cheap soft-box on a boom stand), but generally enough light bounces around in there as-is.

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Offline Pinkspoons

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #24 on: August 15, 2016, 10:40:20 AM »
5 minutes of jiggery-pokery in a photo editor to get rid of any in-shot curtains and smooth out any hiccups, and you've usually got crisp photos of typically awkward glass.

Here's some Holmegaard egg cups that we struggled to photograph previously because of the plain long necks that always vanished against white... and grey... and black... and gradients. They were, once, a complete pain.

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Offline Anne Tique

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #25 on: August 15, 2016, 10:54:29 AM »
I'm not able to follow the explanation of the set up, but that's not your fault ... but what a result ... absolutely stunning!

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Offline Paul S.

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #26 on: August 15, 2016, 11:17:52 AM »
we do have some clever people here - love those results, and with this 'acrylic' set up there is the added bonus of the mirror reflection which very artistic.  thanks for sharing. :)


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Offline dirk.

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #27 on: August 15, 2016, 05:28:40 PM »
Brilliant results indeed - many thanks for your explanation!  :)
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Offline WhatHo!

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #28 on: August 22, 2016, 10:48:59 AM »
Hi Dirk, I was wondering if you could put up some pics of tall items photo'd via this method, like a 13" decanter or tall vase etc? My light set up is good on small items but not so good on the tall, i tend to get a lot of light at the base and little at the top. How does yours fare? Cheers Wolfie
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Offline David E

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Re: Photographing clear and translucent glass on a light table
« Reply #29 on: August 22, 2016, 12:35:39 PM »
Having long fluorescent tubes, as described by Nic, will give an even light. However, there are other ways to achieve this with a flash or single light source, such as an umbrella that will produce a soft diffused light with plenty of dispersion.

Another point that I would like to make, with regards to composition, is the perspective. Normally you should stand a good 1 metre away (more if it's a larger item) to prevent fish-eye distortion.

The first photo shows the distortion I see so often, which occurs with the camera just 0.3m away.
The second is with the camera 1.2m away, zoomed in more, and now the top and bottom are more or less parallel.
Lastly (photo 3), try tilting the camera slightly to take the object slightly higher, which removes any doubt.

I hope this helps.

Taken in 2008, with a single 11w flourescent, shining down on the background (backlighting). Yeah, the Photoshopping was rather contrasty!  :-X
David
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Contact ► Cortex Design ◄ to order any book

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