reflections or surface definition

[DefJux921]

in this photo there are large reflections on either side of the jar from white foam core boards used as reflectors.. maybe it shouldn't, but it bothers me. how can i get rid of them? i've tried different camera angles but nothing seems to work. without the foam core, the label is very underexposed.

ive stroked one side so you can see what im talking about:

http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u352/defjux921/IMG_3082cc.jpg

and the setup is very similar to this:

http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u352/defjux921/IMG_3000.jpg

[wickerprints]

Light is relative.

The reason why the sides of the jar appear lighter than the front is because those parts of the jar are receiving relatively more illumination.

If you could make the lighting perfectly even around the entire jar, then you would no longer see the above effect.

[DefJux921]

yes, i understand that - im looking for the solution... any ideas?

[wickerprints]

yes, i understand that - im looking for the solution... any ideas?

I already told you the solution. You must create even illumination across the surface of the jar. Your setup doesn't do that. It doesn't even have to be perfectly even, because then that would look weird. A cylindrical object usually looks darker on the sides than it does in the front. All you need to do is give the object more light in the front.

The easiest way to get that even illumination is to use multiple lights, or a light tent. You have *zero* frontal lighting. Everything is lit from underneath then bounced and that's why you have (1) side reflections (2) underexposure.

[DefJux921]

thanks - maybe next time i'll throw an umbrella at the front - but then won't the black foam core in the background get lit up as well?

[thalo]

check out this thread:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=480210

page 5 of the thread has some black back ground, cylindrical items shot.

[sfaust]

The quickest and easiest way to solve it with his current setup would be to use a light gray reflectors for the sides rather than a white one. It will reduce the intensity of the reflection on the glass since it will be reflecting gray and not white, hence reducing the lighting by a stop or so. In the studio we have a slew of different sizes reflectors in white, black, and multiples shades of gray. If all the other lighting is good, its far easier to add in a darker reflector, gobo, flag, etc, that it is to mess with the lighting.