Seamless with "Glass"

So often I see seamless paper shots, with what appears to be a piece of glass below the subject.

I'm assuming there is actually some type of material there. Is it Glass or Plexi Glass or some other material? If so, where / how is it purchased? Typical Cost?

What people use varies a lot. Some use glass, some use the plexi. I use .0005 sheet of polyester. Mainly so I dont get the cursed double reflection. Cost will range depending on the local market and how big of a piece you want.

On the cheep side... for something small just go to the dollar store and buy a frame. Take the glass out and your set for small stuff. Some poster frames can be bought fairly cheep and the plastic in them works well. But can be easily made full of static and becomes a dust magnet.

Mark1 wrote in post #12228252
What people use varies a lot. Some use glass, some use the plexi. I use .0005 sheet of polyester. Mainly so I dont get the cursed double reflection. Cost will range depending on the local market and how big of a piece you want.

On the cheep side... for something small just go to the dollar store and buy a frame. Take the glass out and your set for small stuff. Some poster frames can be bought fairly cheep and the plastic in them works well. But can be easily made full of static and becomes a dust magnet.

I used a 13x19" piece of glass I stole from a frame. Works perfectly for most small objects.

I haven't had a chance to shoot with them yet, but I just recently picked up 4 sheets of 'chrome' poster board at a Michael's craft store - one each in Silver, Gold, White, Black. All are highly reflective, even the black. For black, I also have a piece of polished black tile that I got from Home Depot.

The red pen, in the 'Commercial and Product Photography' gallery, on my web-site (www.gjim.com) was on the black tile.

For miniature photography in a light box I have use a the clear side of a plastic CD/DVD case. Tried the Picture frame glass and got the dreaded double reflection.

I think what you are referring to is the white tile board that we put on the floor. You can get it at Lowes or home depot for $10. You'll find it in the bath or plumbing aisle if I remember correctly.

Sue - based on the images I'm thinking of, I believe that might be it! Guessing it saves on paper too! Going to have to get some! Is the rear edge of the tile board an issue, or if you expose the paper/background properly it just blends in?

Tile board is what I use. Zack Arias has a great blog on setting up on white seamless.

http://www.zarias.com …torial-part-1-gear-space/

That is true if you are asking about shooting people. Tile Board is great stuff. For some reason I was thinking tabletop shooting.

The edge won't be an issue if you expose the background properly, and even so, it is easy to photoshop out. The light will blow the edge out. Chris gave you good advice on reading Zack Arias blog. He is a wonderful writer and is very good at explaining lighting concepts for any level. He rates all photography skills by a "cuss factor", how much swearing you have to do for any given project. you'll love it! By the way, you will probably want to buy two sheets, not one, and overlap them.

BTW - I was thinking of people. Silly me to think everyone couldn't read my mind. I should have specified... That's okay though, I learned about the other options as well which is also good when I decide to shoot a small object!

When I want a white shiny surface I use 2 sheets of white tile board ($14.00 ea) , with the front sheet overlapping the rear one so you don't see the edge. Now, for a black shiny surface, I'm thinking I may have to buy a 4x8 sheet of plexi or lexan to place over the black seamless. Both are kind of pricey though. I think the lexan is around $160 per 4x8 sheet and it scratches less than the plexi, which is quite soft - if someone is walking on it wearing shoes, plexi will scratch easily.

I have a smaller sheet of plexi.. it's enough for a toddler, but not big enough for an adult. I will have to look at the tile board again. Last time I went to lowes I found something similar, but it was 50 some dollars a 4x8 sheet... ouch!