Best technique for photographing chatoyance?

It's been a long time since I started a thread on POTN. Here's my situation, I've have begun doing tabletop photography of my custom knives. Overall, my work is progressing and getting better and certainly represents my knives well. The only thing I'm really having trouble capturing is the essence of chatoyance in some of the really spectacular handle woods such as Hawiian Koa. Anyone have any tricks for making chatoyance pop in a photograph? I know I'm posting in the lighting section but, I am open to any ideas (pertaining to chatoyance); staging, lighting, post processing, whatever.

Bob

Here's some of my work. I suspect someone will ask. You can see more at RangerMadeKnives.com

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/p4Y9​EE

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/pmbf​EP

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/pvsk​aP

I wonder if your choice of background tricks the mind into thinking that the handle doesn't pop as much as it should? Choose less detailed backgrounds and use adjustment brushes to increase the contrast in the handles?

Just a couple of pennies.

What is chatoyance? I've never seen that term before...

Per dictionary.com

adjective
1.
changing in luster or color:
chatoyant silk.
2.
Jewelry. reflecting a single streak of light when cut in a cabochon.
noun
3.
Jewelry. a cabochon-cut gemstone having this reflected streak, as a chrysoberyl cat's-eye.
Origin Expand
1790-1800; French, special use of present participle of chatoyer to change luster like a cat's eye, equivalent to chat cat1 + -oy- v. suffix + -ant -ant
Related forms Expand
chatoyance, chatoyancy, noun

Don't just leave us hanging Hot Bob, what's your setup?

From the above shots, I'd try adding a circular polarizer to your setup and seeing if that helps bring out the handle detail more. It seems you have everything pretty highly polished, to the point where it may be reflecting a bit more of your light than you really want.

Try using a hard light rather than soft, then use a reflector to fill in the shadow area. You'll have to play with the angle until you get the effect you're looking for. I imagine it will be similar to trying to get "fire" in a diamond "in camera".

I"m not sure a static image can capture it well. The display I saw on youtube showed a rotating object to highlight the effect.

A quick google shows some static examples. I'd try a very hard light. I''d guess that the angle between the light, the surface and the camera all come into play too.

From googling what "chatoyance" is I found one huge difference in the photos on there and yours. This could be the lighting but the difference is how polished the wood looks from google images. The wood handles in your photos don't look as polished and as covered in lacquer/clear coat.

Could you clarify if your handles are indeed heavily polished or are they closer to a sanded down wood with a thin clear coat?

From looking at your images from other knives you have really good lighting and object posing but I see where your struggle is with the wooden handles.

The two wood handled knives in the photos above do have some chatoyance to them. They are both highly polished woods that have been through a stabilization process that infuses the wood with a resin. They are quite impressive in person as there is some depth to the wood that appears to move and glow in changing light. It is certainly much easier to show the effect in video.

I currently setup next to a large window and use a big translucent scrim. I fill in with a couple 30" square softboxes. The lighting is pretty flat. Perhaps it would be worth trying to composite a handle lit with a couple hard lights.

Bob

Hot Bob wrote in post #17215344
The two wood handled knives in the photos above do have some chatoyance to them. They are both highly polished woods that have been through a stabilization process that infuses the wood with a resin. They are quite impressive in person as there is some depth to the wood that appears to move and glow in changing light. It is certainly much easier to show the effect in video.

I currently setup next to a large window and use a big translucent scrim. I fill in with a couple 30" square softboxes. The lighting is pretty flat. Perhaps it would be worth trying to composite a handle lit with a couple hard lights.

Bob

A hard, targeted light skimmed across the surface is the best way to bring out these textural details. Even then the angle has to be right. If you shoot tethered you can watch what the camera sees as you adjust your light; this should make getting the angle right a bit easier. If you don't have a point light source you can use a small mirror to reflect a targeted beam across the handle.

BTW, those are some beautiful knives.

From the last couple of post sounds like a hard snooted light for the handle is needed to highlight it. Maybe a Speedlite with some black foil shaped to a narrow beam the size of the handle to eliminate spillage from the Speedlite. Have you ever looked thru or read a book call light, science and magic? It is really a good book for learning how to light object that reflect in special. It will inform you on the angles need to get a reflection or prevent a reflection by the use os angles of the camera to subject and or the light to subject angle.

Is there a way to get away with less vignetting? It does not look good like that even though I know why it's there.