Glare and lighting advice please...

Hi all,

Firstly, great forum, I can't believe it has taken me this long to find it! So much useful information and nice friendly people!

To give you some backround, I am a real newcomer to photography and am basically loving going out and learning more and more every day! I started on a 300D but am looking to upgrade in the very near future.

Secondly, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a picture I am trying to take. It is of a vending machine, not very interesting I know but its for my Dad's friend who works in the industry. What I am trying to achieve is initially a front on picture of a 6 ft coffee machine, water machine and a glass fronted snack machine. The major issues I am having are:

• Using natural light in a warehouse does not provide great colours
  
• The glare/reflection on the glass fronted machine
  
• The right shadows

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

There's a thread here: How Can I Photograph Bathrooms With Mirrors? that posed some of the same questions about reflections etc. It might be helpful in your situation too.

Doing this shot right might take a little investment. If you are having trouble with natural light consider using a flash or some high watt work lights. The work lights can be bought cheaply from home depot.

To eliminate shadows try bouncing some light into the shadow areas with a reflector.

To eliminate reflections consider using a circular polarizer. If you are getting into photography and haven't purchased a filter system yet I recommend the Cokin P system. Invest in that system holder ($15-20) and then pruchase a good polarizer (Lee, Hoya, etc...)

1. Put a large black cloth behind you so that light behind you is not seen in reflective surfaces (or put a large black cloth in front of you with a hole for the lens!)
2. Set lights at an angle to either side
3. Change your shooting angle so that you are not perfectly perpendicular to the reflective glass surface of the machine (Remember...angle of incidence = angle of reflectance!)
4. If you can see yourself or any of your lights in a mirror (the glass surface of the machine) change your position (or your lights) so they are not visible as reflections as seen from the camera position.
5. You can put polarizing filters over the light sources, then put polarizer over the lens, and orient them so that they are 90 degree rotations relative to each other and the lights will not be seen.

Thanks for the great replies guys!

Couple of questions:

• Should I have fluroescent strip lights on when taking the picture
  
• I have drawn a basic picture of the room (see below) should I be covering the windows with black cloth
  
• Any particular lights I should I get? Wattage etc
  
• Should I put them just infront of the machines, either side?
  
• Any guides on settings? ISO, Shutter and Aperture

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Do not understand what you are referring to when you mention 'fluroescent strip lights ' . Explain further what you are describing!

No specific lights or power...it is not a rote answer!

As I said in my original reply, 'to either side' (both sides, if you want)!

Again, there is no set answer!
ISO...as fast or as slow as you need to shoot with the aperture you want!
Shutter...as slow as you need to synch with studio flash, but you could shoot exposures of minutes if you need to capture dim lights within the machines!
Aperture...whatever you need for the DOF you want!

Are you likely to be doing a lot of this work? If you are then:

1. Blackout all light other than photographic lights.
2. Build a very large soft box - theatre and television lighting suppliers offer very wide diffusing gels - used to be on a roll six foot wide and buy it by the yard. Put as many largeish lamps or flash heads as you can afford, beg, borrow or steal inside the box that you've either painted white or lined with aluminium foil. Hang it from the roof girders as low as you can but so that it gives good even illumination over the entire subject and at such a height that the camera can shoot underneath and from behind it. With practice it is possible to arrange to give some direction and modelling with the soft box. Ensure no spill light falls onto anything that reflects onto the subject nor onto the camera and photographer.
3. Take two shots one lit by the softbox and one with only the lamps on the machinery alight. Camera on tripod locked off so can combine the two to best advantage in PS. Used to do it on one frame of film in the old days.

What you have there doesn't really look that bad? I used to get a lot of that sort of stuff on location doing PJ work, & there's not always (almost never) time to bring in lights & do a "Studio shot".
Which direction do the windows on the right face? Do you get bright sunlight?

You have an advantage since you aren't under time pressure. I'd try it again on a overcast day so your light source remains fairly constant. You can partially adjust the lighting ratio by partly blocking some of the light from one of them.

Shoot from a slight angle at the right to show some depth.

Tripod, & put something big & black to the left to reflect in the window. If it also reflects in the chrome, that's OK 'cause you'll take another shot from the TRIPOD without the black. Then you can blend the 2 shots in PS.
Layer Masks will do a great job for local corrections. Here's one illustration. Airport runway shoot

You can also blend in a 3rd shot, underexposed, for the lights at the top that are blowing out in your pics.

RE: "something big & black"
Black background paper; a 4X8' sheet of plywood; a large piece of black cloth hung from a couple of light stands (My choice, as I have it & it doesn't take up much room in a location kit.)

Good luck, & have some fun with this.