How to get rid of chrome glare?

Messed around with my flash tonight, Sunpak 433AF w/manual power adjust, shooting through a white umbrella. Couldn't get rid of the glare from the metal face plate(where it says "Princeton Reverb Amp"). I tried angling the amp, tipping it forwards and backwards slightly, moving the light around, and adjusting the flash power. Am I just an idiot or can it not be done?

thanks, Randy

Sometimes a UV or haze or Sky 1A . From shadow flash or light is on right so maybe a CPL .
Try a different angle move camera or subject

If the reflection if of the specular type, repositioning the light and/or the amp would fix that. But if the metal surface has a brushed finish to it, you may not be able to totally get rid of that reflection no matter how you position the light or the amp. In that case, a gobo placed between the light and the metal face plate should do the trick.

Circular polarizing filters are very good with reflections. Give it a try if you have one; else, PacAce is the expert on this.

canonpink wrote in post #3866851
Circular polarizing filters are very good with reflections. Give it a try if you have one; else, PacAce is the expert on this.

However.... polarized filters no not normally modify reflections from metallic surfaces in the way that they do for glass, water, etc. I wouldn't expect any advantage in this case using a polarized filter.

If you put a polarized sheet across the light and used a polarized filter on the camera's lens, there is a possiblity that you could modify the reflections a bit.

canonpink wrote in post #3866851
Circular polarizing filters are very good with reflections. Give it a try if you have one; else, PacAce is the expert on this.

Polarizers are good for reflections but, unfortunately, they usually don't do much for reflections off of metals because those reflections are not polarized.

As for my being an expert, I'm actually far from being one.

[Edit: Looks like Skip beat me to it about the polarizers. ]

This may help:

http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com …2-specular-highlight.html

The 'glare' of that surface is merely the reflection of the light source! If you move the light source out to the side more, or move it up high, you will not see its reflection in that surface of the amp.

Photographing glass or metal is often about putting the subject in a dark room, then placing light sources strategically so that they cast highlight at an edge rather than on a flat surface, or so that they are reflected in one surface but not another surface (e.g. faceted items)

pull the light down down down. I know you said you played with it but it might take more than you think. Aim the light from off to the side even with the camera height. or from directly on top. Also could try using a smaller light source.

One more thing on strobist.com.

Check this out on photographing watches.

http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com …light-to-light-watch.html

This may give a bit of insight into photographing highly reflective materials. I know that putting a gobo (piece of paper on the side of the flash to prevent spill over) can sometimes help when using multiple flashes.

Also, have you tried shooting straight down on the scene with a highly diffused flash? Seems this could get you close to what you need and prevent the reflections you want gone in the front.

gobo = piece of paper on the side of the flash to prevent spill over -- should be added to the camera abbreviations . I added to mine which I stole from here .

r.morales wrote in post #3877411
gobo = piece of paper on the side of the flash to prevent spill over -- should be added to the camera abbreviations . I added to mine which I stole from here .

It's also a mask, usually black and made of some sort of board or panel, placed between a light source and the subject to prevent part of the subject or the whole subject from being directly illuminated by that light source. And it's not an abbreviation. It's a real word.

Thanks I added your info to my definitions