Hi Melissa,

Everyone who has responded has had good basic suggestions.

I have years of experience in the photography of many diverse media,
and since I treated well over 1000 pieces of silver in my time I have
a few suggestions about that too.

First, never-ever apply any sort of dulling spray or material to an
object's surface. I had to deal with the consequences of this and it
was not good at all. As a matter of fact I wrote a paper on that very
topic for the AIC Objects Specialty Group papers, 1999.

You need to have a neutral background paper or cloth. And the most
important thing is to get an even and very diffuse light source.If you
have a regular photo studio than you can experiment with the set up.
Many people use hot lights that you turn on and leave on. In the past
couple of years I have been using a strobe with a slave trigger on the
camera and have gotten some excellent results (I have a powerpoint
presentation on that). For shooting a very highly reflective object
(such as silver and mirrors and chrome) the light source should be
directed completely away from the object to bounce off of a photo
umbrella, through a soft box, or off of the ceiling or a wall. You can
buy a completely enclosed diffusion box for small objects, or just
make one - just do a search on ebay and you'll see some. If you are
shooting with a flash or a strobe then make sure to start with the
lowest power setting and work from there. Remember, it isn't only the
lights but the angle of the light to the surface and then to the
observer (camera) that will determine how much reflectance you get in
the image, so also  experiment with changing the angle of the camera
to try to eliminate any reflectance problems.

As in everything related to photography, once you have your lighting
set up then you have to find the best settings for exposure and
shutter speed. This is where shooting digitally is a great advantage
as you can see your results right away and rapidly find the settings
that work best.

It may take time to get this right, but once that it done then you can
really get into a production mode.

Cheers
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California

On 2/3/07, Pamela Silvestri <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> The most problems I've had with light reflection has been from the camera
> flash. When I need to use the flash, I've had to change the angle I'm
> shooting from and this has eliminated the problem. It also means that I
> can't have consistent object views and that I'm having to stand on a chair,
> etc., in order to angle the flash away from the object.
>
> For some objects - I've photographed them outdoors rather than to spend the
> time and effort with the indoor lighting and backgrounds, etc.
>
> Pam
> In a message dated 2/2/2007 8:16:25 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
>
> We are in the middle of moving 10,000 objects into a new storage facility
> and are using the opportunity to digitally photograph this part of the
> collection.  We are currently working on ceramics and glass, with silver on
> deck.  Slow shutter speeds, overhead lights off, and pointing the photo
> lights to the ceiling does not seem to have eliminated the light reflection.
> Do any of you have suggestions on how to best photograph objects with a high
> glaze or reflective curves?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Melissa Thompson
>
> Collections Assistant
>
> Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
>
> 523 W. Water St.
>
> Decorah, IA 52101
>
> 563-382-9681
>
>
> Pamela Silvestri, Volunteer Assistant Museum Director
> Northeast States Civilian Conservation Corps Museum
> Shenipsit State Forest Headquarters
> 166 Chestnut Hill Road
> Stafford Springs, Connecticut 06076
> Telephone: (860) 684-3430
> e-mail: [log in to unmask] or
> [log in to unmask]
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