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Glass Photography Glass Photography

Taking good photos of glass objects is often difficult:
• The surroundings are reflected in the object.
• Transparent glass blends with the background.

When photographing transparent glass, the best results are achieved using a black Light Tent. A black Light Tent:
• Prevents the reflection of the tent itself in the glass object. Only clear white banners will be visible as a reflection.
• The black interior ensures a clear definition of the edges of the glass.
• The black Light Tent has one extra open side. When placing this side downward, it becomes easy to lighten the object from the underside. This can lead to spectacular results when photographing glass figurines (e.g. Lalique and Swarovski objects)

Also a regular white Light Tent can lead to great results.

You will find some tips below:

Photographing a wine glass or a glass vase

With a white Light Tent:
When photographing transparent glass in a white Light Tent, be sure to add some black reflections in the glass to get more definition of the glass object. To do this, place some carton rolls next to the glass, just outside the boundaries of the picture.

Two carton rolls cause a nice definition and more depth in the transparent glass
The picture of the wine glass on the left is taken in a white Light Tent without adding a black reflection: the edges of the glass blend with the background. The image of the glass in the middle is taken with two black carton rolls. The difference is clearly visible. The last image is taken in a black Light Tent, with an additional light source from below. (see the next section)

Photographing glass with a light source from below.

With a black Light Tent:
Lighting an object from below with a daylight balance light bulb can lead to spectacular results.

To do this, take a piece of black carton and cut a small vertical opening into it. (ca. 0.5 cm wide, not longer that the bottom of the object).
• Put the carton on some books to be able to put a light bulb underneath the Light Tent
• Put the Light tent, without the background sweep, on top of the carton
• Place the object on the carton in the tent and take the picture.
• The best results are achieved if a similar hole is cut out of the background sweep which will rest on the carton. The object is then placed on the sweep.

On the left you see the set-up for lighting the tent from below. The right image shows the result.

More Tips & Tricks:
• Do I need a special camera?
• Lighting
• Lighting tips
• Correcting the white balance
• Folding a light tent
• Using a light box
• Photographing flat items (paintings, books, etc.)
• Photographing clothing

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