How to photograph shiny metal objects. -Low of reflection (Updated 2023)

How to Perfectly Photograph Shiny Metal Objects: A Guide to Product Photography

In this guide, we’ll explore the basics of how to photograph shiny metal objects, including tips and techniques for product photography with a focus on achieving high-quality results without blown-out spots.

Product photography is a critical aspect of advertising and marketing, particularly in the age of digital commerce. With the increasing reliance on e-commerce platforms and social media, high-quality product photos can make all the difference in terms of attracting and retaining customers. However, photographing shiny metal objects presents unique challenges.

The reflective surfaces of metal objects can cause blown-out spots, resulting in a loss of texture and detail in product photos.

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The Fundamentals of Metal Photography

When it comes to photographing shiny metal objects, understanding the basics is key. The law of reflection, which states that the angle of incidence of light is equal to the angle of reflection, is essential to consider. Metal objects have highly reflective surfaces, which can cause problems when you photograph them directly with a flash.

The light emitted by the flash vs LED will reflect off the surface of the object, resulting in specular highlights and over exposed, making it difficult to capture the texture and background of the object.

How to Photograph Shiny Metal Objects

To overcome this problem, the angle of the light source must be changed, and the object should be captured from a different perspective. The light source should be larger than the flash’s light, and you should position it behind the object at the same angle as the camera.

This way, the light reflected by the object will be larger than the light emitted by the flash, allowing you to capture the texture and details without blown-out spots.

The Simple Technique for Metal Photography

One of the best ways to capture professional photos of shiny metal objects is by using a simple yet effective technique. You don’t need expensive equipment or a photographic studio to achieve professional results. All you need is a flash, a trigger system to fire it off-camera, and a white cardboard background.

One of the basics of Metal Photography: the Law of Reflection

 

Before entering the subject we will explain one of the fundamental aspects of Metal Photography. For that we will get a little theoretical, bringing up an old Physics law. Do not worry because it’s implementation will be quite simple, as you’ll see while reading this article.

equality between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection.

What does this law of reflection have to do with metal photography?
Well, metal objects have reflective surfaces and these projected light as a mirror would. So if such metal objects are photographed directly, their surface will reflect the light that was emitted by the flash. This will cause the resulting photos to have specular highlights. This makes it impossible to appreciate texture and background in such photos.
 

How to photograph shiny metal objects the proper way?

 

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We can may conclude that when you want to photograph shiny metal objects, you should do it from a different angle than the camera’s, because
if you do it from the same one the light will bounce straight back at you, which naturally will be reflected in the photo -with the consequences already indicated.

 

So, what should be done to avoid this?

 

Here’s the answer: you must have a light source that is larger than your flash’s. You should also place it behind the metal object, in the same angle as your camera. That way, the light that is reflected when taking the photo will be bigger than the one emitted by your flash, and this will allow you not only to avoid the indicated specular highlights but also to put you in control of the photographed metal object’s reflections.
 

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Of course, the foregoing could be carried out with a big softbox and a studio flash head, but not everyone has such equipment -or the means to acquire them. However, we have good news!  A “home” technique for photographing shiny metal objects.
 
There is a simpler way to carry out this procedure with cheaper implements: All you need is a flash, a trigger system to fire it off-camera, and white cardboard, the last of which would work as the bigger light source.
With this technique, you can also create texture in the metallic object’s background and surface (ie if you want to emphasize that one of these objects is wet,water drops will appear on your photo). This is achieved by playing with the family of angles that is created between the flash and the cardboard with respect to the photographed object.
 
In this way, a direct reflection will certainly occur but the light will not illuminate the metal reflective surface from the point of view of the camera resulting in photos in which it is possible to see the metal object in detail, even its texture and background, but, more importantly, without those undesirable blown out spots.
 
 

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Conclusion

 

So, as you can see, although the theoretical basis of this product photography technique may not be so easy to understand, its applicability is quite easy. It is also practical and affordable.
Our recommendation is that you put this technique into practice. You will then become more and more experienced in the art of photographing reflective metal objects. 

FAQs

The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence of light is equal to the angle of reflection. This law is important in metal photography because metal objects have highly reflective surfaces, which can cause blown-out spots and specular highlights when photographed directly with a flash.

No, you don’t need expensive equipment to achieve professional results. All you need is a flash, a trigger system to fire it off-camera, and a white cardboard background.

To avoid blown-out spots, you should change the angle of the light source and capture the object from a different perspective. The light source should be larger than the flash’s light, and you should position it behind the object at the same angle as the camera.

Some additional tips to perfect your metal photography include using a tripod to keep the camera steady, experimenting with different angles between the flash, cardboard, and object, using a remote trigger for more stability and control, and adding additional light sources to create more complex lighting setups and highlights.

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5 thoughts on “How to photograph shiny metal objects. -Low of reflection (Updated 2023)”

  1. avatar of สูตรสล็อตpg
    สูตรสล็อตPG

    I never realized how important the angle of the lights is in product photography. I’ll definitely be more mindful of that in the future.

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