Lighting glass doors and metal frames

[mixer28]

Hi folks

I have a project coming up where I need to film talent talking infront of products (these are glass / metal framed shower units) and I wondered if anyone had any ideas about how to best light them to avoid reflection?

We'd shoot indoors and we have natural light coeming from one side of the room and spots that point onto the units.

I have a couple of 800w redheads, arri 300 & 150 (plus a seperate softbox).

My assumption is diffusing the light is the answer? Avoid too much hardlight where possible?

Any thoughts/ advice most appreciated

thanks
M28

 

[Michael Carter]

It's all about the angles of light vs. reflective surfaces; it can be a real, REAL b*tch to deal with stuff like this; generally, you'll find that large, soft light sources need to be at an extreme angle to avoid huge white rectangles reflecting back at you. I shot a bedroom setup the other day; the headboard - which was the product - was a nice, handmade deal with a hand-rubbed gloss... I had to light the whole set "naturally" and kill the damn hot spots on the bed. Just takes a lot of moving stuff around, but generally you'll find getting the light over to the sides will help; sometimes hanging a big foamcore card and bouncing off it from above can help as well.

Sometimes a coat of dulling spray can save a lot of time; it's a product that comes in spry cans to kill reflections, and it wipes off when you're done. best for smaller stuff though, but I've used it on widescreen TVs before.

 

[mixer28]

thanks Michael - your experience echoes some of the concerns I had - atleast now I will be prepared. Thanks alot!