adrianw Posted July 23, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted July 23, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am to photograph the inside of a large office building that is the brainwave of my wife. Each individual office has a glass wall at the front which will reflect the lights, opposite walls, me and my tripod. I will use an f4/21mm CV lens and, I guess, my big Lee polarising filter. I did a test shot and could still see me and other stuff reflected. Does anyone have an idea how I can make those glass walls disappear? I will be grateful for help - this is a bit out of my comfort zone. Thanks adrianw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 Hi adrianw, Take a look here No reflections - not really a Leica question. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
mikenic Posted July 23, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted July 23, 2012 Light the offices from the inside out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 23, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted July 23, 2012 Shotgun? Those pellets will scatter them beautifully. seriously, it will take a bit of experimenting to get the best result possible. As (I guess) all the glass walls will catch the light coming in from different angles it will be near-impossible to extinguish all reflections in one shot. If you can get everybody to hold their pose or if the timing of the action inside theoffices is irrelevant you can take a number of shots, each with another reflection blanked out and and construct the end result in photoshop. Another idea might be to camouflage yourself as an office cabinet or something and let just the lens peek through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikenic Posted July 23, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted July 23, 2012 I used to shoot animation on a stand. We used polarised light sources in one direction (polarising sheets over luminaires) and dialled out the reflections using a polarising filter on the camera lens. So maybe try a polarising filter to dial reflections out or reduce them. Just an idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted July 23, 2012 Share #5 Â Posted July 23, 2012 After much reflection, I'm sorry that I can't provide any further suggestions. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manolo Laguillo Posted July 23, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted July 23, 2012 If you post a plan of the facilities, indicating where you are going to put the camera, it will be possible to help you. You are giving not enough information... :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted July 23, 2012 Share #7 Â Posted July 23, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Polarizing the light sources and lens can do the job. Back in the 1970s I consulted on a sensor production issue that tried to photo a target pattern consistently, and the sheen of the target varied to much. They were using polarizing sheets on the lights, but didn't understand the need to align them and the filter on the lens the same every time. When so aligned the reflections disappeared. However, getting control and polarizers on all light sources in the scene described may be a challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_d Posted July 23, 2012 Share #8 Â Posted July 23, 2012 You need to get some black duvetyne cloth and make a wall with a hole for you to shoot through. The duvetyne needs to be large enough to black out all reflections on the opposite wall from the glass you are shooting through. You will need a background stand or a couple c-stands with arms, duvetyne cloth, and a few A clamps. Instead of duvetyne you could try a black seamless backdrop but it has a slight sheen that might reflect light. You won't need a polarizing filter with this technique. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 23, 2012 Share #9 Â Posted July 23, 2012 A prop of a palm/indoor plant etc, a clamp to attach your camera to it, set it on self timer, then run. Clone out the camera reflection in post processing. Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted July 23, 2012 Share #10  Posted July 23, 2012 I am to photograph the inside of a large office building that is the brainwave of my wife....Thanksadrianw If it is your wife's idea to photograph this challenging interior, perhaps she has a solution in mind. However if your wife is the interior designer, she will know precisely how the interior should look and will accept the inevitable reflections. I would be inclined to make the mass of intersecting glass walls a feature of the picture and concentrate on differential focus to highlight the important aspects. Although that is not easy with a super wide angle lens. Why not post a test shot here so that we can understand, rather better, what is your challenge and what is not acceptable to your wife? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted July 23, 2012 Share #11  Posted July 23, 2012 If it is your wife's idea to photograph this challenging interior, perhaps she has a solution in mind. However if your wife is the interior designer, she will know precisely how the interior should look and will accept the inevitable reflections. I would be inclined to make the mass of intersecting glass walls a feature of the picture and concentrate on differential focus to highlight the important aspects. Although that is not easy with a super wide angle lens. Why not post a test shot here so that we can understand, rather better, what is your challenge and what is not acceptable to your wife?  seriously+1.  or turn off the offending lights or remove bulbs. Or put a gobo to stop the spill on individual lights or a background stand and background behind the camera, giant gobo.  If your camera is close to the glass , you will not get reflections. Perhaps you will not get the composition you desire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Printmaker Posted July 23, 2012 Share #12 Â Posted July 23, 2012 I shoot cross polarized every day. While this technique can solve a lot of reflection problems, it does not work for everything. When your reflecting surface is larger than 8 feet, the polarizers start loosing their effect. And you shrink your dynamic range to a point where you need to write custom profiles and/or HDR to regain your shadow detail. I think the black cloth or a combination of black cloth over the camera/tripod and your self-timer is your best bet. Â If you want to learn more about cross polarization, there is a free PDF on how to shoot and print art on my website. Â How to Print the Perfect Gicl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 24, 2012 Share #13 Â Posted July 24, 2012 Hello adrian, Â Welcome to the Forum. Â Why isn't this a Leica question? Â Best Regards, Â Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianw Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share #14 Â Posted July 24, 2012 Thanks everyone. I don't know if I can turn the lights off on my side of the glass and still see, although it may be possible. I appreciate the request for the plan and will see if that can be done. I also much appreciate the humour. I didn't think it was really a Leica question because it would apply to any camera - I am just doing it on my M9. The lights on my side are too high and spread out to be able to do the double polariser thing. I loved the hide in the cupboard, run away etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 24, 2012 Share #15 Â Posted July 24, 2012 Hello Again adrian, Â In some ways it might be considered more of a Leica question than an SLR question. Digital or film. Â An SLR allows you to look thru the lens taking the picture & better see the effects of polarizers & the like. The slightly offset range/viewfinder of an M means what you see w/ a polarizer, etc is pretty much but not exactly what you get. Â Do-able, none-the-less. Â Best Regards, Â Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.