Timeline for How to photograph the lettering on a bronze plaque?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
9 events
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| Jul 8 at 18:02 | history | edited | Rafael | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 31 characters in body
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| Jul 6 at 17:44 | comment | added | Steven Kersting | @user1468178 it doesn't matter the size of the ring, the physics of how the light travels/falls doesn't change (only the area of coverage and falloff due to size/distance). Also, a diffused light source does not have an angle of incidence perse. I.e. the light is scattering out in a fan from every point on the diffused surface. That is why it has the characteristic called "wrap" which is what makes it "soft"; it illuminates around corners. You can move the diffused light source far enough away so that it cannot light around the corners; but then there is no point to using the diffusion. | |
| Jul 5 at 17:57 | comment | added | user1468178 | Lighting from the sides at an angle with a tangent around .1 to .2 should create a partial shadow around the base of each letter. How partial? That will depend on the local concavity of the shape, but it should average about 75% of the surface light (rough geometry in my head) so a drop of a half stop around the sharp edge of each letter. (Check my geometry!) Is that enough? | |
| Jul 5 at 17:52 | comment | added | user1468178 | The "ring" created by such a reflector will be larger than that created by a ringlight around the lens. Will the partial shadows created be enough to provide the needed contrast? That may depend in part on the geometry. In any case, this will be a new plaque. I might not know specifics about placement until I am there, so I will have to be prepared to work with what I bring. | |
| Jul 5 at 12:55 | comment | added | Steven Kersting | Why would there be a dark reflection? By necessity the raised details will be illuminated (lighter) when lit off-axis to create detail shadows. If you are so far off-axis as to not illuminate the details themselves they would also not create shadows; you would be back-lighting the object instead. | |
| Jul 5 at 12:51 | comment | added | Steven Kersting | @user1468178, a ring light does not create a shadow all the way around a detail; it does the opposite... it fills in the shadows all the way around. Any on-axis light is going to fill in the shadows seen from that position (by the camera)... that is why it is called "fill light." What you want is off-axis light (side light) to illuminate the raised portions and create darker shadows to the sides of them. | |
| Jul 5 at 10:10 | comment | added | Chris H | One useful tool is a multi-reflector kit (my pop-up one has black, white, silver and gold). But a white plastic shower curtain is also good as a diffuse reflecting/transmitting surface. Combined with side-lighting to get the shadows, this should give you bright letters (you might get away with one light source, or you might need 2 | |
| Jul 5 at 5:22 | comment | added | user1468178 | I definitely expect to use a tripod and controlled lighting for the "definitive" shots. And I do plan to experiment in advance, and do math on light paths and shadow depths. My present Bright Idea is to use a reflector like an umbrella with the center blocked, to create a ring of light which will (?) create weak a weak shadow all around each raised letter. I welcome--solicit--thoughts on this even before I start experimenting. | |
| Jul 5 at 4:34 | history | answered | Rafael | CC BY-SA 4.0 |