Photographing Silver Objects - By: Carol Scheer

One of the trickiest things to photograph are silver objects. Since silver is extremely reflective it acts like a mirror and your pictures show the camera, your hands, and whatever is behind you.

For example here’s a photograph of a sterling silver bracelet. You see both the camera and my fingers being reflected in the bracelet. The problem gets even bigger when you are photographing larger objects such as silver teapots or trays.

So how do we get around this reflective problem?

One simple thing you can do is to make sure that the wall that is behind you is white. This is especially important when shooting larger objects. Not only will the silver item reflect your camera and your hands but it will also reflect whatever is behind you.

The next trick is one I’ve used for many years and is quite simple.

I take a piece of sturdy cardboard, cut a hole in the center that is large enough to slip over the lens of my camera, and then cover the cardboard with tinfoil.

Here’s my cardboard creation and here it is placed over the front of my camera. By doing this I’ve reduced the amount of “noise” that is being reflected onto the object.


The end result is much less reflection on the item. You will still see the camera lens reflected in the object but it’s a whole lot better than seeing the entire camera, my fingers and anything that is behind me.

If you want to take it even one step further you can use a graphic software program (such as Photoshop) to smudge out the reflection of the camera lens.

One of the trickiest things to photograph are silver objects. Since silver is extremely reflective it acts like a mirror and your pictures show the camera, your hands, and whatever is behind you.

Carol Scheer of Ruby Lane shop Return to Splendor

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/areturntosplendor