Need close-up lighting techniques

dbe4876

A few weeks ago I purchased the "Photo Studio in a Box" product to begin documenting my gem & mineral collection. The product comes with a couple of small tungsten lights, but using them really doesn't appeal to me - too hot, and overtime will discolor the white diffusing fabric. Instead, I purchased a couple of Bayco clamp light units from the local hardware store and a some Eiko Photo Pro 30w 5500K fluorescent bulbs.

The fluorescent lighting seems to be working well, except that I run into reflection problems on rocks and/or minerals that have highly polished surfaces. Here's an example...

(http://dbe.smugmug.com/gallery/2144594/1/107738116)

Aside from the obvious DOF issue (Hey! I'm still learning here;-) it's really hard to get away from some kind of reflection on this highly polished surface. And this is in spite of using a polarizing filter as well - all I could do with the polarizer was effectively move the reflections around. My other option seems to be to drape a white dish towel over the sides of the lightbox to further diffuse the subject. But if you just cut out more and more light until you have no reflections...one wonders...what point there is to anything more than ambient lighting. So, obviously there must be some techniques for this type of close-up work that I am unfamiliar with.

Could anyone lend some suggestions on how to deal with these lighting situations? Also, I would appreciated being directed toward a good book on lighting that addresses these types of close-up reflection issues.

LiquidAir

Light, Science & Magic; An Introduction to Photographic Lighting by Fil Hunter and Paul Fuqua. This is a must read for the kind of shots you are doing.

TristanP

You need a front panel on the light tent. That and judicious placement of the lights should do the trick.