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How to get rid of glare?

A

acuriousman

I have a lamp that I use to light my video shoots. It has 4 bulbs on it that are able to move/flex in any direction. The trouble is, I have to bring these bulbs REALLY close to my camera to get decent exposure. This creates a lot of nasty glare from the bulbs on the item I'm shooting. It might look fine one second, but if I tilt or turn the item, tons of glare pops in. Which is HORRIBLE for video.

Example of the glare.

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My lamp:

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Any idea how I can fix this?

Thank you for reading. :)
 
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You will need to slightly change the angle of the item you are shooting
and your camera. Move the lights to a slightly different angle. Experiment
with all three until you find the exact angle where the glare is bounding
away from the cameras lens.
 
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directorik said:
You will need to slightly change the angle of the item you are shooting
and your camera. Move the lights to a slightly different angle. Experiment
with all three until you find the exact angle where the glare is bounding
away from the cameras lens.
Click to expand...

I tried that, but with the video I shoot (Moving the item around/tilting a lot) it always catches the glare again. :(

Somebody mentioned a softbox, would that help me?
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
Yes, it still stop the concentrated spot, though you may still get some glare from a shiny surface (use polarizer). Bouncing the light off a white ceiling might do basically the same thing (as a softbox).
Click to expand...

A polarizer... I've never used one of those before.
I have a GH2 with a 14mm 2.5 lens. What polarizers could I put on that to get rid of this glare/reflections? Would using a polarizer mean my picture would become dimmer/darker?
 
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Just throw up some 216 or 250 in front of it, and it will help - cheaper and easier than a softbox by far. Also, change the angles. If you can't change the angle of the light, change the angle of the object.

Matte/dulling spray often works on shiny objects as well.
 
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You may want to consider a spray that reduses how shiney a surface is. I don't remember the name, but dulling spray comes to mind. It can help (but not always fix) when shooting reflective surfaces like metals, chrome, plastics, glass etc..

It looks like you need more light for what you're using, not less.... and a color balance. Also consider bouncing off a reflector board. It won't help you if you do need more light, but it may be a cheaper way to diffuse the light without using filters or a softbox. No boards? Bounce off a white wall/ceiling/piece of white cardboard held by a pa/grip. While not perfect, it may help your plight.
 
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Wait a minute, what?! Beeeep, beeep, beeep! Back up.

You have a GH2, with a 14mm 2.5 lens. Unless you're going for some weird/interesting effect, I can't imagine many useful purposes for this lighting setup. You need a light kit. Even spending $100 on a bare-bones DIY kit will yield far better results than the lamp you stole from your older brother's dorm-room. Hell, with a GH2, natural lighting would almost always be better than that lamp.

Forget eliminating the glare. Build a light kit. :)
 
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Yeah, I have to agree wth CF. If this lamp is all you got, then the suggestions here will help, but this lamp isn't going to be what you want to be lighting your films with.

At the very least swap the flourescent bulbs for some tungsten or halogen bulbs, it'll at least igive you a much nicer colour cast.
 
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_Rok_ said:
-One light on each side.
-Sync both lights using sheets of polarizing filter.
-Rotate camera polarizer until hotspot is gone.

An expensive, but guaranteed, result.


Thomas
Click to expand...

Okay, I understand the two lights part. But what lights do I get and what do I use to attach the paper?


Cracker Funk said:
Wait a minute, what?! Beeeep, beeep, beeep! Back up.

You have a GH2, with a 14mm 2.5 lens. Unless you're going for some weird/interesting effect, I can't imagine many useful purposes for this lighting setup. You need a light kit. Even spending $100 on a bare-bones DIY kit will yield far better results than the lamp you stole from your older brother's dorm-room. Hell, with a GH2, natural lighting would almost always be better than that lamp.

Forget eliminating the glare. Build a light kit. :)
Click to expand...

Any recommendations for a light kit? And wait, the kit won't get rid of glare?
 
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Okay, for clarity, I'll flesh out my previous post:

** I'm assuming you replaced your lights per the recommendations of the other replies.

1) Your camera is too close to the subject. When the camera is that close it's exposed to all kinds of scattered light rays as they leave the subject. SOLUTION: Zoom the camera IN and then position it as far back as needed to get your desired composition.

2) The lights are too close to the subject and the camera. Move the lights further away from the subject, and father apart. You want an angle of incidence of about 45 degrees.

At this point, you should already see an improvement. So, take a few test photos. If you are satisfied with results, congratulations, you are done. But, if you still suffer from undesired highlights (and have some money to throw at it) you should consider polarization of BOTH the lights and the lens, called "Cross Polarization". NOTE: You are going to lose 3-5 stops of light doing this, so consider yourself warned. There are lots of excellent tutorials on cross polarization, so have at it. Google is your friend.

Oh, to answer your question about how to mount the polarizing filter on your lamp: tape it, or use clothes pegs.

Regards,

Thomas
 
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Oh yeah, Rok makes a good point, and I have a feeling that the distance between the camera and the subject is being effected by the focal length of the lens. I love me some wide angle, but I can't imagine shooting with it exclusively. You should probably get a longer lens, maybe something around 35-50mm.
 
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