Awards showcase your achievements, and sometimes you want to take pictures of these items to share with others or upload to your websites. Many awards are made of glass, which means that the surface is very reflective. This makes it harder to photograph the award, but not impossible. You can learn how to photograph glass awards, and you may already have all the equipment that you need to do this.
Lighting
The first step to learning how to photograph glass awards is to turn off your flash. Your camera's flash is going to reflect off the object, creating a dull or over-exposed image. Instead, you need to light up the object using external glass. Light the glass award from above and below. You may want to diffuse the light so that it’s not too harsh. If you don’t have a diffuser, simply throw some shear fabric over the light itself or learn how to make a homemade flash diffuser.
Lighting the glass from below allows the light to move upwards through the glass, which ensures that your object is evenly lit from all angles. It also enhances the natural lines and texture of the glass. For example, you can use this method to make crystal sparkle.
Background
Try to remove any distracting items from the background if at all possible, and place the glass against either a white or black background for the most dramatic effect. You should also place the object on a pedestal covered in either white or black paper.
Techniques
When photographing glass awards, you want to capture the writing on the awards. This means either getting really close to the object or zooming in on it. Either way, you need a tripod. A tripod will provide stability for the camera and reduce blurry pictures caused by shaking hands. Glass is already tricky to work with, adding shaking hands will decrease the overall quality of your images.
Fill the entire frame of the camera with the award unless you want to include the recipient in the shot. The main subject of the image should be the award. Put the award in the forefront, and position the recipient slightly behind the award. The award should be about mid-way up the person since this allows you to capture the person’s face and the award. Use a higher pedestal if you have to.
If you are shooting people, you may have to forego the black background depending on what the person is wearing. For example, if he is wearing a black suit, he won’t show up properly against the background. So, you may have to use white in this case.
When learning how to photograph glass awards, it's important to experiment. Try focusing on just the lettering and blurring out the sides of the award. Or, only focus on sections of the award if it is large and has interesting features. Take a lot of shots. Usually, you have to take as many as 50 shots to find the best one. Just have patience, and have fun.
Misty Faucheux - Misty Faucheux has been a freelance writer for over 10 years, and she has written for both online and offline publications, including ...
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