 Garrett Baker |
How to Shoot Flame Maple Guitar Necks I wondered if anyone had any experience capturing the detail in flame maple guitar necks. The detail has a holographic quality that I would like to be able to capture more consistently. The best technique I have now is lighting just one side and then balancing thw shot with masks in Photoshop. I suspect some type of off camera flash would help. Anyone?
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BetterPhoto Member |
Hi Garrett; You've got quite the dilemma going. Flame Maple is a hard grain to capture on film. I have never been able to get the depth of grain. The pattern is easy. It's a very rich wood, but the halographic pattern you mention is the problem. It's like trying to capture the pearl paint on a car. You may have some luck using a polarizing filter. Other than that, I have no clue. Have fun and keep shooting,
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Mark Feldstein |
When shooting highly reflective objects, all a polarizer is going to do is diminish the detail and it may or may not get rid of unwanted reflections or glare, depending on how the light is hitting it. The solution for shooting any highly reflective surface, is to light it indirectly rather than directly. For example, you could place the lights behind and above the guitar, pointed towards the camera and at the camera, bounce light back into the subject using a fill card like white fome core. Once you have the approx. angle of the card established, cut a hole through it for the camera lens to shoot through. Take your meter readings at that point based on incident rather than reflected light. Piece of cake. Note that you're going to probably need an extra pair of hands so you can look through the viewfinder or stand at the camera while someone maneuvers the bounce card to properly position it. And, it takes some time to get the technique down. Be patient. This technique works with reflective objects, lacquered, acrylics, metals, laminates, etc., no matter what the actual finish is composed of. And with proper setting, you always get the texture. Get the picture? ;>)
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BetterPhoto Member |
Hey Mark; He's not wanting to capture the finish. Flame maple has the ability to reflect different colors depending on how light hits it, kinda like a pearl. Unless you are familiar with the wood, you wouldn't understand. The problem is that you must get through the finish with the camera, then get the lighting right. If you can find a guitar shop with a gutiar that has a flame maple neck in stock, you'll find out what I'm talking about. It's really hard to explain. Have fun and keep shooting,
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BetterPhoto Member |
Basically, it's not the grain, it's the resin in the grain.
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chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny Contact Chris Budny Chris Budny's Gallery |
Talk about gorgeous wood! I have a few turned vessels, one in flame (or fiddleback) maple, and if you see this wood, you will immediately know the effect---I have yet to be able to capture it, either. (See http://www.edromanguitars.com/wood/quilt.htm for some shots of guitars, of various luster-changing woods that reveal this optical effect of light on the grain. Unfortunately, these shots aren't closeups, so you only get an inkling of the effect.)
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Mark Feldstein |
I know exactly what he means Mark. It's the image beneath the finish. The technique I described will do what he wants to do. It works for a light design stenciled on wood covered by 10 coats of polyurethane and acrylic high gloss enamel plastic with metal logos embedded in them where you're basically shooting inlayed metal on reflective black. Try it. Then we'll chat. BTW, maybe an 81B warming filter would be nice. :>)
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BetterPhoto Member |
First of all, that's completely different from what he's trying to do. He's trying to capture something in the wood, not on the wood. An effect that's natural, not added.
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Garrett Baker |
Thanks so much, gents. That gives me some more options. Take care!
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John G. Clifford Jr |
I get the same results with the poor man's version of what Mark F. is describing when I am taking pictures of highly-figured walnut. The way I do it is use a light source that is off to one side, with a white reflector off to the other side. I want enough light to bring out the grain and figure, but I don't want any reflections of light on the subject. I have found that direct sunlight often brings out the color in walnut very intensely and results in vivid saturation, and have shot this type of subject aided by illumination from a window thru which the sun is shining. (Maybe it's the UV in sunlight?) My one concern with having a reflector thru which you shoot the image is that you need to be careful so that it doesn't cause a reflection on your subject.
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Mark Feldstein |
Well John, what you're describing is based on the intensity and angle of incidence vs. reflection of the sunlight to the object you're photographing. This is also referred to as controlling your lighting, which is something studio photographers tend to do to achieve both the results you and I described. If you used a properly placed piece of white fomecore to bounce light back into the subject, chances are, it will wash the surface of the object with white from the reflector. But as you move both the object and the reflector in relation to each other while checking the viewfinder, at some particular angle, the whiteness will disappear and the true character, i.e., the design, texture, color, etc. of the object will appear in the viewfinder. That's all I'm saying. But yeah, I think you're absolutely right.
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