Best relective surface? Leaf skeletons

Emja

Emja

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Emma
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I bought a granite chopping board last week hoping to use it for photography - the reflection it gives is exactly as I wanted, but unfortunately there are some grey flecks in it that were a complete pain to get rid of in pp! Then I tried a sheet of plain glass over black velvet, but ended up with double reflections. I can't seem to get a definitive answer from the all-knowing Google - so wondered if anyone here had any tips? I darkened the backgrounds further just using shadows and exposure adjustments in LR - it was easy but took a while - is there a search I could do that would give me an easier way in Photoshop maybe? I have a copy but am a complete novice!

Granite chopping board
fading beauty by Em Jay, on Flickr

Glass over velvet
fading beauty revisited by Em Jay, on Flickr
 
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Emma,
I use two different surfaces for that purpose. Some very costly "high gloss"
stainless steel plates and the cheaper, more flexible and colourful world of
vinyl rolls.
 
Andrew Moore said:
Can you not get a sheet of coloured perspex?
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This is also an option though more expensive than vinyl,
heavier and less flexible as vinyl may be used like a paper roll.
 
I'm assuming that it is removing the flecks that is time-consuming. How are you doing it? I just put a number of nasties into the background of your first image and removed them pretty quickly with the Spot Removal brush in Lightroom. Or you could use the Healing Brush in Photoshop.

If you aren't familiar with these tools and find them slow and possibly confusing to use (especially the Lightroom tool) then you may need to practice a bit to understand exactly how they work, and in particular where they are picking the source material up from to use for the healing. And in Lightroom you need to get familiar with moving the source area if it doesn't give the right effect on the target area. Once you are familiar with them both tools can be quite fast to use for easy tasks like dealing with imperfections in a plain backbackground.
 
I like the crisp reflection you get in the granite. Unlike other black surfaces like glass or plastic the light does not penetrate the surface at all.
Perhaps the easy answer is a "better" piece of Black granite, with out flecks But that is not easy to find, as it almost always has flecks of quartz in it.

You could always take it to a Spray shop and have it painted and polished.
 
Phone a granite dealer and ask if they have some solid black, nothing to lose. Good luck with your search.
 
I thought black perspex was the most used solution. But I've also seen it done with a black bin liner laid out with a layer of water on it. If you haven't got any water, Guinness is good for it apparently.
 
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Andrew Moore said:
Can you not get a sheet of coloured perspex? This will have a mirror finish in the right light and will act in a similar way to the granite given its opaque.
Click to expand...
That was the option I was perhaps going for next - I had a look at some websites, but it wasn't very clear whether the black was opaque or transparent - as a few people have mentioned it here I'll contact a couple of sellers and ask. Thank you!
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
I like the crisp reflection you get in the granite. Unlike other black surfaces like glass or plastic the light does not penetrate the surface at all.
Perhaps the easy answer is a "better" piece of Black granite, with out flecks But that is not easy to find, as it almost always has flecks of quartz in it.

You could always take it to a Spray shop and have it painted and polished.
Click to expand...
Graham said:
Phone a granite dealer and ask if they have some solid black, nothing to lose. Good luck with your search.
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Good suggestions - thank you both - I really like the reflection in the granite, too.
 
Emja said:
does it give such a sharp reflection
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It does, Emma!

The only thing is to be sure it is the glossy surface
as there are a mat and semi mat surfaces as well
and I use them all three.
 
ianp5a said:
I thought black perspex was the most used solution. But I've also seen it done with a black bin liner laid out with a layer of water on it. If you haven't got any water, Guinness is good for it apparently.
Click to expand...
That's an interesting angle - not sure the water would have done the leaf much good in this case though...I might stick to drinking the Guiness ;) Thanks for the reply!
 
GardenersHelper said:
I'm assuming that it is removing the flecks that is time-consuming. How are you doing it? I just put a number of nasties into the background of your first image and removed them pretty quickly with the Spot Removal brush in Lightroom. Or you could use the Healing Brush in Photoshop.

If you aren't familiar with these tools and find them slow and possibly confusing to use (especially the Lightroom tool) then you may need to practice a bit to understand exactly how they work, and in particular where they are picking the source material up from to use for the healing. And in Lightroom you need to get familiar with moving the source area if it doesn't give the right effect on the target area. Once you are familiar with them both tools can be quite fast to use for easy tasks like dealing with imperfections in a plain backbackground.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply Nick. There were too many flecks to use the spot removal in LR in this case. I'm fine using LR for most basic things, though actually prefer the cloning tool in Gimp. I used shadows and exposure adjustment to darken the bg because the leaf was lit by window light, so the correct exposure for the leaf showed detail in the black velvet behind as well as the dreaded chopping board! It was a fiddly option as some areas needed less darkening than others and I kept getting blocked shadows and having to readjust. I just wondered if there was a quicker way in PS.
 
Simple solution, go to Poundland and get a can of black spray paint to paint the rear of your glass,
Clean first as any dust/smears will be sealed under the paint.
This will solve the double reflection problem for you and a lot cheaper than most other options.
Perspex/Acrylic sheet is a pain, attracts dust and is easily scratched, not to mention the cost.
 
Steve B said:
get a can of black spray paint to paint the rear of your glass
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That would be great if it were so simple!

Yes, your idea could work but to the same price
(undesirable effect) then using a mirror!
 
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Emja said:
Thanks for the reply Nick. There were too many flecks to use the spot removal in LR in this case. I'm fine using LR for most basic things, though actually prefer the cloning tool in Gimp. I used shadows and exposure adjustment to darken the bg because the leaf was lit by window light, so the correct exposure for the leaf showed detail in the black velvet behind as well as the dreaded chopping board! It was a fiddly option as some areas needed less darkening than others and I kept getting blocked shadows and having to readjust. I just wondered if there was a quicker way in PS.
Click to expand...

Ah, it sounds a bit more difficult than I thought. I was thinking one click of the Magic Wand in PS (or GIMP) to select most of the background, except the flecks, then lassoo to include the flecks, and then paint bucket to fill the selected area with a dark colour selected from the background.
 
You could try a tile shop. Either floor or the bigger bathroom tiles. Neither expensive, and you might be able to get away with free samples ;)
 
Kodiak Qc said:
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That would be great if it were so simple!

Yes, your idea could work but to the same price
(undesirable effect) then using a mirror!
Click to expand...

Maybe you should try it, rather than judging on what you think will happen. It's not the same as a mirror, where the reflection comes from the rear of the glass.
 
Steve B said:
the reflection comes from the rear of the glass.
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…and where comes the reflection with your suggestion?

From under the glass means the same effect or
from over the glass? So you mean, Steve that the
dried paint surface will not be so easily scratched?
 
susiejb said:
Hi Emma ....love those leaves :) don't know if it's any help but I use matt black card under a piece of plain glass, it seems to work well, good to see all the other handy hints too !
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Thanks Susie! The glass I used gave me double reflections, but I did read that the thickness of glass can affect that. There have been a lot of useful ideas here, though :)
 
Kodiak Qc said:
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…and where comes the reflection with your suggestion?

From under the glass means the same effect or
from over the glass? So you mean, Steve that the
dried paint surface will not be so easily scratched?
Click to expand...

Once painted the reflection comes only from the top surface of the glass.
Yes the paint can get scratched if you don't take care of it, the same can be said of perspex/acrylic.
The best way to protect it is to use a clip photoframe, replacing the backing after painting the glass, then it will be safe from scratches.
For larger sheets of glass, wrapping it in cloth for storage helps, I use an old bath towel :)
 
Steve B said:
the reflection comes only from the top surface of the glass.
Yes the paint can get scratched if you don't take care of it, the same can be said of perspex/acrylic.
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Absolutely, we agree on that.

My suggestion of the vinyl has more advantages over the glass,
perspex/acrylic, or "high gloss" polished stainless steel plates.
It is as flexible as paper and is more scratch resistant than most
other solutions I know of…

True is that any glossy surfaces will do once but few will do more
than three of four sessions. The suggested floor tile has the hardest
surface but getting a big enough one… that is flexible…

Now I think I know we are talking about the same thing! ;-)
 
Steve B said:
Simple solution, go to Poundland and get a can of black spray paint to paint the rear of your glass,
Clean first as any dust/smears will be sealed under the paint.
This will solve the double reflection problem for you and a lot cheaper than most other options.
Perspex/Acrylic sheet is a pain, attracts dust and is easily scratched, not to mention the cost.
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve - the clip frame idea to help prevent scratches is a clever idea, too. Worth trying!
 
Emja said:
Thanks Steve - the clip frame idea to help prevent scratches is a clever idea, too. Worth trying!
Click to expand...

Here's some examples shot using a painted glass surface, though they don't show it as being black as they only show reflected light. The camera one shows clearly that there is no double reflection.

Kodak DX3900 365/339 by Steve Bennett, on Flickr

Yes you can get a white background, even though the glass is painted black underneath :)
Black to White 365/50 by Steve Bennett, on Flickr

Ah, found a black one, but this is clear acrylic sheet painted black on the underside.
Brass Screws 365/45 by Steve Bennett, on Flickr
 
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Steve B said:
Here's some examples shot using a painted glass surface, though they don't show it as being black as they only show reflected light. The camera one shows clearly that there is no double reflection.
Click to expand...

They look great Steve - thanks for taking the time to show them. Do the sides of the glass need painting too? I was just wondering why placing the glass on a velvet surface isn't enough to stop the extra refection coming from underneath, but painting it black is?
 
Emja said:
They look great Steve - thanks for taking the time to show them. Do the sides of the glass need painting too? I was just wondering why placing the glass on a velvet surface isn't enough to stop the extra refection coming from underneath, but painting it black is?
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No problem Emma, pleased to help.
I have to confess, I don't know the science behind it, but placing the glass on a black surface doesn't prevent the double reflection, while painting it does for some reason. No need to paint the sides, though if spraying it there is a good chance some paint will get on the edges anyway, but it is not essential, even using flash from the sides.
Poundland's black spray works great, apply 2 or 3 light coats rather than one heavy one, though if you get runs don't worry, it wont show. A single can will do several sheets of glass, a bargain for a quid :) .
 
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