How to reflect sequins/shiny objects

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Name
Julia
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You know how sometimes sequins or other shiny objects will reflect a bright or sometimes kind of rainbow colored reflection on things? I want to take a photo of this reflection on someone's face. How do I light something to make those reflections? I was experimenting just now with a lighting kit and a shirt with sequins all over it but I couldn't get it to reflect how I want it to. The photo will be black and white and I do not want the shirt to be in the frame. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

(I hope this is ok, I'm new here.)
 
Welcome to the forum.
It will take a combination of trial and error, pure luck and a knowledge of lighting physics if you use method 1..

Method 1. use a small, hard light source angled at a group of sequins so that the light is reflected towards the face.

or use method 2, which is to add the reflections in photoshop:)
 



I have applied, in the past, such effect and three points
came out of the experience:

  1. Using a small soft box will permit a less critical
    angle adjustment and cover more reflective area

  2. Available in crafts shops, I used a hot glue pistol
    to set them on a A3 flexible cardboard so I could
    have more control and room to play bending it
    inward or outward to narrow or spread the effect

  3. Using two A3, one white and one black, will allow
    better control of the power of the reflection — the
    white will make it softer mixing it with the bounce
    of the light source, and the black will produce no
    such bounce and harder effect.

    Have a good time!
 
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Actually 2 different effects in operation, the rainbow is the result of a prismatic effect where the light has passed through and spilt into the different colours and the spots of light are reflections - thing is with a bunch of sequins you can have both happening

Often in photography things are faked such as using Photoshop, alternatives may be by projecting light via a slide projector or a gobo system such as lightblaster

Mike
 
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