How to get rid of glare?

[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.



My lamp:



Any idea how I can fix this?

Thank you for reading.

[zoobie]

Those are the wrong bulbs to begin. You need directional bulbs - usually on each side of the subject.
Then, you could make a soft box for the light(s) with a white bed sheet that softens and reduces the glare.
What exactly are you shooting?

[acuriousman]

Wrong bulbs? Do you mean the positioning or the model themselves?
I'm shooting a review video. It requires me to move and angle the product in a variety of ways. But no matter how I angle those lights, I keep catching glare whenever I most the product a certain way.

I tried pointing the lamps at the wall but that makes the video dim/dark. The only position I can get enough light is with the bulbs right next the camera.
Somebody mentioned a softbox. Would that help with the massive glare orb?

[filmboss80]

Yep. You need to learn a little something about diffusion. It wouldn't hurt to also learn about bouncing light off soft reflectors. That homemade lighting rig looks absolutely ghastly. The lights may point outward in different directions, but they emit from the same spot. This is bass ackwards. You need lights coming from several different locations that are aimed (or bounced) toward the point of the subject. (Key light, fill light, back light, etc.) And again, to eliminate glare, think diffusion, diffusion, diffusion.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Yep. You need to learn a little something about diffusion. It wouldn't hurt to also learn about bouncing light off soft reflectors. That homemade lighting rig looks absolutely ghastly. The lights may point outward in different directions, but they emit from the same spot. This is bass ackwards. You need lights coming from several different locations that are aimed (or bounced) toward the point of the subject. (Key light, fill light, back light, etc.) And again, to eliminate glare, think diffusion, diffusion, diffusion.

This is the correct answer: use diffused light and ALWAYS have direct light behind the camera so there's no reflection. When shooting outdoors always put your back towards the sun and have the subject face the sun.

BTW: fluorescent sucks for photography.

[MJA]

check this one from Ikea

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80028552/

[sanlyn]

This is the correct answer: use diffused light and ALWAYS have direct light behind the camera so there's no reflection. When shooting outdoors always put your back towards the sun and have the subject face the sun.

BTW: fluorescent sucks for photography.

Yep, I agree with that, but -- directly facing the sun? Ouch!

[Cornucopia]

Pro suggestions:
1. Get correct kind of lights (fresnels, floods)
2. Use Diffusion (scrims, toughspun, etc), bounce cards & softbox, etc
3. Position the lights to avoid glare (angle of incidence = angle of reflection)
4. Use polarizing filters

If you don't want to go pro, you are just compromising your output. You can go pro in stages, but if you don't start heading in that direction, you should accept the compromises you are putting upon the quality of your output.

Scott

[aedipuss]

you can buy starter kits - http://www.amazon.com/Fancierstudio-Lighting-Hairlight-Softbox-9004SB2/dp/B0047FHOWG/r...video+lighting

[Cornucopia]

Yep. You need to learn a little something about diffusion. It wouldn't hurt to also learn about bouncing light off soft reflectors. That homemade lighting rig looks absolutely ghastly. The lights may point outward in different directions, but they emit from the same spot. This is bass ackwards. You need lights coming from several different locations that are aimed (or bounced) toward the point of the subject. (Key light, fill light, back light, etc.) And again, to eliminate glare, think diffusion, diffusion, diffusion.

This is the correct answer: use diffused light and ALWAYS have direct light behind the camera so there's no reflection. When shooting outdoors always put your back towards the sun and have the subject face the sun.

BTW: fluorescent sucks for photography.

Pro Flourescents like KinoFlo are designed to give a much more balanced light and a quite common in the field, but you are right that standard, stock consumer flourescents suck.

I also wouldn't put the light RIGHT behind the camera (and into the subject's eyes). Remember how copy stands use 45degree equal sidelights - they do that for a reason (fairly low glare, shadows somewhat cancel out).

Scott

[MOVIEGEEK]

You guys crack me up, I didn't say for the subjects to look at the sun.
I was making an analogy for indoor lighting.

[Video Head]

That is quite the lighting set-up! As previous posts have said, you will need to diffuse the light to soften and spread it over a greater area. There are many ways of achieving this. You actually hit on it when you said that you tried bouncing the light off a wall. Bouncing light works well to diffuse and spread. Remember that walls are not usually true white so you are introducing colour to the light. Ceiling bounces can also work. In order for the bounce to work you will need proper lamps. Go to your local photo store and pick up a couple of 250W tungsten daylight corrected photoflood lamps. You will need to be careful with that light fixture as it may not be able to handle the wattage. Only turn them on when you are actually shooting and never leave them on unattended.

If this is something that you are going to be doing on a regular basis you might want to look at something like a Lowel Prolite and a stand. It can accomodate barn doors or umbrellas. With an umbrella you can bounce or shoot-through to diffuse the light. A 3 light set-up is optimal: key light to light the subject, back light to light the background and a fill light to cover the shadows and provide an overall ambient light. When shooting smaller objects I like to use a shoot-through umbrella on each side with a large bounce umbrella above and behind the camera to one side.

Your background can really effect the light as well, or how your camera lens reacts to it. Go to your local fabric store and pick up a piece of muslin cloth or something that will give contrast without glaring.

You do not need to spend alot of money on lighting but it has a great affect on the quality of any photography that you do, still or motion. Look in your local hardware store for interesting pieces you can use, try to find decent used stands and practice to see what works and what doesn't. Some of the greatest photographers are the ones who can improvize using scraps to get the lighting and location that creates a masterpiece.