Mac Lynch wrote:

Kia Ora
My friend has a lovely carving of praying hands in medium dark polished wood.
I have tried all types of lighting conditions but cannot eliminate the shine
off the wood.
I am unable to treat the wood itself, but is there a form of indirect or
diffused light that may not spoil the photo of this carving my friend has made
& we are so proud of?
Any help would be appreciated.
I am using a Ricoh digital camera.
Thanks
Mac


First possibility -- shoot through a hole in a black panel, so no light
is coming from the camera; supply all light from the sides (out of
field, of course), very diffuse (broad source light behind a muslin
sheet, frosted plastic, etc.); that should show up the relief of the
carving with little or no glare from reflections into the lens.
Alternately, one to three point sources to the side, still shooting
through a hole in a black panel, might give less glare if the relief is
high and reflects the diffusers into the lens; instead of broad areas of
glare, it will then be reduced to an array of points.

Either way, be sure to use either enough light or a camera mode that
will turn off any on-camera flash, to avoid direct glare.

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.