Why is the edge of my glass (using David's set-up) showing?

Hello,
Could someone explain how I might get rid of the glass line in my mineral pics (see attached) . I'm using David's suggested set up "studio" for beginners? Have I got the wrong glass? Nobody else seems to have this line.
thank you
John

You need a larger sheet of glass!

Or try moving your specimen more twords the front of the glass.

Yip I agree....:?

You need to set up the camera higher and look down on the specimen. A larger piece of glass would help. I get by with a piece that is a 1ft square.

You can also "photo shop" it out.

Reiner Mielke Wrote:
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> You can also "photo shop" it out.

now why didn't I think of suggesting that? I took the liberty of editing the photo...

Wow!... thanks everyone.. that is cool Maggie.. I guess to need to get photoshop... I have a MAC perhaps I can first try with their system.
John

Photoshop is good, but it can take a long time, especially if you have to do it for every picture.

1) Get a larger piece of glass
or

2) (most logical) Change the angle of the camera relative to the glass (lift the camera higher and tilt the specimen backwards if necessary so the line is not in the field of view)

thanks Ibrahim

Back in the days when I used a glass background, I used a 24" long sheet. This obviated the edge issue, even for large specimens and low angles. A smaller sheet can leave you with no edge-free options for a large specimen.

In the long run, I found the glass to be more of a nuisance than a benefit when taking photos for routine purposes, especially for lower value specimens for my commercial minerals-for-sale web site.

Another hint: if you use a polarizing filter on your camera you can get rid of the reflection in the glass.

I use a longer sheet of non-glare glass, I think it is 16 x10 or something close to that. I have it mounted in a wooden box I have made, over which I draped a black cloth. The glass then lays in the box on the cloth, so that the backdrop is black. I position the specimen very near the front center of the glass, and have adjused my camera/tripod so that it looks down upon the piece. With this setup, I have captured some good photos, and don't catch any glass edge.

Another tip I can offer--I keep a can of compressed air on hand. This is like the type used to blow dust out of computers, etc. This comes in handy when I am taking photos of specimens one right after the other, and some of them are perhaps a bit crumbly. To avoid smudges that might come from picking up the small pieces with my fingers, or scratches that might come to the glass from wiping them off with a cloth, I just hit them with a blast of air and off they go. Every once in a while there is a persistent piece that just requires a wiping, but it helps with nearly all of them.

For picture frames there is a type of glass with a dull surface. If the glass ist directly on the picture you have a clear look on the picture but the you have no reflection of a lamp or the window etc. by this kind of glass. Ask a glasser for a pane of such glass. Each glasser who frames pictures should have it.

Uwe Ludwig

thank you one and all for these excellent tips.
John

I agree with Steve - shooting on glass is a pain, and I don't recommend it for every specimen, or for every purpose. It has to be cleaned constantly, it scratches and has to be replaced frequently, and yes, you do have to be mindful of the edges - good tips above for avoiding the edge issue, but for various reasons I do occasionally end up resorting to Photoshop (good job Maggie!).

That said, I do shoot on glass because with proper care it can produce the best results (in my humble opinion), but it takes a fair bit of time to achieve these results - I do around 20 specimens in an eight hour day when I'm doing my 'magazine quality' (for lack of a better word) photos. I use an 18"x36" piece of low-glare glass on a custom built table. This gives me lots of room for fairly big specimens (then weight becomes an issue), but the way I achieve my background effects has as much to do with the size of the glass as anything else - you can get away with a lot smaller.

The cheap photo cubes you can get on ebay are probably the best way to achieve good results quickly. I'm not sure how much time Maggie puts into her photos, but she also gets excellent results with her setup.

There are many 'right' ways to photograph minerals, just ask yourself if the method you're using is worth the amount of time you have to put into it for the results you're getting, and why you're taking the photo in the first place. Is this photo of this specimen going to be published on the cover of a book? Are you practicing your technique? Is it intended to be a good reference upload to Mindat? Are you trying to sell a $10 specimen on eBay?

That makes a lot of sense Michael.. Thanks for that input....and my wife thanks you too re: 'worth the time" :))