How can I suspend an object for a photo without the support showing?
Asked 12/6/2010
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I want to photograph a small household object, such as a flashlight, so it appears suspended in midair. It only weighs a few pounds, but the support cannot be visible in the final image. Would fishing line work for this, or is another material better? Also, how should I light the scene so the support is less likely to show up?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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I think most of the time these days, lines uses to hang objects in a scene are edited out during post processing. In particular, it is very easy to remove such undesirable content with features such as Content Aware Fill in Photoshop CS5 (or the GIMP equivalent if you can't afford CS5.)
I would recommend against fishing line, however. It is translucent, and will likely catch and refract light, making it more visible than something else. I would say use a dark line if your scene background is darker, or a lighter line if your scene background is lighter...preferably something similar to the primary colors of your scene. It may be that you do not need to do any post-process editing to remove it from your shots, but if you do, having something that naturally blends into the scene will make it easier to get rid of.
Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user124
15y ago
0
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Yes—this is a useful setup question. Fishing line can work, but clear line often catches and refracts light, which can make it more visible than expected. A better approach is usually to use a thread or string that matches the background and scene tone: dark thread with a dark background, lighter thread with a light background, and preferably a matte finish rather than shiny or translucent material.
Lighting should avoid specular highlights on the support, since reflections are what make it stand out. In practice, that means avoiding angles that put direct light onto the line and keeping the support against a similar-toned background.
A very common solution is to suspend the object with whatever support is practical, then remove the visible line in post-processing using cloning or content-aware tools. That is often easier and cleaner than trying to make the support completely invisible in-camera.
So: use strong thread/string, preferably matte and background-matched, light to minimize reflections, and plan on retouching out any remaining visible support afterward.
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