How do I photograph clear acrylic products on a pure white background?
Asked 9/10/2013
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I need to shoot crystal-clear acrylic/plexiglass products for an online shop and want them to appear on a seamless pure white background. Simply cutting out the subject in Photoshop doesn’t work because the background is visible through the transparent material. What lighting and background setup do photographers use for clear objects like this, and how can I keep the product edges looking defined instead of disappearing into white?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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I would use a cyclo wall setup or to use less fancy talk, a curved piece of white cardboard or paper. You light the background a couple stops brighter than your acrylic and you have a nice pure white seamless background. If you have a large piece of flat clear acrylic placing your product on it may provide for a pleasant reflection.
You will probably need to play with putting a different color light or a colored flag on your object to get some better reflections in your products as they may be too transparent to look good on pure white without some color.
Originally by user20982. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user20982
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A common approach is a high-key seamless setup: use a cyclorama-style sweep, or simply curve white paper/card behind the product so there’s no visible horizon line. Light that background separately so it runs about a couple of stops brighter than the acrylic, which helps it reproduce as pure white.
For small clear objects, give the subject its own carefully placed white card behind it, lit off-camera, so the card is hidden from the camera view but sends light through the object. Adjust brightness by changing the card’s distance from the light.
Be aware that clear objects on white often show dark edge lines (“blackline”) because of refraction. If the product looks too invisible on pure white, add controlled reflections with flags or colored cards/lights to define the shape. Placing the item on a sheet of clear acrylic can also create a clean reflection.
In short: separate background lighting, a seamless white sweep, and controlled reflections/flags are the key tools.
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