How to Capture Texture on a Flat Surface
Capturing the texture of a flat surface requires illuminating it so that each element of texture has both a highlight and shadow area. Dark subjects require special handling leveraging direct reflection to compensate for the lack diffuse reflection.
Light Subject
- Position the lights at a shallow angle to the surface.
- Adjust the distance of the lights from the subject to achieve even illumination of the subject.
- Use as small a light as possible to produce sharply defined shadows.
Dark Subject
- Use direct reflection by placing the light within the family of angles.
- Adjust the light so that it completely fills the entire range of angles. A large light placed on the right size of the subject is a common solution.
Mixed Subject
- Apply multiple techniques to the scene to address the surface variances.
- Deal with the more important parts of the scene when compromises are necessary.
- Try using a larger light that completely fills both the inside and outside of the family of angles. This solution is imperfect and will make blacks appear less black.
- Try to remove unwanted reflections with a lens polarizing filter. This often fails to achieve satisfactory results by removing both good and bad reflections.
- Position the lights at a shallow angle to the surface.
- Adjust the distance of the lights from the subject to achieve even illumination of the subject.
- Use as small a light as possible to produce sharply defined shadows.
- Use direct reflection by placing the light within the family of angles.
- Adjust the light so that it completely fills the entire range of angles. A large light placed on the right size of the subject is a common solution.
Mixed Subject
- Apply multiple techniques to the scene to address the surface variances.
- Deal with the more important parts of the scene when compromises are necessary.
- Try using a larger light that completely fills both the inside and outside of the family of angles. This solution is imperfect and will make blacks appear less black.
- Try to remove unwanted reflections with a lens polarizing filter. This often fails to achieve satisfactory results by removing both good and bad reflections.
- Apply multiple techniques to the scene to address the surface variances.
- Deal with the more important parts of the scene when compromises are necessary.
- Try using a larger light that completely fills both the inside and outside of the family of angles. This solution is imperfect and will make blacks appear less black.
- Try to remove unwanted reflections with a lens polarizing filter. This often fails to achieve satisfactory results by removing both good and bad reflections.
