Reflections :: Shooting Highly Reflective Objects
Normally, I don't like to use the 'four-wall-white-board' method of shooting products as I find it too limiting, I much prefer open space and using light modifiers. However, since the product in question was a flat object with a mirror-like surface, I figured it might make things easier than shooting it in the open. So I pulled out an old light box that I built a while back. I placed two strobes behind the object and bounced light off the front and side walls of the light box onto the front and sides of the object. This provided more even lighting without blowing out the edges of the product. By shooting through the umbrellas into the walls of the light box, I was able to fill the light box with decent, soft light.
But it was a complete failure, the mirror-like rear of the iPod Touch was all over the place with reflections. You could clearly see the camera (which was shooting through a hole in the front of the light box.) After much trial and error, I realized that shooting straight on simply wasn't going to work. So I improvised. I printed a light gray color onto a piece of paper and stuck that between the iPod and the case. Voila! No more mirror. I also angled the iPod ever so slightly so that I wasn't shooting perfectly straight on; this kept the case itself from reflecting the camera.
This worked as expected, I saw no reflections and it was lit evenly.
The only problem now is that the iPod lacks authenticity, so I added some light reflections in Photoshop as well as corrected the slight angle so that it looked completely vertical. The nano was shot separately. In comparison, it does not have a mirror-like reflective back.
There you have it! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
*Note: One of my clients is Maximo Products and they are the manufacturers of these cases. I have gone through many cases and have not liked a single one. They were either too flimsy or rock hard so that they scratched up my iPod. I think Maximo nailed it with these cases, they are sort of in-between soft rubber and hard rubber, they're not too flimsy and not hard enough to scratch up your iPod. I highly recommend these cases.