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Looking for reflective material for still life set up

Started Jan 10, 2019 | Discussions
tripleC
tripleC Veteran Member • Posts: 4,337
Looking for reflective material for still life set up

As the title suggests-- Any idea of what I can use. Needs to be thin, flexible and reflective somewhat like a mirror. Looking mainly for black or smoky gray color, also maybe a silver. Have looked for mylar and acrylic material, but have not found anything larger that 12x12. Would anyone know of a company or manufacturer of products like this? Thanks for any help.

 tripleC's gear list:tripleC's gear list
Nikon D5500 Nikon AF-P 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G VR Nikon AF-P 70-300mm F4.5-6.3G
John P Roskos Regular Member • Posts: 300
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

First look here for your flexible type materials:

https://www.grafixplastics.com/materials-plastic-film-plastic-sheets/specialty-materials/adhesive-film/protection-film/

Then here for possible coatings:

https://www.windowtint.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_ojN-eHj3wIVSbbACh2rNgGJEAAYAiAAEgJ13PD_BwE

Maybe able to apply to the surface protection film.

Hope this helps

OpticsEngineer Veteran Member • Posts: 7,828
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

Rosco makes quite a few materials handy for lighting.  I usually just got to BandHPhoto and search on Rosco to find things like this

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/107540-REG/Rosco_359039095430_Shrink_Mirror_54_x.html

 OpticsEngineer's gear list:OpticsEngineer's gear list
Fujifilm XF1 Olympus XZ-2 iHS Canon PowerShot G7 X Olympus Tough TG-4 Pentax *ist D +27 more
Forgotten Paths Forum Member • Posts: 98
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up
1

Foil ?

 Forgotten Paths's gear list:Forgotten Paths's gear list
Sony a7S II Sony a7 III Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro +3 more
(unknown member) Regular Member • Posts: 403
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up
1

Forgotten Paths wrote:

Foil ?

thermal blanket is also nice cause it's so big

tripleC
OP tripleC Veteran Member • Posts: 4,337
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up
1

Thank you all for your suggestions. Will look into all of them. Rosco looks promising, but I don't need or want to pay for a 50 foot roll. Need more like a 4x4 or 5x5 pieces for table top photography. I am going to see what Hobby Lobby has available.

 tripleC's gear list:tripleC's gear list
Nikon D5500 Nikon AF-P 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G VR Nikon AF-P 70-300mm F4.5-6.3G
NancyP Veteran Member • Posts: 6,608
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

Metallic gift wrapping paper, attached to support. I have used scraps of this for fun when lighting jewelry and other small objects for macro. It comes in a huge variety of colors.

https://www.papermart.com/metallic-wrapping-paper/id=55303

Silver conventional pop-up reflector for photography.

Silver bubble-wrap ("Reflectix") insulation: an example, comes in many sizes:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Reflectix-33-3-sq-ft-Reflective-Roll-Insulation-16-in-W-x-25-ft-L/1014123

Emergency "space blanket" costs about $4.00 at an outdoors store - of course it comes in one color, silver. It is a good idea to have one of these in your car, if you liver where it gets cold. If you plan to re-use a lot, you might also consider the durable version. I keep one of these in the car for emergencies, and have also used it for an unattached sleeping bag cover when car camping in cold weather - easy to push it to one side.

Durable space blanket example - note the GROMMETS on the corners: https://www.rei.com/product/407106/space-all-weather-blanket?sku=4071060000&store=73&cm_mmc=PLA_Google_LIA|404_197493|4071060000|none|7731d9c1-90a2-45b8-96ab-1e8f3d7147c0|pla-447612908285&lsft=cm_mmc:PLA_Google_LIA|404_197493|4071060000|none|7731d9c1-90a2-45b8-96ab-1e8f3d7147c0&kclid=7731d9c1-90a2-45b8-96ab-1e8f3d7147c0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpLGhpYOC4AIVg7jACh3g2w7YEAQYAiABEgJ8_PD_BwE

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NancyP

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Sigma DP3 Merrill
tripleC
OP tripleC Veteran Member • Posts: 4,337
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

Thanks Nancy. This papermart out fit may be very promising.

 tripleC's gear list:tripleC's gear list
Nikon D5500 Nikon AF-P 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G VR Nikon AF-P 70-300mm F4.5-6.3G
chaimav
chaimav Senior Member • Posts: 1,577
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

Look into aquarium backgrounds. They often come one side black and one side blue. 4x5 may be a bit hard,  but 2x4 readily available.

Here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/Vepotek-Aquarium-Background-Ocean-Double/dp/B00U1RDYS2

 chaimav's gear list:chaimav's gear list
Fujifilm X-T20 Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS
tripleC
OP tripleC Veteran Member • Posts: 4,337
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

Thank you for the info. I would not have thought of that in a million years and I used to have aquariums in my younger years.

 tripleC's gear list:tripleC's gear list
Nikon D5500 Nikon AF-P 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G VR Nikon AF-P 70-300mm F4.5-6.3G
chaimav
chaimav Senior Member • Posts: 1,577
Re: Looking for reflective material for still life set up

tripleC wrote:

Thank you for the info. I would not have thought of that in a million years and I used to have aquariums in my younger years.

Let us know what you end up with.  And of course, post samples.

 chaimav's gear list:chaimav's gear list
Fujifilm X-T20 Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS
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