Grumble…
There are several pieces in the ring collection that contain large polished corals, lapis, onyx, malachites, etc. that have significant curvature to them. Consequently they tend to reflect the soft box. The lighting setup is DESIGNED to do this to a certain degree, as it makes the piece look three-dimensional and highly-polished, rather than flat and plastic-looking. With each piece I put down, I fiddle with the position of the light to the extent necessary to make the shine mark on the stone as inconspicuous as possible while still allowing it to play the role it's meant to play. Some of these pieces I've shot a dozen times with the soft box in a different position in each shot in order to minimize the shine mark without totally changing the lighting and making that one piece look totally different than the rest. The interaction between the spot, the plexi, the soft box, and the reflector are pretty intricate, and if I'm not careful, the image just doesn't have the same look as everything else I've put out.
So the client calls me today and tells me the shine mark is unacceptable…that it takes away from the stone and the quality of the image. Yet I can't get rid of it in a way that allows all the images I'm creating to have a uniform look.
Grumble...