[Sileny Jizda]

Does anyone have any advice on photographing floor tile? We are trying to shoot various color including black, white, and glossy combinations.We have tried using regular compact digital and DSLR style cameras with no luck. The usual result is a glare back from the tile in certain areas and we are not allowed to retouch the images. Are there some filters we can use to inhibit or get rid of the glare? Any lighting suggestions perhaps?

[Wolfman]

What kind of lighting are you using? Is it only the available light?

Try a polarizing filter on your lens. That should help reduce glare.

[Sileny Jizda]

We've tried using flood type lighting with and without diffusers. The problem seems to lie in the tile itself being really glossy. We tried using a polarizer filter but it didn't seem to do very much.

[MirediaKunardi]

Don't put light on tile. It is a glossy thing(like a car). First rule in lightning glossy material is make the environment look good in reflections.

Example of shooting and lighting a car(or any glossy surface):
When you watch cars shapes, you see reflections of environment around you. If you put light straight to the car it is really putting a light straight to to cameras lens and that burns immediatly(like a mirror). If you put white fabric or some big thing and put light pointing there you can play how white that looks like in cars reflection and how the gradation goes...

Hope that helps you