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Taking good quality pictures of silver can be tricky.  The battle to eliminate or control reflections can seem endless, and glare can be a real problem. However, there are some simple techniques which even amateur photographers can use to obtain excellent results with minimal effort.   The following examples show the basic setup that should allow anyone to achieve results they can be proud of.

To control reflections and eliminate glare we used an EZcube light tent. There is a handy new feature that is very useful for silver. The design of the front panel has been changed from just a "slitted opening" to a full double zippered front panel, that allows you to completely enclose your silver inside the tent while having just the lens of your camera poke through. The double zipper keeps the opening snugly fitted around your cameras lens, and as small as possible. The EZcube also provides a completely, clean white background softening shadows and eliminating glare too. 

It is worth noting that I used a wide angle lens for the large barware set shown below. Due to the large size of the item, and necessity to have the lens so close to the object its necessary to use a wide angle lens when working close up with a large piece of silver.

(More details on the equipment can be found at the end of this page).

Now lets look at some specific situations.

How to eliminate glare and unwanted reflections in a
highly reflective silver item.

Eliminating reflections video clips

Windows

Quicktime

One way to eliminate unwanted reflections is to completely enclose your silver in an EZcube, using the front panel.

1. In the first image the silver is shown inside the EZcube without the front panel. So there are still reflections from the front detracting from the photo.
    

2. The second image shows the EZcube with the front panel in place. The new double zipper allows you to snuggly close the front panel opening around your lens, completely enclosing your silver.
    

3. Success! We were able to eliminate the extra reflections by using the front panel.

...the results show success!

Adding contrast to silver, in this case a bracelet,
to help make it appear shiny.

The dark reflection placement makes the word "Tiffany" easier to read.

A few reflections are necessary for silver to appear shiny. But we can choose where they go; some positions are better than others.

1. A flat piece of silver jewelry can appear dull and two dimensional without some contrast.
    

2. Add some dark contrasting reflections by holding or placing black paper so that it is reflected in the silver in a way that's pleasing to you.

Shooting flatware with an EZcube

The spoon is propped up against the back of the EZcube and slipped a piece of white printer paper in behind the spoon.

1. A piece of flatware can appear dull and two dimensional without some contrast. If all reflections are removed silver appears "lifeless". So for this piece we photographed without using the EZcube front panel to catch some reflections deliberately.
    

2. You want to have control over what you see reflected, and the reflections position. In this second photo I appear in it. There was a seller on Ebay who deliberately liked to appear hiding in his own photos in this way...sans clothing?

Even amateur photographers can obtain dramatic results with minimal effort. A favorite catalog photography trick is to photograph silver in "groupings" with other attractive items. This way the pieces reflect each other. Then you can label the items individually as "A" "B" "C" etc.