What is the best way to photograph iridescent glitter?

Question

I'm trying to shoot a photo of a textile with iridescent glitter glued onto it, but I can't get enough sparkle from the glitter. Basically a whole strip of glitter appears clear with a few sparkles here and there, barely noticeable.

I have a grey background which I need to keep consistent (lit with two side lamps), inside of a lightbox; two lamps on the side, one in the front (all diffused). I also must keep the same angle I am shooting at, and can't go below f/8. I have tried flashes, mirrors, LED lights around, long exposure, and moving the light. Is this impossible with all the restrictions I have?

Answer 1

It's not impossible, just unnecessarily difficult. We're not shooting slide film in 8x10 view cameras anymore; we live in a digital world. Getting the glitter, or at least one part of the glitter at a time, is relatively easy with a small light source. Getting the overall picture of the product is pretty easy as well, as these things go. If you're on a tripod, and don't move either the camera or the product, then putting together several exposures that each show off one part of the image at its best is also pretty easy with any image editor that has layers and layer masks.

Yes, it's extra time spent in post-processing, but it's a few minutes of extra time at most. Getting the light exactly right on every part of a product all at the same time for a beautiful single in-camera exposure can be an hour or more per item. The trade-off is more than worth the trouble.