A multiview face capture system may acquire detailed facial geometry with high resolution diffuse and specular photometric information from multiple viewpoints. A lighting system may illuminate a face with polarized light from multiple directions. The light may be polarized substantially parallel to a reference axis during a parallel polarization mode of operation and substantially perpendicular to the reference axis during a perpendicular polarization mode of operation. Multiple cameras may each capture an image of the face along a materially different optical axis and have a linear polarizer configured to polarize light traveling along its optical axis in a direction that is substantially parallel to the reference axis. A controller may cause each of the cameras to capture an image of the face while the lighting system is in the parallel polarization mode of operation and again while the lighting system is in the perpendicular polarization mode of operation.