Squid, you would want to go in the plus direction.
Kathy don't be afraid of the manual mode. Personally I'm afraid of the auto modes
Just set up your shot do one exposure where the meter tells you to shoot. Then open up ( plus ) the exposure by half a stop and take another shot. Continue this process until you've taking about five or six images of increasingly brighter exposures. Down load all of the image and see which one worked the best. And don't worry how they look in the cameras screen wait until their on your computer to judge them. Remember we're talking about compensating for sets with a hugh amount of white.
As far as glare goes. Round non etched glass is just impossibly to shoot with out showing a high or refection of the light source. All you can do is find a trade off you can live with and accept that glass is glass. Spend time looking at others work and notice the things you like and dislike about the way it was lit.
The key to figuring out how it was lit. Is to look closely at the high lights, shadows, reflections and how hard or soft the light is ( Contrast ).
Here is a link to my Levels tutorial if you want to know how Keven set the white points.
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=11879
Scott