One area of research of the Polymer Competence Center of Leoben GmbH is the investigation of the reflecting qualities of plastic surfaces and the accompanying mathematical characterization of the appearance of the surfaces. From this work new measuring methodologies have been registered for patent, as for example the "3D heights coding method (3DHC). The mathematical model of 3DHC takes into account measured surface reflection as well as mechanisms of human visual perception in order to calculate appearance parameters. The calculation starts with digital images of the surfaces which are supplied in the form of raw data for the mathematical modelling. The purpose of this thesis was the adaptation and optimization of a measuring construction for the production of photographic images of plastic surfaces whereby the image data should be suitable for the appearance characterization by means of 3DHC. Since comprehensive understanding of those physical aspects which influence the appearance is necessary, these aspects were compiled and discussed within the scope of this work. The experimental part contains the description of the optimization process and the optimized measuring parameters. Likewise the components of the measuring system (camerasensor and lenses) were checked concerning their suitability for the capture of structural surfaces. By means of parameter studies, geometrical-setup and software parameters necessary for a reproducible measuring process were determined and an adequate parameter setup was found. In addition, the practical use of the measuring procedure was developed further concerning the remote control and remote release as well as the exact centering of the tests by laser and masks. Finally a measurement was performed using a structured surface specimen in order to demonstrate the procedure. The appearance under two different lighting situations is qualitatively compared with the physical topography of the specimens surface. As expected, the comparisons show that the appearance cannot be related to the surface topography by means of simple models.