Shooting Paintings??
Carol Ott
I need to take some photos (or have someone else take them) of some of my
paintings. I want to send the slides/photos to a gallery or two and get
their critiques -- especially of one that I'm working on now.
What's the best way to photograph art? I'm not adverse to hiring someone to
do it, but I'd like to give it a go myself first, just to see if I can do
it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
--Carol
andrew
Oz Trad
I must not be getting all of your posts. There *is* a special way to
shoot canvasses which requires a certain lens/knowhow so you won't get
any distortion (otherwise a square or rectangle canvas will noticeably
bow outwards). Any professional photographer will know how to do this.
bs
Carol Ott
--Carol
"andrew" <and...@no.mail> wrote in message news:3AC5FF5E...@no.mail...
Mike C.
Probably outside would give the best light. Do it on an overcast
day and not in direct sunlight if it is a bright day.
":^) ®
--
Mike C.
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Mads Pedersen
Ott at cs...@earthlink.net wrote on 31/03/01 17:41:
> What's the best way to photograph art? I'm not adverse to hiring someone to
> do it, but I'd like to give it a go myself first, just to see if I can do
> it.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.
It is not that hard to do unless you want 100% colour accuracy in which case
you'll need an extensive set of filters and a special light meter. This
method will work well for most purposes.
1. Pick a spot somewhere outside. If it is a sunny day you should place the
painting out of the sun. Shooting mid-day-ish will give you the closest
colour match with a normal film.
2. Use a fine grain colour-slide film for best results. Slide film has a
better range og tones and colours than print film. Also with prints it is
sometimes difficult to match the colours correctly. Under most conditions a
ISO 100 film will be the best choice. If you have a tripod you may be able
to go to ISO 50 which will produce slightly finer grains but will require a
longer exposure time, hence the need for the tripod.
3. Now place the image and point your camera at the painting so the fime
plane is parallel to the painting. It will probably be a good idea to stand
a couple of metres away from the image and use a zoom lens to crop the image
if necessary. This means that the difference of the distance to the centre
of the painting and the edge of the painting which - especially for large
paintings - will mean a need for a quite big field of depth (smaller
aperture setting).
4. Make sure that there are no visible reflections in the painting. If you
are using a mirror reflex (SLR) camera you should look through the lens for
this. Otherwise just look from the camera position. Reflections can be
tricky but really shouldn't be a problem when you place the painting in the
shadow. DON'T USE A FLASH.
5. Fire away. If you have a camera that allows manual settings, don't trust
the meter 100%. Shoot at what the meter suggests but make a couple of
additional shots adjusting the aperture 1/2 - 1 stop up and down from what
the meter suggests. Just to make sure you hit one spot on. Also for the
reasons outlined in pt. 3 don't use very large apertures (small numbers).
I'd suggest at least f:5.6 (f:8 would probably be better).
Phew that ended up being a longer description than I thought. Still it IS
quite easy and you'll probably do well. Let us know, ok!?
Happy shootin'
// Mads (http://www.doubleloop.dk)
--------------------------------------
Site news 16-03-2001: New photos online in the Freestyle People, Freestyle
Places and Digital Dreams exhibitions. Mmmmmm...
Go check it out @ If thine eye offend thee... http://imv.au.dk/~mads/
Info
For a period of 3 years I had a studio and was heavily involved in art
reproduction. Ideally, you would require a medium to large format camera, a
LONG shooting area and studio lighting consisting of at least 2 light heads.
On a tight budget, you can still produce reasonable results with the
following set-up: 35MM camera, AT LEAST 110MM lens (preferably 130MM or
longer), 2 portable flash units (don't have to be fancy), a cheap light
meter, 1 LONG synchronization cord (for your "master" flash unit), a "slave"
trigger for the secondary flash, a couple of cheap stands for the flashes
and you'll still need a fair amount of distance-to-subject area (perhaps
outdoors if weather permits).
If you can imagine a triangle, with the subject on an easel at the top, the
2 flashes at 45 degree angles to the subject at the bottom angles and the
camera below the triangle, this would be a good starting point. The 2
flashes, at their respective 45 degree angles, ensure even lighting across
the surface of the subject. Ideally, your subject should be as close to
vertical as possible along with the flashes. The distance between the camera
and subject will be dictated by the subject size and the lens length (110MM
or 130MM or whatever). The "main" flash is triggered through the
synchronization cord, the second with the slave trigger.
This is all quite technical. If you're not up for it, may I suggest
contacting a local community college to see if they might help by providing
you the necessities of your project as a class activity.
Alec
Art
table. Better for digital than film, because an overcast day can add a blue
cast. Digital camera is likely to set its white balance to overcome this; film
you'll have to scan and retouch in Photoshop.
Of course, whether they're digital or film, you'll probably have to pull them up
in Photoshop to adjust levels, crop, match color, etc. While you're there, you
can easily touch up the square-ness, so getting them exactly right when you shoot
it isn't all that important.
Carol Ott
do this for me. I'm a so-so photographer, and I know from an f stop....but
I really want these to look slick.
Luckily I know a couple of people who may be able to do it for me.
Thanks again!
--Carol
"Info" <apc...@home.com> wrote in message
news:ATnx6.172966$p66.50...@news3.rdc1.on.home.com...
Gordon Moat
close to that as you can get. Do not use direct flash. Use a soft box or
bounce flash. A room that is very well lit by natural light (but not directly
on the painting) would be even better. Try to have them mounted on a white
wall.
I suggest that you overexpose by half to one stop. This will slightly
exaggerate the colour, but make it better for transfer to print. You can
ignore the stop change and shoot exact if the paintings are done in acrylic,
since the colours will be closer to print colours.
I have some samples of my own at <http://www.allgstudio.com/painting.html>.
Please excuse the interface weirdness, since I have not yet launched this
area of my web site. I am not a web designer and I am having problems with
the interface. Anyway, all these are oil paintings. All of the images needed
some colour correcting in PhotoShop. They were shot with a Nikon 35 mm using
a 105 mm Nikkor lens. No flash was used since these where well lit by
indirect sunlight.
I hope this helps. If you have a chance to share images of the paintings, I
would be interested in viewing them.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
Alliance Graphique Studio
<http://www.allgstudio.com>
Carol Ott
that's why mine is a little on the basic side. I didn't want to overdo on
my first go.
I love your paintings -- I haven't seen many oil paintings that I liked.
The colours in oil paintings are usually a little on the dull side -- kind
of like comparing RGB to CMYK. But some of yours are really eye-popping. I
was working in watercolours for a while, but I think I'll go back to
acrylics. I love working with acrylic -- and pastels, too.
--Carol
"Gordon Moat" <mo...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:3AC6A035...@attglobal.net...
Oz Trad
Gordon Moat
I was hoping that by pushing the limits of GoLive that I would learn more.
Instead it became a bit of a nightmare. I am redoing that interface before I
unleash it.
Thanks for the positive comments about the paintings. The colours actually are
fairly close to the paintings. I think RGB is better for this. They would take
a bit more work in PhotoShop to go to CMYK print. Very tough to capture correct
colours of oil paintings.
I also do pastels and gouache, as well as charcoal. It is difficult to get my
work shown in San Diego, very few venues.
Recently got a commission to do a pastel of a deceased cat. The cat was very
loved by her owner, so she asked me to do a pastel from an old photo. I do not
quite have enough movement in my elbow yet, but I think in a week or so I will
start on it (good therapy).
Keep up on the artwork. I hope you try oils some time in the future. The colour
blending possibilities are truly endless.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
Alliance Graphique Studio
<http://www.allgstudio.com>
Justin
and thought - 'cool - some action. someones pissed off with their work and is
blowing holes in it!'
Heh...
I need that coffee :)
andrew
Carol Ott
scanners -- something that would take a 3' X 3' canvas?
--Carol
"andrew" <and...@no.mail> wrote in message news:3AC7BABA...@no.mail...
andrew
apparently, they do! See my post above under Dan's "Gliclee info for Carol"....
Tor de Vries
> They shoot paintings, don't they.
I thought it was the PAINTERS that they shot.
andrew
not the fast ones!