Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/06/03

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Subject: [Leica] Thoughts on photographing art
From: photo.philippe.amard at gmail.com (Philippe)
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2016 08:04:22 +0200
References: <77A185AE-4D55-4327-B3F2-8F739420358D@fastmail.com> <D377D3FC.75ABF%chris@chriscrawfordphoto.com>

I concur for the FL

And I'd add from experience that a color chart may prove extremely useful 
for post.

Amities
Philippe

Le 4 juin 2016 ? 06:48, Christopher Crawford <chris at 
chriscrawfordphoto.com> a ?crit :

> I do a lot of this kind of work.
> 
> What are you shooting with? A full frame digital camera? I?d use at least
> a 50mm lens. Anything between 50 and 100mm is fine. If you have one, use a
> macro lens, even if the art is large. Macros have better flatness of field
> than most other lenses, and give a lot better sharpness, especially in
> corners, when photographing flat art like a painting. Zooms don?t work
> well, even within the focal length range I recommend. If you don?t have a
> macro, a standard 50mm is probably best.
> 
> Lighting is the hard part. It must be PERFECTLY even. Measure it with an
> incident light meter with a flat diffuser. Place the meter in all four
> corners and in the center. All 5 reading must match exactly. Even a 1/3
> stop difference will show.
> 
> Remove the work from frames if possible, frames will cast shadows on the
> edges of the work if its oil or acrylics framed without mats, where the
> frame touches the edges of the painting.
> 
> Another lighting issue is the color of the light. Photograph in a
> windowless room where no daylight can get in, or shoot at night. Daylight
> won?t be the same color as the lights you use to light the paintings, and
> will mess up color balance. Also turn off any lights in the room and
> adjoining rooms in the house for the same reason. I was once messed up by
> using two soft boxes from different manufacturers in the same shoot. The
> color of the interiors of them were not exactly the same and it showed in
> the photos! So be sure to use the same brand of strobes and the same
> accessories on each strobe.
> 
> -- 
> Chris Crawford
> Fine Art Photography
> Fort Wayne, Indiana
> 260-437-8990
> 
> http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com  My portfolio
> 
> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798
> Become a fan on Facebook
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/4/16, 12:14 AM, "LUG on behalf of Adam Bridge"
> <lug-bounces+chris=chriscrawfordphoto.com at leica-users.org on behalf of
> abridge683 at fastmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I?ve been asked by a local artist to help her photograph and make prints
>> of her paintings.
>> 
>> I was wondering if any of you who might have done this before can give
>> some suggestions about best focal-length lens to use for this? I was
>> thinking that, longer is better? I?ll be shooting work that?s lit with
>> camera and art on tripod and easel, using remote shutter release etc.
>> 
>> Any thoughts on technique would be greatly appreciated.
>> 
>> Adam Bridge
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
> 
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In reply to: Message from abridge683 at fastmail.com (Adam Bridge) ([Leica] Thoughts on photographing art)
Message from chris at chriscrawfordphoto.com (Christopher Crawford) ([Leica] Thoughts on photographing art)