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Taking Pictures of Your Work

How to Take Pictues of Your Work

Things were harder in the film only days, and professional photographers used copy stands to do make slides of your work. 

The good news is that if all else fails--or is impossible for you--you can use an inexpensive, hand-held, digital camera, shoot with a flash, at a framed and glazed  image and, with almost any photo editing program you can get a good web quality picture of your work. 

Your goal is to get a distortion free picture of your work, with no glare (reflection or flare) that you can post or send to people.  The explanation may seem complicated but the pictures should make things clear.  If you understand the principles, you'll understand what you can get away with and what you can't.

Basically:

1. Use a digital camera: so much easier and less expensive than scanning film; and you can instantly see if your setup is working.


2. Mount your camera on a tripod: keeps your camera steady and in the exact position you need.


3. Use a cable release or timer on your camera: keeps your camera steady went you click the shutter


4. Make the planes of the art, the lens, and the film/sensor are vertically and horizontal parallel: reduces distortion.


5. Use two (or four) light sources at 45° to the art: provides even light that doesn't cause flare.


6. Use a photo editing program to get your image sized for the web: gives you control of what you upload.

When you get a setup that works, sketch it out in a notebook with dimensions and any data you might need.  Yes, you'll remember it tomorrow, but maybe not in six months.

Ideally:

 

(Looking down)

 

(Viewed from the side)

The camera lens is centered on the art work, and it is vertically and horizontally parallel to the art work.

Two lights (four if you have two on a side, one at the top and one at the bottom of the work aim in at the work with about a 45° or less angle.

In case you took life drawing and skipped science: The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection: so in an ideal world the glare bounces off away from the camera.

Some surfaces (glass or plastic, Ilfochromes/Cibachromes, highly varnished) may still have some flair. If you still have flair or only have one light, you might try this:

 

The one light method isn't perfect, but it reduces the amount of light that could be reflecting up into the camera: however, more light will fall on the side nearer the light, therefore it will be lighter and the opposite side of the image will be darker.  How much?  I can't say.  You'll see in your photo editing software.  You might be able to use a black to transparent gradient (adjust the opacity way down) over  the image to balance the lighting if it is too noticeable. 

Polarizing filters can help if your camera can take filters.

Diffuse light can help.

 

Here's the down and dirty way:

I have leaned Mylar covered art work against a wall, sat holding a 3MB digital camera with flash, shot at an angle.  There was no flare.  But the picture was quite distorted.  In Photoshop I straightened it out.  Printed it at about 9" x 12" and it worked okay.  

 

What you cannot do is this:

Here the light source will bounce off the work and back into the camera: flare!  Remember, this light source could be a window behind you or an open door. 

 

I prefer to shoot vertically:

There are two lights, equal distant from the center of the art, and aimed down 45°.  This is a poor man's copy stand.  I use a level to adjust the camera so that it is parallel.

Although I have a tripod with a side arm, I have used a Tiltall tripod, which allows the column to be turned upside down.  The camera is mounted between the legs, which straddle the art.  

This works great, but it takes up some floor space, and you do have to be careful not to step on your work. 

 

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