BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Studio Techniques Using Digital Cameras

Shooting Paintings

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March 05, 2003

The traditional method for copying flat artwork (paintings, drawings, etc.) is the same as a "copy stand" on a larger scale, and turned so the camera is aimed horizontally. Most copy stands mount the work horizontally with the camera above it looking downward.

This method requires the use of a tripod and two lights mounted on light stands. Mount the work vertically (if you can) in front of the backdrop. You can use an easel, but it will make aiming the camera accurately more difficult (not impossible though). The camera should be set up on a tripod so that it is aimed dead center on the artwork and the lens axis is perpendicular to the artwork. You want the film plane parallel to the artwork. This keeps it "square" and removes all perspective. If you are off in centering, the edges of a rectangular painting will look like a trapezoid in the photograph, not a rectangle. Position it so that you fill the viewfinder with your artwork with a slight amount of backdrop showing around all the edges. You can use a length of string to see if the distance from the center of the lens front is the same to each of the four corners of your painting. This does require some work as you move the camera, adjust tripod height and aim it, probably several times! Be patient with camera position and do it carefully.

Lighting is placed at the same height as the camera with one light to the left and the other to the right far enough that a line from the light to the center of the artwork forms a 45 degree angle. Aim the lights at the center of the artwork. This keeps the light from reflecting off of the artwork's surface into your camera lens. You may need to have the lights a few feet farther back than the camera position.

The easiest type of lights to use are strobes with modeling lights. This allows you to use daylight film and the modeling lights help show what your lighting looks like. However, setting exposure using them requires a flash meter. The downside is most people don't have studio lighting.

An alternative is using halogen spotlights and tungsten film. This is usually close enough in color balance. If color matching is critical, you should use actual studio "hot lights" which are exactly the color temperature of tungsten film.

Doing this well requires patience and careful setup. Kodak has a tutorial about how to copy old photographs, including a diagram of the setup:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/am100/am100.shtml The method is applicable to all flat artwork.

-- John

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March 08, 2003

How to Shoot Paintings with Slides
How to Shoot Paintings with a Digital Camera

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March 17, 2003

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March 18, 2003