BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

35mm slides of art

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June 19, 2002

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June 20, 2002

I've photographed paintings for a friend so that they could be submitted to a gallery. I used a 4x5 and had the 4x5 transparency reduced to 35mm on a film recorder. I never understood why galleries and contests want 35mm. I think that the large or even medium format shows so much more detail than 35mm.

Anyway...

Here's how I set up those shots. COMPLETELY black out the room. Cover anything that may create a reflection with black cloth. That includes your tripod and ANYTHING else that is remotely shiny.

I mounted the paintings perpendicular to the floor. I used 3 soft boxes. One in front-above tilted at a very slight angle (5-10 degrees) and 1 on each side slightly below-angled into the painting at about 20 degrees. I actually duct taped pieces of white fabric over the soft boxes to diffuse the light more.

I would NOT recomend using a polarizer unless you absoloutly have to (if you absoloutly can't correct the hot spots with lighting/positioning. The polarizer will alter the colors and reduce f-stops. If you have to use a Polarizer, get a good one (B+W, Heilopan).

Film is also VERY important, I found that Kodak EPN (Ektachrome) gave me the best results.

Get Macbeth color chart, and take test shots of that, to check that your lighting and film accuratley portrays the painting.

good luck

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June 20, 2002

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June 20, 2002

Outdoors (very makeshift studio):
There is an "outdoor" solution sometimes used if lights aren't available or it's not otherwise possible to set up a makeshift studio. All the copy work is done in open shade on the north side of building large enough to allow you, your camera and the artwork to be completely in the shade from the building. (Northern hemisphere; in the southern hemisphere you want the south side of a building). Open shade means you can see the sky above you; no overhead cover from roof, awning, tree canopy, etc. The object is to get very diffused skylighting instead of direct sunlight. Mount the artwork vertically facing away from the building (facing north), then put the camera on tripod as you would in a studio . . . dead center on the artwork, horizontally and vertically, at a distance that very nearly fills the viewfinder. Ensure the camera is also in the shade. Use a lens hood if you have one.

Indoors (includes creating a makeshift studio):
Do you have two flash units that can be mounted off-camera? The basic, standard method for copy of flat artwork items inside a studio uses two lights, a stand to hold the artwork vertical and a tripod for the camera. The artwork is mounted on the stand. The two lights are then set up so they are the same height as the vertical center line of the artwork. They are positioned to the left and right of it horizontally and aimed (horizontally) at a 45 degree angle to the middle of the painting. Both should be the same distance. The camera distance is chosen so the painting very nearly fills the viewfinder. The tripod is set up and camera elevation set so the lens is dead center on the artwork both horizontally and vertically. In essence, this is the larger version of a "copy stand" used to copy written documents.

I've tried using umbrellas, but it spreads the light from too large a source. Pulled off the umbrellas, turned the lights around for direct illumination, and used bowl reflectors around them (these are studio strobes) to make smaller sources out of them. In addition, if there was still glare, I moved the lights farther (still at 45 degrees) until the light no longer reflected back to the camera lens. This means they must be at least a little farther to the left and right than the edges of the picture.

The use of linear polarizers to eliminate all glare can get complicated. It requires two large ones to put over the lights and third to put over the lens. By polarizing the light before it strikes the painting and then using the polarizer on the camera lens to "filter" the light reflected by the painting, one can absolutely control any glare. However, if the lights are set up and aimed well, getting enough glare that it requires further steps to eliminate it is quite unusual, at least with flat art I've helped copy in a studio.

-- John

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June 21, 2002

Do you know another "starving artist" that might be able to help you out?

Im not trying to discourage you but, paintings are one of the most difficult subjects to photograph, especially for the purpose you need. Your not just "taking a picture," your actually making an exact copy of your art in another medium. Even slight variations in color or perspective on the slide can completely undermine/change what your trying to convey to the viewer in the original painting. A bad slide of a great painting isn't going to do you any good.

If you can't afford to get the slides done by a pro, find a starving photographer, it's not hard, there's alot of them. Work out a trade or barter. Maybe paint some frames, the photog may need coppies of the slides for a portfolio, assist on a location shoot--be creative. Artist's do help out other artists.

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June 21, 2002

Tom:
Why 35mm and not something larger? 35mm slide projectors are ubiquitious. Yes, it would be good if the image on film could be larger. However, medium format projectors are relatively rare and comparatively very, very expensive. There's nothing I currently know of that handles large format in the manner a 35mm or medium format slide projector does.

-- John

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June 21, 2002