Photographing flat artwork - oils

[Designer]

As usual, I've done the hard part for you, so if you follow this link:

How to take reflection free non-blurry picture of laminated paper (with Nikon D7000)

You will find a discussion thread of a very similar project that you are doing. They even show you a schematic of how to set up the lights. And, in case you missed it, they have diffusers in front of them.

You're welcome.

 

[webestang64]

would a diffuser on this omni light help?

As Designer posted....yes.

I use the polarizer version because I also copy old photos with heavy texture and "silvering " and those you have to use polarizing filters.

 

[miltk]

would a diffuser on this omni light help?

Greetings!

Me again.

How are you doing on that reading assignment?

I understand you might not have purchased the book yet, but there are websites with that kind of information as well.

As for diffuse lighting, have you seen a photo of a light tent yet? Look that up, and tell me what you think of it. I already told you what the light is like inside, but I would like to get your reaction when you see it.

If you don't want to read the book, you might find the needed information here:

Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community

 

[miltk]

haven't gotten the book yet. my friend a newbie photographer, says he has it, so i'll get it from him. i think a tent is not practical for me - i don't have the space for it. there's also the feasability of it as my painting range in sizes that may be impractical even though i see there are various sizes of tents.

also, i hesitate because of the unique requirements of shooting my artwork, mainly will this setup guarantee no reflections from an oil painting setup, as i don't have the wherewithall to do it as a professional would.

for the heck of it, i shot a painting without the totas, without the polarizers, just under my studio lighting which, as i mentioned, consistes of a bank of six 48" flourescents with a cri index of 92. my studio easel is bathed in even lighting, which i am guessing is similar to what a tent provides though not as all encompassing as a tent. there are no hard cast shadows - the lighting is pretty darn even.

here's a close up. the values could be a tad punchier but otherwise everything is dead on. HOWEVER, you'll notice even in this pretty even lighting there are reflections, and frankly i don't know that a tent would eliminate this. oil paintings brush strokes have ridges and the ridges are glossy and oily

 

[Designer]

.. you'll notice even in this pretty even lighting there are reflections, and frankly i don't know that a tent would eliminate this. oil paintings brush strokes have ridges and the ridges are glossy and oily

I see that, thank you for the illustration. I think this is where your polarizer will help. Perhaps not all of the specular highlights would be eliminated, but maybe a lot of them. No technique will guarantee no glare, you just have to minimize it.

I think the usual position for the polarizer is on the front of the lens. I don't think you would place them on the lights. It seems to me that more than one polarizer would create an issue of the two or more polarized lights fighting each other.

Another thing; since you are using fluorescent lighting, you should pay attention to your white balance and shutter speed on the camera. Shutter speed needs to be slower than the flicker of the lights.

I made a light tent using white nylon yardage purchased from a local sewing store. I bought flexible water tubing from the local building supply store, and made a frame like a quonset hut. The frame is not glued together, but simply braced into the shape and then the fabric placed over it.

I put two lights on the outside and turned off all the room lights. When the lights flash, all of the fabric seems to be evenly lighted, which kills most of the shadows. I'll attach a photo of my setup.

If you still get a few spots, then your editing software should be able to get them out.

I did not completely eliminate all glare, but the owner was o.k. with the results. I'm including a shot of one the turnings which shows some glare. I did this project without any polarizer, and if I do it again, I will use a polarizer to see what effect it makes.

 

[miltk]

As usual, I've done the hard part for you, so if you follow this link:

How to take reflection free non-blurry picture of laminated paper (with Nikon D7000)

You will find a discussion thread of a very similar project that you are doing. They even show you a schematic of how to set up the lights. And, in case you missed it, they have diffusers in front of them.

You're welcome.

thx...didn't see this post

 

[webestang64]

here's a close up. the values could be a tad punchier but otherwise everything is dead on. HOWEVER, you'll notice even in this pretty even lighting there are reflections, and frankly i don't know that a tent would eliminate this. oil paintings brush strokes have ridges and the ridges are glossy and oily

When using the polarized lights and lens you will have none of that.

 

[miltk]

here's a close up. the values could be a tad punchier but otherwise everything is dead on. HOWEVER, you'll notice even in this pretty even lighting there are reflections, and frankly i don't know that a tent would eliminate this. oil paintings brush strokes have ridges and the ridges are glossy and oily

When using the polarized lights and lens you will have none of that.

that is my current setup. i think i'm caught between two undesirable effects of using or not using polarizers

 

[webestang64]

here's a close up. the values could be a tad punchier but otherwise everything is dead on. HOWEVER, you'll notice even in this pretty even lighting there are reflections, and frankly i don't know that a tent would eliminate this. oil paintings brush strokes have ridges and the ridges are glossy and oily

When using the polarized lights and lens you will have none of that.

that is my current setup. i think i'm caught between two undesirable effects of using or not using polarizers

Yeah, it's tuff to get that light just right without the proper equipment. I do sometimes have trouble with a highly vanished painting. Sometimes I shoot for one half, then the other and merge them in PS.

 

[miltk]

here's a close up. the values could be a tad punchier but otherwise everything is dead on. HOWEVER, you'll notice even in this pretty even lighting there are reflections, and frankly i don't know that a tent would eliminate this. oil paintings brush strokes have ridges and the ridges are glossy and oily

When using the polarized lights and lens you will have none of that.

that is my current setup. i think i'm caught between two undesirable effects of using or not using polarizers

Yeah, it's tuff to get that light just right without the proper equipment. I do sometimes have trouble with a highly vanished painting. Sometimes I shoot for one half, then the other and merge them in PS.

so, you're doing some kind of hdr thing?

 

[webestang64]

No, don't use HDR. I dial out the reflections on one side (about 2/3rd s have no reflection), shoot it. Then do the same for the other side. In PS cut off the part on each shot that has reflections so you have 2- 2/3rd s for overlap and use merge to have the entire painting.
Acrylics are the worst if vanished and a pain to keep tones if not, those paints soak in a lot of light and reflect back partial or "off" tones. I mostly have to adjust certain separate colors such as reds and greens/blues.
Thing is paints have an unlimited amount of tones. Photography you are limited to 3 basic colors to make all the tones. Worst yet your output is limited to how many colors of ink you have. The Epson 9900 I use has 11 ink cartridges but 3 (using only 2 at a time for photo or matte) are black inks so I have only 9 colors to make up what is 1000's in the paint pallet.