Photographing Oil Paintings

[cconnerphotog]

I am photographing oil paintings for an artists gallery and would like to see if anyone has any extra pointers. I plan on shooting outdoors and am using a circular polarizer filter.

 

[Alex_B]

wouldn' indoors gice much more constant and controlled light?use the lens with the least distortion you have. diffuse light, and make sure the whole painting is evenly lit.standardize your setup (tripod, light, position of the painting) so you do not have to think again for each new painting.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Speaking from experience..

Do not:
-shoot them outside
-use a polarizer
-use a zoom lens

Do:
-shoot inside, using daylight balanced lights through big softboxes at extreme angles and far distances to eliminate reflection off the oils and still give even illumination
-use a tripod
-use support (such as an easel or podium, depending on type of artwork)
-use a fixed lens with zero barrel or pincushion distortion and a flat field (think macro lenses in the 60mm range, you'll need this to adjust for keystoning in photoshop unless you intend to shoot these on a view camera)
-use a color checker so the cameras, yours, or monitors perception of color doesn't screw up the color of the actual work.
-shoot tethered

Photographing artwork = LOL @ brick walls.

 

[Kolander]

And,

- Always situate the camera with the lens axis perpendicular to the picture plane. Pay attention, because usually the pictures are not vertically hung, above all the ancient oils with huge frames.

- You must illuminate equally the whole surface, so you'll need at least two softboxes or umbrellas 45º both sides.

- Don't forget the reflections on the frame, again you need equal light and colour in the four sides. Sometimes you must shoot twice and third changing the lights position, combining them with Photoshop.

 

[Big Mike]

Try some Google searches for 'Copy work'.

I agree with most of the advice given. Shooting outdoors will likely be way more problematic that you expect.

The things to remember when shooting flat artwork (or anything really), is to determine the reflectance type of the object. I'd think that an oil painting would be a bit glossy (direct reflection) but mostly characterized by diffuse reflection. Since the painter didn't paint the glossy reflections into the painting, they shouldn't be there when you shoot the photo. So the key to that, is to make sure your light sources are outside the 'family of angles'.
As mentioned, it will be important to light the work evenly. Two lights should suffice (make sure they are the same type/size of light). Position them to either side (evenly)...far enough so that you don't see any direct reflection, but not too far that it makes the lighting uneven. Moving the lights farther away will help to make the light even, but you'll need more exposure to compensate for that. A tripod (and good tripod technique) will be essential for getting high quality photos.

 

[DiskoJoe]

wouldn' indoors gice much more constant and controlled light?use the lens with the least distortion you have. diffuse light, and make sure the whole painting is evenly lit.standardize your setup (tripod, light, position of the painting) so you do not have to think again for each new painting.

For oil painting natural light is ideal. There is a reason that museums spend so much money on architecture to provide natural light instead of using cheaper artificial light. I have been a painter for many year and will assure you that natural light is the best way to go in this situation.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

For oil painting natural light is ideal.

For painting it, yes. For viewing it, yes. For photographing it, no way.

Not that no accident will ever happen in a studio but shooting outdoors is way more dangerous. And considering the value of some paintings I can't imagine any photogs, in his or her right mind, shooting outside. Sorry.


To the OP: Shooting art work is a very specialized form of photography and certainly not the easiest. I am a photographer with over 30 years of experience. I am also a painter in need of photos fairly regularly. I very rarely shoot those photos myself. Mind you, I'm sure I could learn and so can you but it is not going to be instant.

I don't know what your level is as a photog and there is no better way to learn than by doing but be ready for some massive headaches.

As mentioned, the sensor plane needs to be parallel to the art work. Absolutely 100% so.

Also as mentioned, your colors need to be spot on. Not on your monitor but checked against a color scale.

Another thing that was mentioned was lighting evenly. Although that is true, it is only so to a degree. Paintings may not be quite flat, plenty of them have quite a huge amount of texture to them and depending on what you are shooting for, this may need to be shown. To some extent.

If I think of anything else I will come back.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Hmm it's been almost 24 hours. I wonder if the OP is like "ohhhh sh*****t..."

 

[bratkinson]

Back 35 years ago, Canon had an FD 50mm Macro lens that was specialized for flat field work. I only used it twice for flat field work, taking pictures of pictures at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. For handheld work in low light, they came out surprisingly well for a very inexperienced rookie at the time.

I'm going to take a guess that a tilt-and-shift lens would be very well suited to flat field work, such as paintings. Although, as mentioned above, using a good prime lens and guaranteeing absolute parallel painting and camera sensor is probably the two biggest requirements in my estimation. I would very definitely bring a 48" bubble level with me to first check the levelness of each painting as well as the vertical of the wall, and then match that to the camera. The camera would also have to be absolutely level with the cennter of the picture as well, otherwise there could be some very slight out of focus areas at one side or the other.