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Subject: photographing oil paintings

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scochran
Posts:205
08/06/2007 7:49 AM Alert 
I have photographed pastels in the past. Now, I  have started photographing oil paintings and have a glare to them. What do I need to do to stop this?scochran





shana cochran
IVO
Posts:25
08/06/2007 2:03 PM Alert 

Hi Shana

 

First let me thank you for the good words you had about my 2 paintings.  I did appreciate very much.

Regarding your problem, I will first say that I am not myself an expert, as I don't know how to manage to upload better pictures ( I saw some in the forum that show picture a lot better then mine in details, size etc... .  But, for the problem you are experiencing(????) with your photos, I would suggest that you do not use flash.  Try photographing your painting outside or in a room where you would have good outside light.

If not, use balanced neon bulbs (like Natural Light for exemple), once again without flash.  The problem with flash is that it will reflect on the shiny surface of your painting, especially if you varnished it.  Another solution would be to use 2 flash of equal color temperature, one on each side of your painting, hoping that they will balance each other.

Here is what I can tell you from my experience, and I say again that I am not an expert in the matter.

Sorry if my English is not perfect, but I hope it will be clear enough for you to understand what I mean.

Have a beautifull day

Yves 
eyecandy

Posts:152
08/18/2007 2:02 PM Alert 

I have found that the best way to take photos of your paintings is to take them outside and face them toward the north.  Keep them in the shade and if necessary, use a poloroid filter.  And last but not least, try to take your photos before you varnish the painting.

It also helps, if you are using a digital camera, to take the white balance off of auto and set it for shade to get the best color rendition

Hope this helps

Phil (eyecandy)
Phil Sydell
Boynton Beach, Fl
phil-4a@comcast.net or phil4a@msn.com
donnicholson
Posts:3
12/18/2007 3:31 PM Alert 
Outside on a cloudy day. You don't want any reflected light. Assuming you are taking them with a digital camera, try to take them in Raw versus JPG or TIF. When you load them using Photoshop, you can select the lighting and it will automitally set it up for you. The lighting comes out perfect.

If you still have a glare, then something is reflecting light so you might need to build a light box. Something I have been thinking about but not done yet. Make a square out of PVC pipe and fittings, about the size of the largest, but not too large, painting. Run some tubing out about 5-8 ft, depending on how far your camera needs to be to get your pictures into the screen. You can support this with legs or tables or whatever you create. Cover it with a cotten sheet or other material that allows light to pass through. You now have the painting surrounded by filtered light which should show not refelection.

Hope taking the pictures on the cloudy day works so you don't need to construct the light box.

Don
Rick Givens
Posts:28
12/19/2007 1:02 AM Alert 
Hi, Shana.

I photograph a lot of paintings for use in making giclee prints. As you've discovered, oil paintings are tricky to capture well because the gloss of the paints and oil medium essentially turns them into imperfect mirrors. The image you've uploaded here looks as though you used flash on your camera, which reflects off of the painting and bounces right back into your lens. Never use on-camera flash when photographing your work.

The advice about photographing your paintings outdoors on cloudy days or using north light on the shaded side of a building is good. What you're trying to do is minimize direct light that creates the glare. Since this is the least expensive and easiest solution, definitely give it a try first.

Unfortunately, in winter it can be tough to work outdoors in many areas. The way that pros photograph oil paintings indoors is by employing a technique called cross-polarization. The photography is done in a darkened room without other light sources to cause reflections. Lights are placed at 45 degrees to, and on both sides of, the artwork so that the light isn't bouncing directly back into the lens and even lighting is obtained. Sheets of plastic polarizing gels are placed between the lights and the painting with the filters oriented the same direction (i.e., both horizontal or both veticle). A circular polarizing filter is also placed on the lens of the camera and it is then rotated so that its direction of polarization ends up being oriented at 90 degrees to the filters on the lights. As you watch through the viewfinder, you can literally see the glare fade away as the polarizing filter on the camera is rotated to the proper orientation. It may sound complicated, but its really not that hard to do. You will need to learn how to set the white balance on your digital camera to get the colors as accurate as possible. You can pick up a couple of inexpensive lights in reflector-type fixtures pretty inexpensively at any home improvement store. You can get the polarizing gels from any major photography supplier for about $40 per sheet. Circular polarizers are also readily available. Their cost varies depending upon the size of the filter you need for your camera lens.

When photographing any artwork, you'll want to put your camera on a tripod to avoid camera shake. This is especially true if you're using polarizing filters and indoor lighting as you will be using slow shutter speeds. To get the camera square to the artwork, place a mirror on the wall or whatever is going to support your painting. When you can see the reflection of the lens of the camera centered in the viewfinder, you'll know you're square to the art. For best results, use a cable release or use the camera's timer to release the shutter so that you don't get any shake from a finger on the shutter button.

Hope that helps.

Rick
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