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Subject: Glare Free Photos of your Art Work

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eyecandy

Posts:152
09/30/2007 9:23 AM Alert 

I have experimented with many ways to take photos of your art work and finally found a good solution that works well for me.

You must have a single lens reflex camera, a tripod, 2 Ott Lite Lamp Easel Lights, and an easel that you can mount the lights to so that they are above your canvas.

Blicks stocks these lights.  And last but not least, when occasionally necessary, a polaroid filter.  This is rarely required, but with a high gloss on your painting, might be needed.

If you want sharp photos, the tripod is a must.  You will also need a carpenter's level so that you can have your painting level on the horizontal and the vertical.  Your camera must also be set up square to the painting using the same level.  I use the timer in my camera to trip the shutter so that I don't have to touch the camera at that instant.  Most modern cameras will give you a good exposure.  I usually bracket my exposures to have a good choice.

The following photo shows the set up of the lights on my easel.  Please note that I place a blank white canvas below the painting to reflect the light back onto the lower part of the painting.

I ho





Phil Sydell
Boynton Beach, Fl
phil-4a@comcast.net or phil4a@msn.com
ArtisticGirly
Posts:5
09/30/2007 1:42 PM Alert 
This is great! Can you please post some examples of what the pictures turned out as the end result?
eyecandy

Posts:152
09/30/2007 2:28 PM Alert 

I will show you a copy of the painting that is on the easel when I took this picture.  It is the only one that I have handy at the moment, but it will give you an example.  I do, of course, take the photo into photoshop CS3 to put the finishing touches on it and make it to size so that I can show it here.

Phil





Phil Sydell
Boynton Beach, Fl
phil-4a@comcast.net or phil4a@msn.com
eyecandy

Posts:152
10/01/2007 10:38 AM Alert 
I didn't mention White Balance. You have several options here. If you have a digital camera, leave it on Auto. This usually works out all right. You can also customize the white balance in most digital cameras. Follow the instructions for your camera to do that. You can also take your pictures in the "Raw" format and adjust the white balance there to suite your taste. There are other options but this should do for most situations. If you take pictures on film, you must find the correct film and filter combination to get the proper colors. Have fun and let me know if you find better or easier solutions to getting good photos of your paintings into the computer.

Phil
Phil Sydell
Boynton Beach, Fl
phil-4a@comcast.net or phil4a@msn.com
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Forums > Join the Discussion > Tech Talk > Glare Free Photos of your Art Work


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