Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/06/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have two soft-boxes and I?ll be shooting with a Sony A7Rii. I have my choice of the Zeiss 55, Leica 100mm APO R, Zeiss 85 Batis. I?ll probably try all three. I really appreciate the thought about shooting at night. The art is on stretched canvas without frame. I have planned on using flat black cloth behind the painting which will be suspended on an easel. I have a good (well, good 10 years ago) incident meter - I?ll follow your instructions. I?ll be shooting color panels for each work. Up to this point the artist has been shooting with either a low-end DLSR or a (gasp) phone, in daylight. Lots of glare on the image. She?s hoping for something much better. Thank you adam > On Jun 3, 2016, at 9:48 PM, Christopher Crawford <chris at > chriscrawfordphoto.com> wrote: > > I do a lot of this kind of work. > > What are you shooting with? A full frame digital camera? I?d use at least > a 50mm lens. Anything between 50 and 100mm is fine. If you have one, use a > macro lens, even if the art is large. Macros have better flatness of field > than most other lenses, and give a lot better sharpness, especially in > corners, when photographing flat art like a painting. Zooms don?t work > well, even within the focal length range I recommend. If you don?t have a > macro, a standard 50mm is probably best. > > Lighting is the hard part. It must be PERFECTLY even. Measure it with an > incident light meter with a flat diffuser. Place the meter in all four > corners and in the center. All 5 reading must match exactly. Even a 1/3 > stop difference will show. > > Remove the work from frames if possible, frames will cast shadows on the > edges of the work if its oil or acrylics framed without mats, where the > frame touches the edges of the painting. > > Another lighting issue is the color of the light. Photograph in a > windowless room where no daylight can get in, or shoot at night. Daylight > won?t be the same color as the lights you use to light the paintings, and > will mess up color balance. Also turn off any lights in the room and > adjoining rooms in the house for the same reason. I was once messed up by > using two soft boxes from different manufacturers in the same shoot. The > color of the interiors of them were not exactly the same and it showed in > the photos! So be sure to use the same brand of strobes and the same > accessories on each strobe. > > -- > Chris Crawford > Fine Art Photography > Fort Wayne, Indiana > 260-437-8990 > > http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio > > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798 > Become a fan on Facebook > > > > On 6/4/16, 12:14 AM, "LUG on behalf of Adam Bridge" > <lug-bounces+chris=chriscrawfordphoto.com at leica-users.org on behalf of > abridge683 at fastmail.com> wrote: > >> I?ve been asked by a local artist to help her photograph and make prints >> of her paintings. >> >> I was wondering if any of you who might have done this before can give >> some suggestions about best focal-length lens to use for this? I was >> thinking that, longer is better? I?ll be shooting work that?s lit with >> camera and art on tripod and easel, using remote shutter release etc. >> >> Any thoughts on technique would be greatly appreciated. >> >> Adam Bridge >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information