Tips for photographing paintings?

[Toril]

What is the best way to photograph paintings? I'm struggling with the horrific photos I'm getting with my - believe it or not, Nikon D70! Never liked that thing, though, but you'd still think it could render something fairly accurately.

[Freesail]

Outside in the shade or on the north side of a building ( no shadows ). Always use a tripod.

[DaveGhmn]

Don't miss the article here on WC: http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/2810/87/

[ktqt]

So funny to read this when I logged on after having just spent 20 minutes photographing my painting in different places, with different light.... and none of them seemed right!! Normally, however I do outdoor shade shots on my deck. No flash! indoors or out. Best advice- take some in indoor lighting then some out in the shade without flash, then check to see which shots best represents the colors of the painting. Sometimes artists adjust the image in photoshop to correct for the camera, but I don't prefer to do that because it usually ends up looking even more wonky. BTW- I take all my pics with my iPhone! Love that thing!

[Red 9]

I understand your pain! This has to be one of the most infuriating things possible!

[dirtysteev]

Some tips:
-Set the white balance on your camera accurately.
-As others mentioned, shoot outdoors on a bright, but overcast day, much easier than dealing with lights.
-If shooting indoors under lights they should be between 3,000-5,000 kelvin, this will give you accurate colors. I have had best luck using three lights.
-Experiment with focal length, all lenses distort, you can usually find a sweet spot though, for example, my camera is best at about twelve feet from my work, then zoomed in.
-Use a tripod AND your timer feature, or a trigger, don't touch the camera to take the photo.
-Measure off of the floor to the center of your painting, match the center of your lense to that height.
-If you are getting glare try tilting your painting ever-so-slightly forward.
good luck

[DAK723]

I find that outdoors on overcast days is by far the best situation to take photos of your paintings. A bright overcast day is better than very dark, but, in my experience, better than in the shade on a sunny day. The problem with in the shade on a sunny day is that the blue sky often puts a very blue cast to the photo. A cloudy day has the whitest light with the least color cast.

Even so, when taking photos of their artwork, people suddenly need to come to grips with the fact that cameras are not perfect - and often far from perfect - when it comes to capturing accurate color. So some manipulation of the computer is usually necessary. I know, for example, that my camera (a Canon) exaggerates reds, so I always adjust for that.

Also, as you probably know, cameras have a limited value range, so they will push light values more towards white and dark values more towards black. So some manipulation is always necessary with the values also.

Don

[Toril]

Thank you all, lots of good tips here! My last attempt was on the deck, north facing but in the shade, but on a very sunny day (as my bright red leg and face can testify to, obviously canvas paper can be quite reflective!)

I will try again on an overcast day, it is the best light for soft photography. The white balance is exactly the main problem I have with the Nikon. I wish I never bought that thing, I loved their 35mm cameras but have had no luck with this digital. Didn't like digital to begin with... but I've seen some beautiful photos done with Canons in the last few years.

Maybe something is wrong with the camera. IMO, it shouldn't be fighting you like that. I recently bought a powershot SX150 IS for about $110.00 on ebay, and it gives great results with virtually no effort at all. Here is a (very small detail of a) picture I took of one of my paintings-in-progress with it yeserday. It was taken indoors, no tripod, and with only 3 cfl lightbulbs for lighting.

I did rest the camera on the back of a chair for steadiness, and had the timer set to 2 seconds. I used the 'macro' setting, but it easily captured the whole painting in one shot.



All the colors look very accurate to my eyes.

I post this only for the purpose of comparison, meaning that if your camera isn't performing as well as a point-and-shoot, something may be wrong with it. If your standards are just higher than mine (I'm a camera noob), just please disregard this

[LGHumphrey]

Toril, it helps to read the instruction manual. (We all know that but just about none of us do it.)