Photographing oil paintings

[joebuzz83]

Hi,

I was hoping that someone who has experience photographing art could help a confused artist understand if my setup is salvagable in hopes that I don’t have to spend a ton of money to get the best equipment. I plan to, but not while I’m starting up this initiative.

So, I’m hoping that there is a 50mm lense that I can buy that will fit my Olympus OMD EM10 m3, but I haven’t found a solution that I’m confident diving into. I bought the 24mm lense too quickly without researching it fully or as fully as I should have and now see the distortion it’s causing.

I’m currently struggling with this setup:

– Olympus OMD EM10 Mark 3 (16mp – noise is sometimes an issue)
– 24mm fixed lense (skewing and distortion is an issue)
– 2 soft boxes with 800w 5500k bulbs (glare is a constant issue)
– Sekonic L-308B C light meter
– Datacolor SpyderX Pro monitor calibrator

I feel like I’ve watched every video on youtube and every photographer has an easy time with glare and distortion. I measured my lights at 45 degrees from the center of my paintings. I place the camera parralel to the painting matching the tilt ( i think).

Thanks for reading!

[Yorky Administrator Ormskirk]

This has been covered before, try doing a search.

Doug

We must leave our mark on this world

[Yorky Administrator Ormskirk]

This has been covered before, try doing a search.

Check out this thread.

Doug

We must leave our mark on this world

[joebuzz83]

hi Doug,

Thanks for the link and material to read. I didn’t find what I was looking for, so I posted. I’m looking for someone to help me understand specifically if a 50mm lens is enough to get rid of distortion and if they could help me find a 50mm lens that fits my OMD EM10. I don’t this this request has been posted, BUT I also noticed that I rambled on and on without asking the exact questions that I wanted answered. I guess I was hoping to start up a conversation about it.

Will a 50mm lens eliminate distortion and skewing?

Is an OMD EM10 going to cut it for high quality pictures of my art to use for prints?

If not, does anyone have a setup that they can suggest that works best for them and costs under $2000?

[Ohmo]

joebuzz83 wrote:

hi Doug,

… Will a 50mm lens eliminate distortion and skewing?

Is an OMD EM10 going to cut it for high quality pictures of my art to use for prints?

If not, does anyone have a setup that they can suggest that works best for them and costs under $2000?

No, a 50mm lens will not eliminate distortion or skewing. It could help reduce those problems, but unless the subject is centered, square, parallel, and plumb to the lens/sensor, the most expensive lens in the world won’t eliminate them. If the camera does not have a grid view, buy one that does. Even then, there are no guarantees – trial and error is how to fix those problems. Until the perfect photo is made, used good editing software to make corrections.

Yes, the Olympus OMD EM10 Mark 3 will make photos for printing high quality photo prints if the printer is capable of making prints you consider high quality. Keep in mind that file size is only a minor factor in the quality level of a digital image.

Suggestion for an under-$2K setup: Because the images must be viewed and edited on a screen no matter what the camera/lens/accessories combination might be, Photoshop is the gold standard, but unless you like buying a subscription and using it only online, best to finds something else. there are some really good free photo editing apps, too – GIMP has a wonderful reputation.

Skill is nothing more than talent practiced relentlessly.

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