How Do I Photograph a Painting?

PTone · 22nd of March 2012 (Thu)

I have a friend with an old, original painting which is worth quite a lot of money.

He would like me to photograph it and produce a faithful and accurate reproduction so that he can put the painting in a safe and hang the photo in his office.

The first thing I need to consider is the lighting – and I’ll worry about finding the right print paper later on.

I have a couple of Elinchrom studio strobes, 2 continuous lights and 3 flash units.
Does anyone know how I can best use these in the studio or home to bounce the light onto the painting so that I can render an accurate representation of the painting without hot spots etc?

I though that I should use the continuous lights, facing forward and from behind the painting, through a softbox and then bounce the light off white reflectors onto the painting. It’s a best guess but I would appreciate any other ideas if anyone has actually photographed a painting before .

Thanks
Paul

PhotosGuy · 25th of March 2012 (Sun)

Quote:

and then bounce the light off white reflectors onto the painting.

The wider the source, then the broader the highlights from the edges of the brush strokes will be, so I think I'd use direct light on the art.

Shooting artwork(paintings)

johneo · 25th of March 2012 (Sun)

I took a photography class last quarter where we discussed a lot of different tecniques of how to get a photo of different sorts. One of my favorite parts of the class was when we discussed (and did) "Painting with Light".
I have "tried" taking photos of paintings and there always seems to be a glare from a flash or even other light sources. Having read your question, I'm going to give it a try by setting up the painting and paint the painting with a pen light while in Bulb mode. What I have learned is that it may take a few tries to get a subject right doing it this way but when you do get it right, WOW!
So, if you have access of the painting for a period of time, maybe give it a shot. If I have the chance, I may give mine a shot this afternoon just out of curiosity! (My painting isn't anything special, in fact it's a photo of mine printed as a painting ... but I guess it's still a painting??

Jim60D · 28th of March 2012 (Wed)

Some threads on POTN using search function:
Shooting art-work
reflection problem. paintings behind glass
Shooting art
& lots more. Try search function using "artwork" or "painting" plus "photograph" etc.

22nd of March 2012 (Thu)	#1
PTone Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dorset Posts: 35	How Do I Photograph a Painting? I have a friend with an old, original painting which is worth quite a lot of money. He would like me to photograph it and produce a faithful and accurate reproduction so that he can put the painting in a safe and hang the photo in his office. The first thing I need to consider is the lighting – and I’ll worry about finding the right print paper later on. I have a couple of Elinchrom studio strobes, 2 continuous lights and 3 flash units. Does anyone know how I can best use these in the studio or home to bounce the light onto the painting so that I can render an accurate representation of the painting without hot spots etc? I though that I should use the continuous lights, facing forward and from behind the painting, through a softbox and then bounce the light off white reflectors onto the painting. It’s a best guess but I would appreciate any other ideas if anyone has actually photographed a painting before . Thanks Paul

25th of March 2012 (Sun)	#3
johneo Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: North Kingstown, RI Posts: 1,398 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: How Do I Photograph a Painting? I took a photography class last quarter where we discussed a lot of different tecniques of how to get a photo of different sorts. One of my favorite parts of the class was when we discussed (and did) "Painting with Light". I have "tried" taking photos of paintings and there always seems to be a glare from a flash or even other light sources. Having read your question, I'm going to give it a try by setting up the painting and paint the painting with a pen light while in Bulb mode. What I have learned is that it may take a few tries to get a subject right doing it this way but when you do get it right, WOW! So, if you have access of the painting for a period of time, maybe give it a shot. If I have the chance, I may give mine a shot this afternoon just out of curiosity! (My painting isn't anything special, in fact it's a photo of mine printed as a painting ... but I guess it's still a painting?? __________________ 2 - 5DMKII's, Powershot SX 150 IS 7D, 5D, IR/5D, 10D, IR/10D, Elan 7NE 17-40 L, 24-70 L, 70-200 f/2.8 L IS, 100-400 L IS, TS-E 24 f/3.5 L, 28-135 IS (x2), 50 f/1.8, 85 f/1.8 550EX, 430EX

28th of March 2012 (Wed)	#4
Jim60D Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 160	Re: How Do I Photograph a Painting? Some threads on POTN using search function: Shooting art-work reflection problem. paintings behind glass Shooting art & lots more. Try search function using "artwork" or "painting" plus "photograph" etc.

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