Hi ghengis~
Of course camera quality is important, but any digital camera that
meets the following qualifications will work nicely:
* 35mm
* Has a zoom lens (preferably at least 35 to 80mm)
* Has a viewing screen (a small flat screen where you can better judge
the composition of your photograph before taking the picture, and can
view any photographs you've already taken)
* Has manually adjustable exposure and spot metering
* Has adjustable DPI
If you want to mostly print out the digital photographs (which would
also require a photo quality printer), then choose a camera that can
shoot at a very high resolution; if you will mostly be using the
digital photos for email and the web, it should be able to shoot at a
lower resolution. For articles about digital camera resolutions, visit
http://www.cywarp.com/FAQ_Resolution.htm and
http://www.wildportraits.com/Resolution.htm . You will also want to
buy a tripod, so make sure the camera can be mounted to one.
Often outdoor lighting works best for paintings. Choose a day when it
is overcast, or shoot under the open shade of a tree or awning. The
idea is to get even light that is not too bright. This will avoid
bright spots on your artwork. Bright sun can be difficult to shoot in
because it can cause the artwork to look shiny.
If you live in an area where it frequently rains or is mostly bright
and sunny, you may want to invest in lighting. An inexpensive source
of photographic lighting is the hot lamp. A more pricey alternative is
tungsten light. For digital photography one is not really better than
the other, although hot lamps are, indeed, hot to work under. You will
need at least two, and preferably four lamps to properly photograph
your work with artificial light. Do be sure that when you use these
lights, any household lights are turned off, since they can change the
lighting from a pure white to a yellowish tone. Any local photography
store should be able to equip you with either type of light.
You will want the artwork to be perfectly square, so a set of ordinary
clamps (found in hardware and home improvement stores) attached to a
perfectly vertical easel will probably be necessary to keep the edges
of your work from rolling. (Also, unroll your work and then re-roll it
in the opposite direction before you photograph it. In other words, if
it is usually stored rolled with the painting on the inside, roll
it--gently!--with the artwork on the outside. Then unroll it and mount
it to the easel.)
Then you'll need to square up the camera with the artwork. Be sure to
use the viewing screen for this, instead of looking through the camera
viewfinder. It should give you a more accurate look at what you're
shooting.
The equipment needed: camera, tripod, clamps, easel, and possibly
lights (especially if you buy hot lamps) should not run more than
$2,000.
This article takes artists step-by-step through the process of
photographing their work with traditional cameras--and much of the
information is still useful for digital cameras:
http://www.anweb.co.uk/l_04_d4/d4d01.htm
For a great article on the basics of photographing artwork, with a
section on digital cameras, visit:
http://digitallab.lis.unt.edu/revelations/DEAN/image-capture.html
This article also discusses digital photography of art, and focuses on
top-end equipment and techniques:
http://bermangraphics.com/press/digitalstudio.htm
Keywords Used:
photographing artwork
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photographing artwork digital
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Good luck!
kriswrite |
