Tips on shooting artwork

<p>Hello all,<br /> I have a quick question. I recently upgraded to a dslr, which I am very excited about. (Canon T1i) I have a family friend who has asked me to photograph a piece of artwork for him. The pictures would be used for both insurance purposes and also he would like to have prints made.He has offered to pay me, which is nice. So I am wondering if anyone has tips on how best to shoot artwork. The piece is actually a small vase (about 4in high), with 6 sides, and each side has a landscape painted on it. I am usually pretty good with macro, but I don't yet have a dedicated macro lens, per se-- just the kit lens. (18-55mm) He's seen the macro pictures I took with my old powershot, and was impressed with those. I am thinking that I would need a black (or white) sheet as the background.... but I just don't want to let him down--- or worse break the piece!! So what tips might you all be able to pass my way? Should i bring it up to a certain level and use my tripod? use a lamp for soft lighting instead of the flash- since my museum friends are always cranky about ppl using flash in their museums because of potential damage to the paintings, ect. I know part of it will be taking many shots and picking the best of the lot--- but this is my first real" take photographs for pay" type gig- and so I am a little nervous. (I mean I have won contests with cash prizes before, but this is different, imo.)</p>

<p>thoughts?</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

<p>oh, and i am thinking macro just because of the size of the vase, and to get the paintings into larger focus.</p>

<p>See if your kit lens allows you to focus on a 5 inch high object to just about fill the frame, if so your present lens should work fine. Absolutely use a tripod. You certainly could use a lamp for lighting instead of flash, if you wanted. The flash issue is much less applicable to pottery than oils, water colors and fabrics. In addition to shooting each side of the vase, you should also shoot the top and bottom. Then back off and capture two sides at a time if you can to show the transitions between sides. Good luck, and enjoy yourself. Perhaps, if you expect to be doing more of this type work, you can put the proceeds of your earnings toward a macro lens.</p>

<p>A macro will be sharper. You didn't mention what the surface of the vase is. If glossy, the lighting will be tricky. You might try a light on either side to avoid reflections. It doesn't matter which you use, flash or tungsten, as long as you get the color temperature right.</p>

<p>Hi Gwen: A medium gray background is good. Paper is fine but you can get some smooth looking results with a 4x8' sheet of gray/ white Formica too. Be sure any background material is secured solidly. A cool look is a white to gray to black gradated background which you can buy a Calumet or other large photo stores or make yourself if you have accesss to a 13" wide printer with matte black ink. Using 13x19" matte paper, make a new document that size and select the gradation tool in Photoshop. Go white to black along the long axis and print.</p>

<p>If you use flash, don't use it on camera. Use the flash, or continuous tungsten light, at 45 degrees from the lens axis to the side and 45 degrees up. Use a clean white card opposite the light, on the other side of the object, to add fill. Slightly diffusing the key light will soften the shadow but a harder light will show detail better. Camera position should be about midway on the object and select a slightly telephoto focal length. Discuss with the artist if he wants to see the top rim to show the rim front to back. It can add depth to the picture. Make sure you have the right color balance for the light you use. It's ideal if you know how to make a custom white balance. Should be in your manual. If possible but a gray standard in the edge of the frame so you can zero on it in post. Just crop it out on the final image. Show front and back plus any detailed closeups. Stop down the lens enough to carry focus through the piece even if it means backing up slightly to get there. Have fun!</p>

<p>The museum prohibition on strobes has more to do with setting policies for lots of people to see a work over a long period of time than much else. Your use of flash isn't going to be enough to simulate months of direct daylight exposure. </p>

<p>If your lens does not get you close enough to mostly fill the field, then look into an inexpensive +1 or so "close-up lens" (I think the new 18-55mm IS may still be a 58mm diameter screw-in filter, but check). You will lose a little, tiny bit of optical quality, but not enough to worry about here.</p>

<p>You are probably not going to have time to learn all the nuances of lighting, but with Automatic White Balance, you can shoot with something like a couple of gooseneck lamps with daylight bulbs (not actual photofloods which are very hot and burn out quickly). If you generally keep the lamps at something like 45º angles to the camera you can arrange the lights by trial and error to eliminate unwanted reflections. You may want some reflection as highlights. You might also want to experiment with having one of the lamps a little farther away to add some shadow to show contours of the vase (presuming it's roundish?).</p>

<p>You can jury rig a light tent (<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=light+tent&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a">Google™</a>) out of white sheets, if you want<br>

A little post-processing and you're set.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the tips guys. I appreciate it. :-) I will probably try a little bit of everything. I will probably be shooting the item the week between christmas and new years, so I have a little time to test things out with some "stand ins" and see what works best for me. :-) I'll post some images once I get it all accomplished.</p>