How best to photograph black and white painting

October 24, 2016 7:27 PM

I have been asked to digitise a painting that the artist would like to use on a website I am creating for her. The painting is black and white acrylic, on canvas, unframed, and not stretched. So it's going to have to be lying on a table or something. I have a DSLR. What are some tips for getting the best quality image?

She is only here for one day (tomorrow) and no one I know with more professional experience in this sort of thing is available, so it's going to be me and my camera, doing the best I can. She lives in a remote area and does not have access to high quality technology usually, so there aren't going to be other opportunities for her to digitise this when she goes back home.

I can find lots of sites with tips for photographing art, but they all assume the art is colour, and that it can be propped up horizontally for photographing from a tripod, so the tips they give don't necessarily apply.

posted by lollusc to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

The most critical three factors are:

1. The artwork be flat
2. The lighting be even
3. The camera be centered and parallel to the artwork

It doesn't much matter how you do those things, or how ridiculous you look, but the closer you can get to perfection on all three, the better the results.

Because it's a black and white painting, you don't have to worry much about white balance as you would with color artwork. Aside from that, I can't think of any reason that techniques for color art wouldn't work with black and white art. Your biggest headache is going to be the fact that you can't hang it and it's not stretched or mounted in any way (which would make it flatter).

You don't say how big the artwork is, but unless it's really small I think you're going to have a hard time getting right above it if it's on a table. If you can't hang it at all, it might have to go on the floor. Just DO NOT shoot it from an angle. Do whatever you have to do to get the camera parallel to the canvas on both axes, and centered in the middle of the picture. If possible, it's better to be further away with a longer lens (or zoomed in more) than close up with a very wide lens, but you may not have much choice here.

If there's anywhere that you can borrow or rent a tall tripod with a horizontal arm on it, it will make your life a lot easier. Similarly external lights would be a big help. It's super hard to get everything aligned correctly and lit evenly by standing on a chair leaning over the art with standard room lighting. Believe me, I've tried it. It was a pain.

Depending on the artwork and your photography skills, it may also be a good idea to bracket exposures (shoot some intentionally a bit overexposed, and some a bit intentionally underexposed). Sometimes it's impossible to tell the proper exposure on the camera's LCD screen, and metering something like this can be tricky. Digital photos are effectively free, so shoot it lots of different ways to be sure you get a good one.
posted by primethyme at 7:57 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, Primethyme, that's all very helpful. What do you mean by "external lights"? Floor lamps? Would it be better to shoot it outside with natural lighting?
posted by lollusc at 8:13 PM on October 24, 2016

Best answer: Honestly, for most of their artwork I have my art students take their 2D pieces outside, laid flat, in either full sun or full overcast/shade (no cast shadows/dappling) and then take the picture perfectly parallel to the ground plane making sure they're standing in such a way that they themselves aren't casting shadow on the artwork. If they don't want to put it directly on the ground/street/sidewalk or if it has deckle edges you want to preserve in the image, taking a sheet of illustration board/matboard/masonite out to lay under it works well. Then tweak the contrast/brightness/etc as needed in Photoshop. (This is also what I do for most of my own pieces.) Doing it outside makes certain there's only one light source to eliminate weird shadow issues and that you have sufficient lumens. Also, there's typically more clear flat space outside.
posted by vegartanipla at 8:17 PM on October 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: And how do I make sure that I or the camera don't cast a shadow on the painting when I'm above it? (Besides finding a vampire to bite me tonight?)
posted by lollusc at 8:19 PM on October 24, 2016

This is unstretched canvas... Is there an unpainted border around the edge? I'd try to hang it on a blank wall with pushpins carefully inserted on the unpainted edge or a series of binder clips along the top edge. If you can do this on an outside wall on a cloudy day, that would be easiest from a lighting perspective. Then you can shoot it head on.

I did shoot a large canvas once by laying it flat on the ground and then climbing the fire escape next to it so I was directly overhead.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:28 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

To prevent shadows, you should not have light sources directly above you or the camera if shooting downward. You could have multiple light sources around the painting, but make sure they are diffused using a studio umbrella or other homemade contraption. Also, if using multiple light sources, all the light sources must be of the same type (same exact incandescent lamps for example) to prevent color temperature differences between different areas of the painting. Another option would be to use a camera lens ring light for diffused, even lighting.
posted by thewildgreen at 8:31 PM on October 24, 2016

Get some two sided tape, and put it on a board. Stand the board up and light it with indirect north light. Use the black and white setting on the camera. Use a tripod, use a medium focal length zoom, not a closeup. Shoot from 5 feet away if it is under two feet at any side, or 8 feet if it is bigger. Make sure the camera is at exactly the same angle as the board.
posted by Oyéah at 8:31 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

And how do I make sure that I or the camera don't cast a shadow on the painting when I'm above it? (Besides finding a vampire to bite me tonight?)

Don't shoot at noon, Sun on one side, you on the other.
posted by ridgerunner at 8:37 PM on October 24, 2016

Lean the board so it is collecting north, morning light. Morning light is cool. If you can shoot out doors, then put it up against a wall, in a shadow, and let it collect whatever light as long as the piece is in the shadow, and picking up empty sky light. Don't shoot in such a way that you cast a shadow on the piece.

Example if you have a wall that is facing west, it will be in shadow before 10:00-11:00 AM, and there is plenty of light. The sun will be to the east over the building where you have parked the piece. Just make sure the angle of the camera is the same angle as the lean of the board, so the image is as squared up as it can be.

I used to photograph and print the work of other artists. This part is casual, as long as you shoot well before noon. After noon the light gets warm, and changes the color of the art.
posted by Oyéah at 8:44 PM on October 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Do you have a camera store you can get to? A grayscale and polarizing filter. Bracket your exposures and try some different angles on the filter.
posted by Sophont at 11:47 AM on October 25, 2016

Response by poster: I think it worked pretty well. We tried attaching it to a board with binder clips, but couldn't do it without wrinkles or non-flat bits. Putting it on a table outside, shaded by an umbrella, and standing on the table to take the picture worked fine though. We bracketed exposures as suggested, and got an image we are happy with.

Thanks for all your suggestions!
posted by lollusc at 8:12 PM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]