How can I get consistent exposure when photographing artwork with a Canon in Av mode?
Asked 3/10/2011
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I’m photographing paintings/artwork on a tripod with a Canon T2i, a 35mm macro lens, studio lights, and shooting RAW. I’ve been using Av mode at f/5.6 and ISO 100, letting the camera choose the shutter speed. My concern is that different artworks have different overall brightness, so the camera may change exposure time and make dark pieces too bright or light pieces too dark. I want the photos to be consistent and reflect the artwork accurately without having to re-meter every piece. Should I keep using auto exposure, meter from a gray card, or switch to manual exposure for all pieces under the same lighting?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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If you want consistent exposures you should use manual mode. If you let the camera measure the light, it will compensate for lighter or darger colors and try to make the average of the scene standard gray.
Alternatively you could use spot metering, and use a gray card in front of the artwork, so that the camera will only measure the light that falls on the subject, not how much light it reflects.
In the RAW processing you have some margin to adjust the exposure, but you should try to make the exposure as correct as possible from start. If you have to compensate too much in the post processing, you will get a noticable loss in image quality.
Originally by user149. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user149
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For consistent reproduction of artwork, use manual exposure rather than Av mode.
In Av, the camera meter assumes the scene averages to a mid-tone gray. That means a dark painting may be exposed longer and a bright painting shorter, making different artworks look more similar in brightness than they really are.
If your lighting, camera position, aperture, and ISO stay the same, manual mode gives the most consistent results. Set exposure from a representative test shot, then check the histogram to avoid clipping highlights or shadows. Once it’s right, keep those settings for the session.
A gray card can help: place it in the same light as the artwork, meter from it (or use spot metering), then switch to manual and keep that exposure.
RAW gives some room for minor correction afterward, but it’s best to get exposure as close as possible in-camera to preserve image quality.
So: under controlled studio lighting, establish exposure once, switch to manual, and only adjust if the lighting setup changes.
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