How can I photograph paintings accurately for giclée prints?
Asked 8/10/2011
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I want to photograph unframed paintings so the files can be used for giclée prints. My main goal is the most accurate color possible. I’ve heard conflicting things about whether long exposures help or hurt color accuracy with digital cameras. Since the artwork is not behind glass, what lighting and capture setup should I use to get even illumination and true color?
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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To photograph artwork, you'll need as flat and uniform a lighting setup as possible. Ideally, four lights from each corner to minimize any variation. You should use an incident meter to verify that the the light varies by no more than 1/4 stop across the artwork.
You don't need to use softboxes - bare bulbs are sufficient, if placed far enough away to minimize falloff. Minor differences due to age and color of softboxes can result in varying color temperature across your scene. This is less likely with bare bulbs. Make sure that the flash tubes are not too different - you can test this by shooting images of a grey card illuminated with each light, in turn. You should have a white balance temperature variation no greater than 150-200K, 100K if you're lucky.
Once you have the lighting set up, use a Gretag Macbeth color checker to obtain a reference color image, which you can use to profile your camera for the specific lighting setup.
Export images to 16-bit TIFF and Adobe 1998 color space - this should be more than enough for clients.
Originally by user5870. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user5870
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For reproduction work, the key is not a long exposure but controlled, even lighting and careful color management.
Use a very flat, uniform lighting setup on the painting. The advice given was to use lights from multiple corners so illumination is as even as possible across the artwork. Check the setup with an incident meter and aim for no more than about 1/4 stop variation from edge to edge.
Color consistency between lights matters too. Bare bulbs can work well if placed far enough away to reduce falloff, and they may avoid small color shifts that can happen between modifiers. Test each light by photographing a grey card lit by one light at a time, and make sure their white balance is closely matched.
Because the paintings are unframed, you don’t have to fight glass reflections, which simplifies things. Keep the camera square to the artwork to avoid distortion.
In short: don’t rely on exposure length for “truer” color in digital. Focus on even illumination, matched light sources, a grey card/white balance reference, and a stable, repeatable setup.
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