How can I photograph pencil drawings without bright patches and washed-out dark tones?

Question

I’m trying to photograph graphite pencil drawings, but the photos don’t match the artwork. Dark shaded areas often look lighter in some parts, contrast is reduced, and small white imperfections become more obvious. With window light, one side can look better while the other side gets brighter. With room lights, I also see uneven bright areas.

I’m using a Nikon B500 and photographing an A3 drawing indoors. Is this mainly caused by the small sensor, camera settings, or lighting? What is the best way to light and position the drawing to avoid bright spots and uneven tone, and can Photoshop help fix it afterward?

user21789 · Accepted Answer

Lead pencil drawings are problematic to photograph due to the properties of graphite. Graphite is a metal not a typical organic pigment, per se.

Pencil lead is a metal/clay combination. The clay holds the pencil "lead" shape. Various proportions of each determine whether the mark made is dark or light with the same amount of pressure upon the point.

When a line is drawn on paper, it has its own "highlights" and "shadows" which you can clearly see with a sufficient magnifier. If you have a heavily shaded area, you can use it as a pretty efficient reflector as it is of metal (graphite.) When lit, heavy depositions can appear white or black depending on the reflection angles involved. You can see this by looking at your artwork under normal conditions by changing your viewpoint relative to a light source.

The effect of the tiny highlights will be to "lighten" dark areas by reflecting bits of the light you use to illuminate your drawing(s). The minuscule highlights "dilute" the darkness with points of reflected light. The surface of the paper has hills and valleys which affects the line rendition. Each line is a shallow concave furrow which is very difficult to light evenly. Oils and acrylics are the opposite with convex shiny mounds of pigment that each have their specular highlight reflections.

Several different techniques can be used to kill or diminish the reflections including lighting techniques and by using cross-polarization (polarizers) with the light source. Some hit the artwork with dulling spray or workable fixative between layers which also helps avoiding smudges if you're not using a bridge or Mahl stick. Anti-reflection sprays also have their short-comings so they are not an ideal fix either.

Scanning was suggested but that does not remove the highlight reflection from the graphite but changes the light direction which may give the effect you were striving for.

Conform to best practices for copy/copy stand photography for acceptable results. Balanced (equal illumination) lights at 45° to copy board, camera at 90° to copy board, Polarized light, etc.

Good luck.

How can I photograph pencil drawings without bright patches and washed-out dark tones?

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