Otis: Digitally Photographing your own Two-Dimensional Art

[Liquorcat123]

Dang dude thanks a million for this information! 

[EcoEnvious]

Thank you so much for the detailed, step-by-step instructions. You helped me immensely one year ago when I made my portfolio for grad school. And I got in!

I actually ended up using a blend of the economy and high-end setup. I actually needed 4 lights, one at each corner, and there were also some homemade tin-foil reflectors involved.

I'm making a video about how I put my portfolio together and I'll be referring people to and linking to your vid. Thanks again!

[TheGynd]

Finally someone made a decent video explaining this. Thank you!

[nyerdesertfrog]

Thank you this video is great. I am shooting color paintings and am using the economy lights with a digital slr. I was wondering if you should use the blue lights or regular. Also do you put your camera on raw and then work in adobe photo shop?

[pinceldeacuarela]

Thank you so much!

[Hadassah28]

Extremely good instructional video. Thank you so much.

[rennaynay88]

This is great! Thanks for your help... Really appreciate it!

[sillygirl1114]

Thank you! This is a great tutorial!

[tgrosvenor]

It is rare to find something that is actually USEFUL! Great video. Well explained. And you provide a solution for those who don't have photographic studio lighting. Thank you so much. I wish I had seen this months ago.

[gavinsstuff]

how can you reduce the shine from glossed oil paintings. i find even with this set up it still catches light on thick bit of paint

[jackpotroper]

@gavinsstuff place the two lights closer toward the wall but still far enough away laterally to get an even distribution of light so that the light is "raking" across the surface at a more acute angle than the recommended 45 degress. stand directly behind the camera and judge for glare. nodules or lumps of glossy material will always glisten no matter what but overall glare should diminish. the trick is to maintain even light while reducing glare. let me know if this works

[jackpotroper]

@gavinsstuff place the two lights closer toward the wall but still far enough away laterally to get an even distribution of light so that the light is "raking" across the surface at a more acute angle than the recommended 45 degress. stand directly behind the camera and judge for glare. nodules or lumps of glossy material will always glisten no matter what but overall glare should diminish. the trick is to maintain even light while reducing glare. let me know if this works

[davishev]

Since you're talking about digital photography of artwork here, it would be worthwhile to mention that certain things can be done after the fact with Photoshop. Bracketing with a DSLR, then later tweaking saturation, color, contrast and cropping in Photoshop have made life so much easier. Thankfully the days when you had to balance color temp with lights and film, use a gray card for exposure and have a neutral background behind the painting are gone.

[jackpotroper]

@davishev true, but understanding how light and exposure work will get the image close if not right on for those who may not have access to filtering programs.

[julipall]

thank you so much! very useful!

[bethanyrouslin]

Is this method (with tungsten hot lights) still used when photographing a very valuable painting? Do museums use this method for digitally reproducing priceless works? Or is this light source too much for oil on canvas even for this short period of time?

[jackpotroper]

@bethanyrouslin Museums use hot lights like any other photographer but manage the exposures using the least amount necessary. works on paper that is not archival are the most vulnerable. oil ptgs. are much more durable.

[jackpotroper]

@bethanyrouslin Museums use hot lights like any other photographer but manage the exposures using the least amount necessary. works on paper that is not archival are the most vulnerable. oil ptgs. are much more durable.

[Aliens125]

This was a very helpful video. Thank you. I have a questions as well. What if you want to shoot color artwork and you are on a budget using the 'economical' approach? What light bulbs should you get? -or should we invest in better lighting?

[OtisCollege]

Use the same lights. If your black and white artwork looks good, then your white balance is correct, and color will look good as well.

[nyerdesertfrog]

@OtisCollege I am shooting color paintings using economy lights with a digital SLR. Should I use the blue daylight bulbs or the regular bulbs? Do you put the camera on raw and then work in adobe photoshop?

[jackpotroper]

The drawings were shot in color. So, this method will work regardless. However, upgrading to more intense light sources that are matched is always better. Of course, daylight is excellent as long as it does not create glare.

[nilztipp]

I learned a lot, thank you.

[GoodMorningGlories]

Thank you!

[JDAHAWAII]

Warner is great

[comicsggk]

"Represent the work in the best light possible" 6/10 for lame unintended pun.