My father is an artist and with the accumulation or his artwork, he need to photo them to keep a record. Here is the question. He is by no means a photographer and knows very little about it. I don't think he would want to take time to change the parameters et al. He need the simplest tool to get the job done. What's the best bet on today's market? His paintings are generally 1~10 foots long, 1~5 foots wide. I think distortion and color are the two most important factors to consider. Thanks in advance for any advises.
If colour is important you need to control the lighting - it's very hard to get good colour under standard indoor lighting
- establish a single 'studio' location where you can set up each artwork and photograph it, with one or more flashes (eg bounced speedlite flashes)
- surrounded by white surfaces to bounce light around and give even lighting
RE distortion: this depends on the lens, some have more than others. Some zooms show strong distortion at the wide end but are OK if you zoom in a bit. Fixed focal length lenses ('prime' lenses) are generally sharp with low distortion, but zooms are more flexible in accommodating different size artworks. Do some research (eg www.photozone.de)
As jcolwell says, if he wants professional results he can either engage a photographer to do it for him, or ask a local photographer to help him with a basic studio setup
scottam10 wrote:
If colour is important you need to control the lighting - it's very hard to get good colour under standard indoor lighting
- establish a single 'studio' location where you can set up each artwork and photograph it, with one or more flashes (eg bounced speedlite flashes)
- surrounded by white surfaces to bounce light around and give even lighting
RE distortion: this depends on the lens, some have more than others. Some zooms show strong distortion at the wide end but are OK if you zoom in a bit. Fixed focal length lenses ('prime' lenses) are generally sharp with low distortion, but zooms are more flexible in accommodating different size artworks. Do some research (eg www.photozone.de)
As jcolwell says, if he wants professional results he can either engage a photographer to do it for him, or ask a local photographer to help him with a basic studio setup...Show more →
Your comment on lighting is fresh to me. I never thought about it. What's the minimum setup?
Do you suggest DSLR or PS with good lighting system?
scottam10 wrote:
If colour is important you need to control the lighting - it's very hard to get good colour under standard indoor lighting
- establish a single 'studio' location where you can set up each artwork and photograph it, with one or more flashes (eg bounced speedlite flashes)
- surrounded by white surfaces to bounce light around and give even lighting
RE distortion: this depends on the lens, some have more than others. Some zooms show strong distortion at the wide end but are OK if you zoom in a bit. Fixed focal length lenses ('prime' lenses) are generally sharp with low distortion, but zooms are more flexible in accommodating different size artworks. Do some research (eg www.photozone.de)
As jcolwell says, if he wants professional results he can either engage a photographer to do it for him, or ask a local photographer to help him with a basic studio setup...Show more →
I've done a lot of art copy work. A good normal micro lens will serve you well for medium-large pieces. As mentioned above, good lighting is key to pro results.
