Digital Camera for Documentation/Publishing of Artwork
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New member Username: Ron_mackPost Number: 2 Registered: Dec-05 | I'm interested in some opinions as to what the best brands/models of digital cameras for the purpose of photographing artwork would be. I need something sensitive enough to record fine nuances of delicate, low contrast, drawings as well as something that's as color accurate as is practical for all purposes involving the human eye. This camera would be used for submitting images of artwork for competition as well as for publishing. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4595 Registered: Dec-03 | http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Leaf-and-Mamiya-Announce-22-Megapixel-M edium-Format-Camera-.htm http://www.hasselbladusa.com/index.asp?pageURL=/why/start.asp?secId=1143&itemId= 3701 Choose from any of the 2 and you can not go wrong. However, if you want to capture fine nuances and detail in the artwork, you need to know proper lighting techniques in order to bring out the details. Color accuracy is also in the hands of the user. You need to know how to use color balance, you need to know how to calibrate the monitor. Before I ramble on, what is your photographic experience? Are you the artist taking pictures of your work or are you doing this for someone else? |
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New member Username: Ron_mackPost Number: 3 Registered: Dec-05 | I'm the artist and my photographic experience is probably only about ten points higher than "complete novice" on a scale of 1 to 100 (I took a basic photography class years ago as part of the visual arts program at my college and have worked with improvised floods and a Pentax k-1000 on a tripod probably a dozen times or so trying to document my work with varying degrees of success.) Other than my Pentax SLR's getting to be around 30 years old now and wanting to make the jump to digital, my interest was piqued by another artist recently who said that, for the last 20 years or so, there has been a quiet revolution going on in the realm of reproduction of artwork to the extent that the old adage, "One must see actual art firsthand to really appreciate it." is not nearly as much the case now as it once was -- and this is due to the comparatively super high quality of reproduction that is now available by digital means to publishers of art books, etc. Going back and looking at art publications from the 1970's and comparing them to now I've had to concede that my friend is right. I guess I'm curious as to just how much of this "quiet revolution" can be participated in by the typical semi starving artist on a relative shoestring budget of, say, $2000 for a digital SLR, a good lens, and a couple of decent floods. |
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Silver Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 264 Registered: Sep-04 | That's a pretty tight budget. The DSLR body will eat up most of it. This will probably force you into a prime lens to get good optics without breaking the bank. Then, there is the lighing & setup. I am still a novice at that, but have had some success with the halogen work lights you find at the home improvement places (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc). For good color, get a grey card & shoot that under the lighting setup, then set your camera's custom white balance; that way you know the initial file from the camera is good. You will also need to get your screen calibrated with a "spyder" from Monaco or Pantone; this is the only way to get it right, the software-based solutions are best-guess. Some books on lighting would be a good investment as well. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4609 Registered: Dec-03 | Now that you have stated a budget, we have a little bit more to work on. Photographing artwork is tricky specially if you are the artist. You would want to show the original intent of your work and you want this to show through even on the photograph. You need to know more about the lighting set-up and a decent macro capable lens. Get the DSLR body that will not eat up most of your budget, the Canon Rebel or the Nikon D50. Look around for a nice prime lens over the 50mm focal length. You need a decent lighting set-up that is diffused on both sides, natural overcast light is preferrable, but we cannot conrol nature so we make it up along the way  . You need light stands and a good sturdy tripod (never cheap). If you really want to show off your work through photography you cannot skimp out on the lighting set up. Trust me, you don't want anything halogen or any type of flood lights near your artwork. You want no artifical light that stays on for an extended amount of time focused on your artwork. You will spend a good amount of money on lenses and lighting set-up. And of course, there's another budget for a decent color corrected monitor and a proper calibration software. Take all this into account and see if it is still soemthing you want to do yourself. You may just want to hire a professional with the right equipment to photograph your artwork. It may cost you less. |