week 10- Copy Work

What is copy work?

Photographing an artwork for archival or duplication purposes. 

What sort of things would we have to copy?

Printed matter, continuous tone photographic image or printed surface like a magazine (halftone)

Depending on the degree of halftone you have to change your method. 

Line drawings, diagrams, Black and white, no texture 

Transparencies (will have to be lit from behind)

What do we have to do to take a proper copy photo?

Uniform lighting

How? Use light meter, consider the size of the object. If its a huge painting its harder so use 2 lights at a 45 degree angle which is standard for copy work and makes flat, even lighting

Correct Focus and depth of field
Use F32 or F16

Minimal Reflections
Subjects under glass usually cause reflections
To fix this, get a piece of cardboard as big as the subject with a hole in the middle, so the lens can poke through the hole to minimize reflections of cameras
Textured things like oil paintings with heavy brush marks reflect marks and cause specular reflections that hide color and texture. To help this we use a polarizing filter straight on the lens but this wont eliminate the problem because it only works on one axis. Putting polarizing filters over the lights as well will recuse the problem but it cuts off light dramatically so you have to account for low light conditions. You will need to orientate the filter on the lens the correct way.

Color Accuracy
How? Use a color checker card and include it in the image so the printer can read it and apply the correct measurements

Correct Perspective 
Cant be at an angle, take a photo straight on and pointed at the center of the object
Use a 'copy stand' where the camera sits directly over the subject (for magazines and things of smaller sizes)
Use a prime lens to eliminate distortion

Minimal distortion (barrel and pincushion)
Use a prime lens
50mm prime lens is good

Whether to include the frame around the image
Or just the image itself (may need to physically remove the frame to get the whole painting or just crop it out in Photoshop)

Correct White Balance
Custom white balance

Surface of the subject
Reflective, non reflective, texture, textiles or canvas
You might want to bring out the nature and texture of the subject

Other considerations:
Don't want to destroy the original by bending it and such, that's why taking photographs is sometimes better then using a scanner


When using a light meter:
Take a light reading of the subject at each corner and in the middle with the sensor inside the device. If all measurements are withing 0.1 of a stop then it will be even.

Tungsten lighting or flash doesn't matter

Soft boxes are typically used at a reasonable distance for uniformity. 

Polarizing filters

Light is in a wave form that come at different directions. a polarizing filter block light coming from some directions and allow some directions to pass through. Polarizing filters are good for landscape because it helps saturate the image. turning 90 degrees away from the sun will give a stronger polarizing effect. 

1 sheet of polarizing paper to go over the light is really expensive and can still melt so make sure you don't overheat and melt them. 

Certain colors in paintings are really hard to capture digitally - especially blues. Metallic paper finishes or florescent coatings also cause problems.