Artists_and_Illustrators_-_November_2019

68 Artists & Illustrators

PHOTOGRAPHING ART

imagineyourcamerasittingalonga

horizontallineandperpendicularto

thisis yourartwork.

Inordertoachieveaslittleglareas

possible,placeyourlightsourcesin

linewithyourcamera,facingyour

artworkat45-degreeangles.

Byplacingtwolightsourcesatequal

distancesfromyourwork– asa good

ruleofthumb,a distanceoffour

metresis aboutrightforartworks

upto100cmwide– you’llilluminate

thecanvasevenlywhilemaintaining

elementsofshadowswhichportray

texturaldifferencesinthepaint.

CAMERA!

Whetheryou’reworkingwitha

smartphonecameraoranSLR(or

single-lensreflexcameras),optimal

lightingcanonlygosofarif you’re

shootingata jauntyangleorwithan

unsteadyhand.A tripodcangoa long

waytowardsgivingyourphotosa

professionalfeelbyeliminating

humanerror.Therearemanymulti-

purposetripodswhichhaveremovable

clipsforworkingwithphones,digital

camerasandSLRs,sodon’tfeelyou

arelimitedtooneoption.

Modernsmartphoneshavecomea

longwayinrespectofresolutionand

clarityso,dependingonhowupto

dateyourhandsetis,it maybeallyou

needforpublishingyourworkonline.

Standarddigitalcamerasalsooffer

a beginner-friendlyapproachtohigh-

resolutionphotography,allowingyou

toreviewthequalityofyourphotos,

unliketraditionalfilmcameras.

Forthoseuptothechallenge,a

digitalSLR(orDSLR)offersa wealth

oflensoptionstocatertoyour

specificneeds.Thesizeandmedium

ofyourartworkwilldeterminewhich

lensworksbestforyou,but,formost

work,a 50mmlens(oftenthe

cheapestlensavailable)witha linear

polarisingfilterwillproducesharp

imageswithreducedglare.Polarising

filtersreducetheamountoflightthat

hitsthelenssoallowsforlong

exposuretimes,meaningthata tripod

willbevitaltoavoidblurredimages.

If usingthemanualmodeonan

DSLR,anexposuretimeof2-5

secondswillyieldthebestresults.

Simplylookthroughtheviewfinder

tocheckyourshotis aligned,turn

thepolarisingfilteruntilyouseeany

obviousglarefade,andyou’resetto

go.Toavoidyourimagebeingshaken

bytheactionofyoupressingthe

shutter,setyourcamera’stimerfora

BELOW A colour
card will make
post-edit colour
balancing easier
OPPOSITE PAGE
This detail of Van
Gogh’s Starry Night
from the Google
Arts & Culture site
shows the benefit
of a good photo

You can prevent glare simply

using a piece of black card

EVA HERZOG