Getting Exposure Perfect For Drawings?

[Two_In]

I'm having trouble getting the exposure perfect when photographing drawings (pencil or charcoal on paper). I currently do it by bracketing. f10 1/100 is best setting so far for most. I can get quite close but it's never 100% satisfactory. It's as though I need another fraction of a stop to get the perfect exposure. It would be good if I didn't have to do so much bracketing too.

There can be a few pencil marks on the paper or almost covered in thick charcoal.

Equipment used: X2 Smartflash - D3200 - 60mm and 30mm lens (depending on size of drawing).
Settings: f10 1/100 ISO 100 Manual

Could I buy a light meter that will find the perfect exposure Etc.? I have a grey card.
Or can I make further refinements with my D3200? Something I'm missing?

 

[juggler]

I'm a fan of light meters but I suspect it's not going to be the total panacea you're hoping for.
When working with flash you _almost always_ have to do some variety of shoot, chimp, adjust, repeat.

Bracketing is one way to do that. Shooting tethered is another. A light meter is a third.

I find a light meter quickest but I seem to be unusual.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

If you're simply trying to get a clean copy, then you only need to get the exposure "close enough" and tidy the image using any modern picture editor.

Ignoring the rubbish drawing technique for the moment, this is the image straight off the card...



...and this is my cleaned up version...



I use Apple's built in "Preview" editor, a more advanced editor will give you more subtle adjustments.

 

[Two_In]

If you're simply trying to get a clean copy, then you only need to get the exposure "close enough" and tidy the image using any modern picture editor.

Ignoring the rubbish drawing technique for the moment, this is the image straight off the card...

View attachment 395178

...and this is my cleaned up version...

View attachment 395179

I use Apple's built in "Preview" editor, a more advanced editor will give you more subtle adjustments.

To be honest, your photo isn't good enough for what I'm looking for. Sorry.

 

[jakeblu]

To be honest, your photo isn't good enough for what I'm looking for. Sorry.

Then perhaps you ought to be a bit more specific about what you need.

TBF to Andrew he never said it was good enough, simply showing how you can obtain an exposure you are satisfied with.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I'm having trouble getting the exposure perfect when photographing drawings (pencil or charcoal on paper). I currently do it by bracketing. f10 1/100 is best setting so far for most. I can get quite close but it's never 100% satisfactory. It's as though I need another fraction of a stop to get the perfect exposure. It would be good if I didn't have to do so much bracketing too.

There can be a few pencil marks on the paper or almost covered in thick charcoal.

Equipment used: X2 Smartflash - D3200 - 60mm and 30mm lens (depending on size of drawing).
Settings: f10 1/100 ISO 100 Manual

Could I buy a light meter that will find the perfect exposure Etc.? I have a grey card.
Or can I make further refinements with my D3200? Something I'm missing?

Posting some examples might help those who can advise on lighting.

But if you're shooting raw files and it's only a fraction of a stop why not adjust in Lightroom or whatever photo software you use?

 

[Garry Edwards]

As you haven't posted any examples, this is just an educated guess but . . .

It seems to me to be a lighting problem. You're using 2 x SmartFlash studio flashes and the standard setup is to have a softbox fitted to each, one flash each side of the flat artwork and at an angle of around 45 deg. Each flash has to output exactly the same power, the softboxes need to be of identical size and shape and need to be at exactly the same angle and distance.

If just one of these possible variants is out then the exposure will be greater on one side than the other, which will make "correct" exposure impossible. A flash meter would help by identifying any differences but isn't actually necessary.
Does that help?

 

[simon ess]

I don't use flash for mine. Just take the photo in front of a window without direct sun.

I'm not looking for perfection so I just do it handheld but for the best possible result you could set up a tripod.

Pen and Pencil People by Simon, on Flickr

 

[Phil V]

To be honest, your photo isn't good enough for what I'm looking for. Sorry.

Your lights are adjustable in 1/10 stop increments (I think) and your camera likely only in 1/3 stops, so bracketing isn’t as precise as adjusting the lights.

But you’re going to have to define ‘perfect exposure’, maybe with some examples.

Cos for photographers exposure is generally ‘right’ and adjusted for taste around there.

I have a sneaking suspicion that your problem isn’t exposure per se but another lighting problem, and that you’re looking for textural differences rather than tone differences.