Beginner New and confused...

Earl Grey

Earl Grey

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Hi all,
Pretty new to photography so apologies for this very basic question. I have a Nikon D7500 and just really starting to get to grips with it. My brother-in-law passed away recently and has left us a large collection of paintings that he did - mostly oil on canvas. They will be stored so I wanted to photograph them all first. Apart from the built-in flash on the camera I have no lighting at present.

Could you recommend the best sort of lighting I should get for this? No intention of ever doing anything professional, just good quality amateur for own use.

Many thanks.
 
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If your purpose is not art reproduction but documentation,
I would suggest you setup by a window on one side and a
white reflector on the other side — very close to the frame.
A white paper large enough for the task will be good.
 
Good advice thanks- a lot cheaper than I was expecting! I'll give it a go. Would you suggest sunny or overcast?
 
Earl Grey said:
Would you suggest sunny or overcast?
Click to expand...

NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT for sure!
Important is that you take the first picture for WB reference.
 
Last edited:
As above, don’t over complicate things.

I’d recommend a tripod and an easel so that you can ensure everything is square.
 
If the goal is simply to get reasonably good results that aren't super critical then get a cheap speedlight, stand and 5 in 1 reflector. They can also do a lot of other things beyond this one task.

A tripod would also make your life a lot easier/consistent if there's a lot of paintings, your needs are modest so it can be too.
 
mike weeks said:
north facing windows
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I think the body can work well at 800 ISO and, since DoF is not
an issue, ƒ +/- 4,5 plus keeping the SS higher should do it. :)
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•


If your purpose is not art reproduction but documentation,
I would suggest you setup by a window on one side and a
white reflector on the other side — very close to the frame.
A white paper large enough for the task will be good.
Click to expand...
This is a very good answer, in the sense that it will cost you nothing, but let me tell you how it should be done, for the best and easiest results. If you don't want to spend anything on equipment then by all means use the natural light method, when the weather conditions are right, but only if you can replicate the same angles...
1. Fit the painting either flat on its back or to a wall, a wall is usually easier.
2. Place a softbox either side of the painting at an angle of 45 degrees and square to it.. Each softbox needs to be equidistant and at the same power, something like 3' away from each edge is usually OK. What these lights will do is to provide very even illumination, and at the same time they will show the texture, which is very important with the oils. The long edge of the softbox needs to be at least as big as the short edge of the painting.
3. Place the camera on a tripod, dead square to the painting.
4. If you get unwanted reflections, fit a polariser to your camera lens. This will help with some of the reflections although, due to variations in the angles, not necessarily with them all.

This is a suitable light kit for the purpose, others are of course available from other sources https://www.lencarta.com/all-produc...700w-5400k-flourecent-continuous-lighting-kit
 
My 2 peneth, I mostly paint water colour but I do know that oils have an intensity of colour *and* a texture and they they do respond quite notceably to lighting. Often they have a sheen, brush work etc that makes them interesting to photograph. Along with kit already mntikoned I would also use a lens you know to have a decently flat field

For a flat lighting I would find a big north facing window, maybe even put a sheet up if its sunny. Set the camera with its back to the window facing the picture(s) which are facing the window - if that makes sense. This will show the colours but probably not so much the textures and brush work

To get some texture from the painting I would use the same window but have the picture at an angle to create more grazing light - reflectors would reduce that. 45 degrees, even 90 degrees to the window. You could even use a black gobo / sheet to control the reflections and bring out the colours

A linear polariser could be an excellent idea, especially if you want to control reflections off the potentially shiny oil paint

Depending on your intent with the photographs you may also want to do some post processing to get the colours just right
 
wow, some great advice. plenty for me to ponder - will be a good learning experience for me I think!
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•


If your purpose is not art reproduction but documentation,
I would suggest you setup by a window on one side and a
white reflector on the other side — very close to the frame.
A white paper large enough for the task will be good.
Click to expand...


Some good advice from Daniel and @Phil V as usual.

I would suggest a white foam board instead of a piece of paper. You will find it easier to manipulate. Cheap too.
 
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