It’s done…..now how do I get a proper photograph of it?
Many of you know that photographing a finished encaustic piece can be incredibly challenging.
I’ll start by walking you through my process.
When a piece is finished I want to have it photographed for reproduction. I’m interested in getting all the texture, details, and color as accurate as possible so that I can print to 12 foot by 12 foot if so needed. I’ve proclaimed in the past that I am not a techy and it’s never been more apparent than this process. So I turn to a professional photographer friend, Brady Willette. (Please take the time to check out his War Pony Project, you’ll be amazed at his personal work.)
The main reason I don’t scan the images is that a scanner will flatten the textures. I actually want some slight shadow bouncing off the texture so that the print will have some depth. Stay with me on this. I’ll give alternatives to this process further down the post.
The set up is fairly basic (well for a professional studio photographer that is). An easel, two lights, diffuser, flash sync, light meter, camera, and laptop. As you can see we don’t worry about the backdrop.
Brady shot this image with his Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 100, 1/200 sec f/8.5, 24 to 105 Canon lens.
The lights are placed at approximately 45 degree angels from the piece and had a Rosco Diffusion Sheet over them to neutralize the color of the light.
Brady also took a shot with an 18% neutral grey card so that he could balance and dial in the color so the finished file closely matches the actual artwork.
Once we got it properly leveled, both the artwork and the camera, so that it was a perfect straight on shot. We only took one image. Done.
The techy part for me is in the leveling and the color correction. You don’t want any distortion of the image if the camera or the piece are slightly off. This is where Brady’s mastery comes in. He was dead on……and when we cropped the final piece it was a perfect square.
Many of you won’t be photographing your work for reproduction but just for web based, social media based, or show submittals. You do not need to go to a professional photographer to get these images.
You may still want to set up a similar scenario with the lights. But feel free to use tissue paper or another diffuse material over the light source.
And you absolutely don’t need to have a fancy flash system tethered to Lightroom. Shoot in a dark room with constant tungsten or LED fluorescent lights. Meter your camera with the constant light. And shoot.
You don’t even need a grey card if you are not that concerned with having your image 100% color corrected to the original.
Photographing your work inside can be disastrous without studio lighting. The light is harsh and you frequently see shadows or lights bouncing off the shiny smooth surface of the piece.
But let me tell you there have been many, many times when I’ve needed a quick shot of something so I take the piece outside in the shade with my iPhone. I lay it flat on the ground. Straddle the piece so I can get right over the top of it and shoot the image. Natural shaded light works fabulously. I have to admit it’s really easy to tilt the camera phone slightly so I frequently lose some of the image as I crop out the sidewalk. But hey, it works for the fast moving social media world that we live in. I now have a tripod for my phone, which has helped tremendously.
I would love to know in the comments below what are some of the other ways you’ve found to photograph your finished pieces.
Be well….be creative,
Thanks Clare, really helpful advice. My main problem is showing the true colour and hues of my turquoises and blues. Simply can’t produce the same vibrancy but I’ll keep fiddling with the meters and lighting. Maybe I need to diffuse the light much more so I’ll also give that a go. Thanks!
Hi Cinny, it’s no doubt hard. Yes, keep fiddling. Wish there was a magic formula.
I find that once I get the lighting right with my phone I can actually make the colors true to the piece through editing. The outdoor lighting is the best, although in a Minnesota winter it can be a challenge!
It’s tricky to get the lighting right, but yes, the iphone is amazing these days. I hardly ever bring out the big camera…..unless I want more pixels to reproduce the work!
Cinnamon, if you are using really vibrant colors on your artwork, they may be out of gamut for sRGB or AdobeRGB to capture. Nothing really you can do about that but get as close as you can.
Thanks for your input Al.
Photographing encaustic work has got to be the most challenging photo project ever. You always seem to have to compromise something. Thanks for the tips. I have have found that for social media shots that the phone pictures work and I can usually find a filter to return the correct colours to photo before publishing. I like the laying down of work idea. I’ve used the lawn chairs but always loose edges as you said. Frustrating.
Couldn’t agree more Mary, it’s indeed tough…..especially since the originals are oh so beautiful.
Good info. I photograph a lot of art including my own encaustic works. It is quite challenging to capture the luminous look and feel of encaustics. I sometimes use a polarizing filter on my lens to reduce unwanted reflections. For more reflection control, you can also place a polarizing screen on front of the lights.
I was inspired recently to use one bare lamp above my piece to duplicate the gallery lighting I saw recently on one of my pieces. It as stunning. Give that a try also.
Thanks for the comments Larry and posting your tip about using the polarizer. Yes, a polarizing filter would certainly help if you are getting glare.
Hello. I am seeing this article in 2021.
Is there a camera you recommend to photograph encaustic paintings.
Thank you
Hi Maria, I’ve actually been using my iPhone 12 recently and it is marvelous for photographing…..especially for social media. If you are photographing for reproduction you’ll want any DLSR camera that with decent pixels. There isn’t one I would recommend over the other. It’s a personal preference to what you need and your budget.
I have found taking photos prior to buffing the piece can help. Unless of course, you want to demonstrate that lustre.
But the straddling the piece on the floor of my studio, in the darker shadow of my work bench is my go-to location.