mccampbell60 Loc: Michigan

Working in an art gallery. Need to make an inventory of art owned by the gallery as well as old pics of art no longer wanted by the artists. Most of the pictures are glass covered thus highly reflective, how do I shoot them minimizing reflections of light around and about?

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Get a book on basic copy photography. It should explain the lighting set ups and use of polarizing filters.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There's quite a bit to consider.

http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=how%20to%20photograph%20painting

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Link doesn't work when I try it??

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It doesn't work for me either. Try these.

http://www.adorama.com/alc/0013417/article/How-to-Photograph-Flat-Artwork

http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-photograph-your-paintings.html

jgitomer Loc: Skippack Pennsylvania

An approach I have used successfully is to set up with a light very low (about 18 inches off the ground) and about six or seven feet away from the hanging artwork.

Another approach that will work if you have low ceilings is to set your artwork on an easel about ten feet away from the wall and then point your flash BACKWARDS over your shoulder. The flash will bounce off the wall and ceiling and provide nice even illumination of the art.

The first approach works well for work that is already hanging since it doesn't have to be taken down, moved around, and rehung on the wall. It is slower since each shot requires moving the light and the tripod mounted camera.

The second approach is faster when shooting work that is not already hung but does require more practice to get consistent results.

Of the two approaches I favor the first because I can see what I am going to get and, if necessary, move the light to avoid any shadows and glare before I shoot.

Jerry

msmith44

Remove the glass. It is extremely difficult to get acceptable captures of art (even for inventory purposes) when shooting through glass.

When capturing oils you 'll want a polarizing filter on the camera to reduce surface reflection. If the artwork has metal or reluctance materials in the paint film you'd best use polarizing gels on your light sources which have to be full spectrum. In both cases you have to light at angles less than the 45 degrees. And use diffused light.

I'm a painter and do this often.

quagmire Loc: Greenwood,South Carolina

shoot at infinity. no glare

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

...and nothing in focus.
Infinity? Seriously???

Use the links jerryc41 provided above.
That will give you a great start.

Lionel1954 Loc: Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

Use a CP filter and see if you can get an assistant to hold a diffusion screen to block out the harsh light coming from the direction that is putting a hot spot on the art work.

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

On top of all the other good advice posted, use a tripod and absolutely NO on-camera flash. Which means use the available light and set your white balance for the type of lighting it is.

Also, avoid shooting directly in front of the piece. If you move slightly to one side, above, or below the piece, you can avoid a lot of reflections. The reflections will be there, they just won't come directly into the camera lens. If it tends to distort the perspective, most photo software has perspective correction features.