Photography for posters

[Isaiah]

Hi there, am new here & have a query that's been brewing for some time to ask somebody who knows. I am an artist and would like to convert some of my work into posters. Around 4 years ago I bought a digital SLR (Canon 30D) - having only ever learned basic photography on a manual SLR 12 years ago. We did darkroom developing and stuff. When I bought the Canon I had visions of learning to use it manually but alas have never quite got beyond the auto setting (shame!) Time and all that I guess, and my ageing brain! It is so much more complicated. But to get to the point, returning to the posters, when I photograph my paintings they are not 'equally' focussed right across the image. (It will be focussed on some parts but not all). I am guessing I need a specific kind of lens or... I need to work out how to use the manual settings. Can somebody please advise then how to get a crisp image of my paintings - so as I can get good poster prints done. Thanks in advance PS the lens currently on my Canon (the only one I have) is a Sigma 18-200mm

[Adam]

Hi there, am new here & have a query that's been brewing for some time to ask somebody who knows. I am an artist and would like to convert some of my work into posters. Around 4 years ago I bought a digital SLR (Canon 30D) - having only ever learned basic photography on a manual SLR 12 years ago. We did darkroom developing and stuff. When I bought the Canon I had visions of learning to use it manually but alas have never quite got beyond the auto setting (shame!) Time and all that I guess, and my ageing brain! It is so much more complicated. But to get to the point, returning to the posters, when I photograph my paintings they are not 'equally' focussed right across the image. (It will be focussed on some parts but not all). I am guessing I need a specific kind of lens or... I need to work out how to use the manual settings. Can somebody please advise then how to get a crisp image of my paintings - so as I can get good poster prints done. Thanks in advance PS the lens currently on my Canon (the only one I have) is a Sigma 18-200mm

You need to ensure your camera is square on to the poster and use a high f/stop- f/8 should suffice. Depending on the lens, your image will likely be softer in the corners so try to leave a bit of space around the edges to avoid the softer bits. This might not matter too much on a crop body

Use the Av mode and set the aperture to f8 and ISO to 100. The camera should work out the rest for you.

[rjd]

First lighting will be tricky , you want relativly flat lighting with a bit of an edge to it to give some depth to the painting.


Buy yourself a canon 50mm f1.8 prime. past f4 (which is where you will be) its incredibly sharp and what I used to use for shooting paintings.

Shoot as square on to the painting as you can, use a tripod, and timed shot (10 second). 30d doesnt have live view for focusing , so follow Adams advice above.

Use photoshop or similar to do a lens correction and then a perspective correct crop.

If its for commercial use your best getting someone else to do it.

[Isaiah]

thanks Adam for the incredibly quick response. I will try your suggestions (along with the others given) at the weekend and get back if need to.

[Isaiah]

Thanks also Rockstar. I still count myself a beginner with this camera to be honest. When you say if for commercial get someone else to do it - are you meaning the whole thing or just the photoshop? Wondered myself actually. It is kind of commercial as in I intend to sell the posters so do need a good reproduction. Is that a costly exercise I wonder? I will have a go myself though. Be back when I have. Thanks again

[Jos]

If you can light the painting with two lights, one either side and at about 45% to the painting, make the amount of light from each be even so both sides get the same amount of light. A simple trick is to hold your hand at right angles to the surface and see if the shadows on either side are much the same, move the lights to and fro till they are even. A grey card or some sort of exposure card is useful for white balance and setting the exposure manually, usually F8 is the sharp hotspot for most lenses, take a shot with the card in the picture then one without.
In camera raw you set the white balance from the card photo then apply to the image without it.

[Mark Vuleta]

This may be a bit over the top but there are some interesting points in it.

705725_giclee_prints.pdf

[Isaiah]

Looks interesting...cheers