Shooting Slides, Photographs, & Digital Images
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Beth E Peterson
Text and Artwork:
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You've decided you want images for your records, galleries, exhibitions, or in order to post your work on the web. So at this point you are now considering shooting your own slides, photographs or digital images.  In order to have your photos and slides come out with the correct color reproduction, you must match the type of color film with the lighting source. Photographers judge lighting by it's color temperature. Actual daylight ranges between 5000° and 7500° Kelvin. Lighting specialists and photographers place balanced daylight at approximately 5500°K. This is the color temperature that daylight films are balanced for. There are two other basic types of film: Type A is balanced for lamps that burn at 3400°K, and Type B is balanced for lamps that burn at 3200°K. There is an industry-wide coding system for photofloods which uses a three-letter designation. This means that Brand ‘X' ECA bulbs (which by the way are 3200°K tungsten bulbs) should have the same color spectrum that Brand ‘Y' ECA bulbs have. You will probably want to use a floodlight as your lighting source. 250, 300, 500 and 1000-watt bulbs, often identified as photoflood bulbs, are available. They come in a fairly wide variety; some burn at 3400°K, so use Type A color film with those. Tungsten photoflood bulbs, however, burn at 3200°K and must be matched with a tungsten film for proper color rendering. Kodak's "Elite Chrome (tungsten)" slide film is one such; do not confuse this with Kodak's Elite Chrome (daylight) slide film, though – which is for use in daylight or with a flash. Read all packaging information carefully and thoroughly! Photographic lights generate a lot of heat and use a higher wattage than many general household fixtures are designed and built for. If you are going to use photofloods, you will want to invest in the light fixtures made specifically for them.  You will want to use a slow film, such as an ASA 64 or 100. In general, the slower the film, the finer the grain and the better the reproduction will be of your work. It is because of these slow film speeds that you also want to use a tripod. Use of a cable shutter release, if possible, will also help reduce the possibility of blurred images. When you are shooting slides or photos, have your lighting source set at a 45° angle to your work. This will give the best and most even lighting and will help reduce glare. Even so, remove any Plexiglas or glass from framed watercolors or drawings before shooting film. Other types of work may also give you some trouble. For example, oil paintings which have several layers of glazing will be reflective. You may need to bounce your light off of a white screen or other reflective surface before it hits the painting, or adjust the angle of the light, or perhaps use a polarizing filter (but be careful of color changes). If you have a heavily textured surface, you may have problems with shadows developing. Dual-source lighting can help with this problem, but you may also need to diffuse your light. You can do this by passing the light through cheesecloth before it reaches the artwork. Note: Cheesecloth must be held away from the bulb and light fixture!  Remember, photoflood lights generate tremendous amounts of heat; you need to use good sense. Do not allow combustible material to rest against either the bulb or the fixture, especially while in use. Do not trap the heat by using a reflector shield pointing downwards. Keep the lamps on only as long as necessary. Never, ever leave burning photofloods unattended. Do not use photofloods with any equipment, including electrical outlets and/or extension cords, which are not rated to handle the wattage. When shooting your film, make sure that your camera is parallel to your work. If you are shooting framed work, the slide's image should just include the outside edge of the frame. Matted but unframed work should have the edge of the work showing, with the cropping done in the mat area. If you are shooting unframed and unmatted work, you can crop the slide's edge just inside the work's edge. Remember, however, that juries and galleries will have a justified gripe if the cropping is so extensive as to change the character and visual presentation of the work. As we have seen, there are three basic things necessary to consider when shooting your work: the equipment needed to capture the image on film, the equipment needed to light the piece appropriately, and the handling of the artwork which is being shot. All three need to work together in order to give you the best possible result, but once they are understood, it becomes quite easy to shoot good-looking, accurate images of your work. |