Equipment needed:

• Manual 35mm camera with built-in light meter
• Cable release (optional)
• Hand held light meter (optional)
• 8x10" gray card
• Background (flat, neutral value such as white, black or grey)
• Tripod
• Lights with adjustable stands and reflectors (two minimum)
• Daylight balanced or Tungsten slide film (depending on lights used)

Camera
A manual 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera equipped with a 50mm lens is the best option for taking slides. You have full control over the shutter speed (how long the shutter stays open exposing the film) and the f-stop, also known as the aperture (the amount of light coming through the lens). When changing the aperture, the smaller the f-stop, the greater the amount of light coming through the lens. When the f-stop is set to a higher number, there will be a smaller amount of light coming through the lens. The aperture is essentially how big the shutter opening is. The shutter can open to different degrees thus allowing different amounts of light through the lens. A SLR camera has the ability to have detachable lenses. If you are shooting a detail shot and cannot move your camera closer to the subject, you can easily switch lenses to accommodate your needs. The best scenario is having a SLR camera with a zoom lens.

Cable Release
A cable release is not a necessity, but it can be helpful. A cable release prevents any movement, or shaking, of the camera that could occur when you depress the shutter release button.

Hand Held Light Meter
In theory your in-camera light meter is sufficient for taking images of your work. You may have great exposures most of the time. But, the one problem of an in-camera meter is that it only measures reflected light from the location of the camera. A hand held meter can be used to measure the brightness of every light within your setup, thus enabling you to make more accurate adjustments in lighting levels.

Gray Card
Within your artwork, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, the average of all the values (lights and darks) in theory is an 18% gray value. This gray value, when used in conjunction with the lights, is used to adjust the aperture on the camera. A gray card is a card that has been painted the 18% gray value. This is used as a reference point when you take light readings.

Background
Two-dimensional artwork must either lay flat directly under a camera, or the more likely scenario, hang on the wall. Most two-dimensional work is too large to be placed under a copy stand. Since the work will be hanging on a wall, you will have to have some sort of neutral background behind the work. A wall painted a neutral value, fabric, or photography backdrop paper will work.

If you choose to use a white wall, make sure that all stray marks are gone from it. Push pin holes, scrapes, smudges and any other surface marring should be cleaned up before the artwork is hung on the wall. If you use fabric, black velvet is the best because it tends to intensify the colors of the artwork. It absorbs light and is easy to clean with a lint roller. Iron the fabric to remove any fold lines. If you use a gray fabric, be aware that some grays tend to look green and some look blue. Use a gray card to find the right gray fabric. The best route is to purchase middle gray backdrop paper from a photography supplier. The paper comes in rolls in both 4.5ft. and 9ft. widths. Paper can be cut from the roll and either pinned or taped to a wall.

Tripod
A tripod is needed to steady the camera when you are taking slides. Most of the time you will be shooting slides at 1/60th of a second and it is extremely difficulty to keep a steady hand while holding the camera. An added bonus is that when you are shooting multiple works that are the same size, you rarely have to reposition the camera.

Lights
The type of lights you use depends on the type of film you use. Daylight film needs daylight bulbs and tungsten film needs tungsten bulbs. The wattage of bulb needed will either be 250 watts or 500 watts, either are sufficient. Make sure that you use either 250 or 500, not one of each.

Film
The type of film you use depends on the type of lights you use. If you use tungsten lights, then you need to use tungsten slide film. If you are using daylight bulbs, then you need to use daylight slide film. Typical tungsten film speeds are T160 and T64. A typical daylight slide film speed is 200.

»  Download Photographing Two-Dimensional Artwork with Artificial Light  [pdf]

»  Download Photographing Two-Dimensional Artwork with Natural Light  [pdf]

»  Download Photographing Three-Dimensional Artwork with Artificial Light  [pdf]

»  Download Photographing Three-Dimensional Artwork with Natural Light  [pdf]

Basic Tips to Remember:

• Never touch a light bulb for photographing your artwork with your bare fingers, especially if it’s hot!! Use clean gloves or a tissue for installing and removing bulbs.
• Tungsten lights have an optimum life of about 3 hours. After this, although the light still seems bright enough to use, don’t! After about 3 hours of use, the light temperature changes gradually which will cause problems with the outcome of the film’s color.
• Turn off photo lights in between shots. You do not want to waste 10 minutes of a bulb’s life while you break down and set up another piece, especially in the case of photographing three-dimensional work. When photographing two-dimensional work, if the set-up is the same for multiple pieces and quick, you can leave the lights on.
• Store unused film in the refrigerator. Take film out and allow it to get to room temperature at least one hour before use.
• Process your exposed slide film as soon as possible. Do not allow it to go through extreme temperature changes, such as sitting in your car on a hot summer day.
• Keep processes slides in a cool, dry place. Make sure they are not stored in a hot or humid environment. Color slides can deteriorate over time, especially if subject to extreme changes in environment. Be aware of keeping them on a shelf that sunlight hits during the daytime or next to a heating vent. What may seem like a safe environment could pose some problems.
• It’s good to have two ‘master sets’ of slides. One that you keep at home and one that you keep someplace else that is safe, such as a safety deposit box or some other location. If there is a fire or flood and one set is destroyed, you have a backup set. Once a piece of artwork is no longer in your possession, a slide is the only record you have of it. If those slides are destroyed, it will be difficult, not to mention time consuming and expensive, to track down artwork in order to shoot more slides.
• Always take several slides of one piece. In theory, you can have multiples made at a photo shop, but those multiples are always darker in color and lower in quality. Also, it is cheaper to shoot several extras than to have multiples made. In addition, take detail images of important portions of your artwork. For instance, in a three-dimensional piece, the only way to show the texture or detail of a piece is by a close-up shot. Be sure to check and adjust lights as necessary for detail shots.
• The camera always shoots a little outside of the viewfinder. If you cannot see the edge of your backdrop through the viewfinder, that doesn’t mean that the camera won’t catch the image of the background in your slide. If this happens, don’t fear. You may use silver slide tape for masking out any mistakes. Do not use this tape in excess to crop out a background. If your work is centered properly within the frame, you will not need it. Carefully remove the slide from the slide mount, tape the unwanted portion of the image, and return the slide to the mount. Plastic mounts are the best. Special clips are available for removing and replacing the film in a slide mount. Be careful not to scratch or smudge the image. You may carefully clean the film with a film cloth. Do not use a tissue, it will scratch your image.
• Be sure to label your slides accurately and clearly. If you have poor handwriting, purchase mini address labels that are 1” x 2.63” and print out the information from the computer onto the label. Be aware thought that over time, especially when exposed to unstable conditions, that these labels can deteriorate and fall off.
• When including your slides in your portfolio, never send them in old, dirty, worn slide sleeves. Always submit your slides in a new, clean slide sleeve. Slides are arranged from left to right, starting with the upper left corner. Do not send slide sheets that have been cut. When submitting work, always use a full sheet even if your slides only occupy half of the sheet.