Photographing Sculptures

Good photography can transform the visual impact of a sculpture in print. It is also a necessary tool when documenting personal and students work.Today we did some photograph work in the seminar room which advised us about the different techniques of photographing an object and how to use light and the correct camera settings.


Set your camera's ISO to its lowest native setting (this will ensure optimal image quality).
Set your camera's highest synchable shutter speed (you'll want to eliminate as much ambient light as possible).
Set your camera's white balance manually, as that generally creates pleasing colours with flash.
Set your aperture to between f/5.6 and f/11 - you'll want good depth of field and sharpness, but have some flexibility for controlling the light getting to the sensor.
Set all your flash triggers so they are all on the same channel.
Start with your flashes at 1/2 power. Do some test shots, watch your camera's LCD and histogram, and vary your flash power and aperture to get the light level right. Try not to bring your flash power up to full (1/1) power, as this will eat through batteries faster, and cause slower recycling times.

 

Adjusting the light can dramatically changes the effects in the photograph because of the change in shadows and angles.