Taking Slides of 3-D Art: Sculpture & Crafts

(This is the full version, all pages on one, for ease in printing. Also available are a .pdf version to download, and a website version broken into smaller pages for easier navigation.)

This article summarizes what I’ve learned in the past few months about how to take excellent slides of medium sized "table top" 3D art. This means vessels, sculptures, similar craft and artwork from about 10 to 20" in height, width, and/or depth.

In my case, I’m taking bowl sculptures up to 20" in diameter, up to about 17" high. If you’re taking 2D artwork or 3D artwork that’s much larger or smaller than this, a lot of what I learned won’t apply. For smaller work, there are easier ways to diffuse the light than the ways I use.

My solutions have been heavily influenced by working in a small 8x10’ room. This room is usually my "clean studio" for painting, varnishing, drawing, etc. To adapt it to a photo studio meant working around existing furniture. If your space is much larger, you may find other lighting solutions superior.

These notes are intended only to supplement information already available. You will probably want to read other articles online. I’ve also listed some excellent books on photographing artwork.

I’m not a professional photographer. I began taking slides of my own work years ago, in order to save money. More recently, I decided to upgrade both my equipment and my skills, in order to improve my slides. I had no idea it would take as much time and money as it did. The result, though, is that now I can not only take excellent slides of my work, but do so with pleasure.

In the past my bowl sculptures were 10 to 17" in diameter. The new series is a bit larger, with one bowl almost 20" in diameter. This is "table top sculpture" size work. So some of my specific learnings will be more useful to potters and ceramic sculptors than to jewelers or painters.

Contents:

• My most helpful new investments - for shooting slides of 3-d artwork with pleasure and excellent results

• Taking Your Own Slides of Sculpture and Crafts - why do it yourself?

• Setting Up a Photography Studio for Slides of 3d Artwork

• Camera for Photographing Sculpture & Crafts – Digital or SLR?

• SLR Camera & Accessories for Slides of 3d Artwork

• Digital Camera for Preview Shots of Slides of Sculpture or Crafts

• Tripod, Level, Light Meter for Slides of 3-d Artwork

• Slide Film & Color Guide for 3-d Artwork

• Table Top Setup for Slides of Medium Sized Sculpture or Crafts

• Lighting for Slides of Sculpture or Crafts

• Preparing to Shoot Slides of Sculpture or Crafts

• Working Process: Shooting Slides of Sculpture or Crafts

• Evaluating Slides of Sculpture or Crafts

• Organizing, Labeling & Storing Slides of Sculpture or Crafts

• Recommended Resources on Photographing Artwork

I’m especially grateful that I bought all of the following. Some are quite inexpensive. All of them either the process much more pleasant or enhanced the results. I’ve put them in approximate order of cost, from low to high.

• Cable ties

• Page-ups

• White foamboard

• Black gaffer tape

• Miniature vise that clamps to edge of table

• Tiffen 812 filter

• Camera flash shoe level

• Graduated background (white to black)

• Mobile base for a drafting light

• Dimmers and grounded triple outlets, heavy duty extension cords

• Photo lights with handles

• Macro lens (for SLR camera)

• Incident light meter

Learning to take excellent slides of artwork is an art in itself, demanding many skills. It’s not a quick proposition. If you need great slides quickly for a certain show deadline, you’ll probably need to use a professional photographer. Of course, choose a photographer who specializes in art or craft jury slides. Be sure s/he will give you the copyright so you can make duplicates later.

Why make the investment in time and money to learn this art yourself? The most important reason is that photographing your work can help you really see it. The better you perceive your own completed work, the more insight you gain into how to make your next artwork.

You can emphasize the views and features of your choice, instead of leaving this in someone else’s hands. You can change your mind about this during the photography process. You can learn what backgrounds and lighting bring out the best in your work – useful information for exhibiting it.

Usually once you know how to photograph your work, there are some time savings too. You save the days it would take to deliver or ship your artwork to the photographer and back again. You can set your own timing.

In the long run, it will save money. This is usually the first reason artists choose, but in reality it should probably be the last. If you get skilled enough to do this well, you’ll begin to want to upgrade your equipment. Even the initial equipment will usually cost more than having one set of excellent slides made professionally. And the time it takes to learn to do this really well, is lost production time.

When I made this choice, I had no idea how much investment of time and money would be required. I wondered if it could possibly be worth it. Now, having made my first set of really fine slides, I know that it was a great investment.

My "photography studio" is my "clean studio" temporarily rearranged. The room is 8x10 feet, cramped space for photographing work up to 20" in diameter. A space two or three times that size would make the work much easier.

However, I was able to make this work.

A first step is to figure out a way to keep all daylight out of the room. This is so the light balance will be consistent, not a mixture of daylight, household tungsten lights, 3200K photo bulbs, etc. My tiny room has four huge windows and one small one. Because of the way the windows are made and the way I have shelves and rods in front of some, window shades wouldn’t work. So I made blackout curtains from 4-mil black plastic from the hardware store.

The blackout curtains are cut a few inches larger than each window, to provide overlap for extra light exclusion. Self adhesive Velcro strips along each edge hold the curtains in place. Slits and little cutouts enable the curtains to fit exactly.

The hook side of the Velcro strips stays on the walls or woodwork around the windows permanently. Since my walls are white, I used white Velcro. The strips aren’t noticeable when the blackout curtains are down.

When making the curtains, first apply the hook side of the Velcro to the edging around the windows. Then apply the soft side so it sticks to the hook side. Then one edge at a time, strip off the backing so the adhesive is revealed. Carefully hang the blackout curtain in place and press it against the adhesive so the Velcro will stick in the right place. Sometimes you have to strip off the backing a little at a time to make this placement accurate.

After all the blackout curtains are in place, turn off all the room lights and let your eyes adjust to the dark. If light comes in around the top edges, you may need to make some "overhang" curtains 8 to 12" long. Sometimes you need a patch that attaches to another blackout curtain with still more Velcro. Just keep working till the light is blacked out.

You’ll probably notice other little lights in the room. My surge protectors have green LED lights showing that the power is on. The cordless phone does too. These little lights are easily blacked out with black electrical tape later. Just make a note to remind yourself to cover them before you shoot film.

Before taking down the curtains, label them carefully. I use 1" wide white artist tape in the upper right corner of each curtain. I give each curtain a number and add "UR" for upper right. Make a list of the curtain labels so you’ll know which curtain goes on which window.

An alternative to the 4-mil black plastic curtains is a professional photographer’s aid, a blackout film that sticks to the window by static attraction. I may try this on one "problem window" next time. To cover a lot of area would be very expensive though.

Black gaffer tape is useful for patching any places as needed. Selecting blindly, I bought the Bogen / Manfrotto Gaffer Cloth Tape - Matte Black - 2" x 60 Yards. This worked fine for me. Perhaps a less expensive brand would have worked as well, but the 2" width proved important.

I found that on the south window, the black plastic curtain kept pulling away from the Velcro as it heated up in the sunlight. I finally had to use the black gaffer tape to close that edge. Even after weeks in place, the tape pulled off the painted wall without leaving a mark. As an all purpose "mark free duct tape for photographers" the gaffer tape has all kinds of uses in improvising photo setups. I consider it an essential item.

Dust and lint interfere with photographing artwork. On some backgrounds, every speck shows in the slides. Usually you want to keep the artwork as clean as possible, too.

Since clothes colors can reflect colored light onto the artwork and background, I chose a few sets of black or gray clothes to wear during photography sessions. Just before a session I change into these clothes. After a session I change back to everyday clothes. I make it a point to keep these clothes as clean as possible. Before going into the photo studio I take off my shoes. As soon as I enter, I run a lint roller over my clothes. These steps minimize the dust and lint I bring into the studio.

At first, this seemed like a major hassle. Soon it became a routine. Now I rarely have to think about it. I just do it.

Because dust and lint are a problem for other "clean studio" processes, I already had some procedures in place. I have a shopvac equipped with a goretex filter and an extra long hose that reaches anywhere in the room. So vacuuming is easy. Vacuuming with a goretex or hepa filter is by far the most effective way to keep surfaces clean.

Thanks to messages on a photonet forum, I discovered that running an air cleaner also minimizes dust. I bought an inexpensive GE model with charcoal and hepa filters. I run it overnight on full speed when I’m not present. Then when I come in, I turn it off. So the noise is not an issue.

Just before setting up background and artwork, you can also give the lower part of the room a quick light spray with water. This diminishes static attractions and keeps dust from the floor from rising onto the photo area. A small cheap sprayer works fine for this.

In addition to the lint roller, water sprayer, and vacuum cleaner, I keep a soft static attraction duster handy. It’s the modern version of a feather duster, made with a material that attracts and holds dust. This is handy to brush off the photography background or the artwork if needed. Of course, it has to be kept clean between uses.

With consumer grade digital cameras with 6 or more MP sensors now hovering around $1,000 (as of February, 2004) it’s possible to "go digital" and avoid film altogether. Right now I’d guess that either the Canon digital rebel or the forthcoming Canon Pro-1 will take photo files that can be converted into fine slides. However, I haven’t tested it myself yet. I hesitated to buy the digital SLR because I knew I wanted to take videos to show my sculptures from all sides. A digital SLR can’t do this. And there could be problems with getting digital slides made that look the way the same files look on my monitor. I’m hesitant about investing in monitor calibration software. Since I had a film SLR, I decided to stick with film for the time being.

I had hoped to convince myself that going digital would save money in the long run. However, when I projected costs, comparing film plus film duplicates, with digital plus slides from digital, it came out to about the same. If I had to buy the film SLR, the digital might win.

If you don’t have a film SLR camera, then a high resolution digital camera is a good possibility. It’s more expensive in the short run, but you’ll use it for many other studio purposes. Research the options and buy with care.

I use a Canon FT manual focus camera. Why? My partner selected it some twenty years ago. So it’s the camera I have. It has everything needed.

The most useful features for an SLR for photographing artwork are:

1. a setting that keeps the F-stop (aperture setting) open for framing the shot, until you actually take the shot.

2. mirror lockup – to minimize vibration inside the camera when you take the shot.

Some people emphasize the importance of a depth of preview feature. Since I shoot three dimensional work that usually requires the smallest aperture (F16, 22, or 32) I can’t see much when I use the depth of preview. So it doesn’t really help me. However, I wouldn’t buy a camera that lacked this feature, in case I need it later for other kinds of photography.

I appreciate the "quick load" feature on the Canon FT, but I’ve never used any other SLR so this may be common.

Of course a cable release is essential.

If you don’t have an SLR already, you’ll need to research your options. There’s plenty of information online. Photonet.org would be a good place to start. Then the Yahoo groups devoted to specific brands and models are especially valuable. The Canon FD group has been a tremendous help to me. ("FD" is a series of manual focus cameras and lenses that includes the specific model "FT.")

The Canon FT came with a standard 50mm lens. One of the best things I did this time was to buy a 50mm macro lens. Now I use it as my standard lens. It enables me to take sharp closeup slides of details of my sculptures. These are much better than slides I used to take with a set of closeup lenses.

The macro lens also closes down to F-22. My standard 50mm lens only closes down to F-16. So the macro lens can give me more depth of field. This has made it possible to take slides that show the entire sculpture as sharp at the back edge as at the front.

I lucked into the lens with a google search for the specific Canon macro lens model made for my camera. It was in mint condition. I love it.

I also tried a zoom lens, the Canon F4 80-200. Reluctant to pay for a mint or excellent lens, I tried a "bargain" quality lens. Every slide I took with it had a white spot. So I returned the lens. Later I’ll probably buy this lens again in better condition. It stops down to F32 and enables me to take photos at 80 to 100mm. This is said to lessen distortion when shooting bowls 12" or more in diameter.

For used lenses, KEH is the most recommended source. They usually have a good selection. I’ve also heard good things about used lenses from B&H Photo. I bought my wonderful macro lens from Vaughn Smith Cameras in Florida.

It saves money to get all your lenses with the same filter size. In my case, 58mm works for both the 50mm and 50mm macro lenses, and will work with the 80-200 zoom when I get that. If you use several lenses and know the largest filter size you’ll need, you can buy the whole set of filters in that size. Then you’ll use inexpensive step-up rings to fit them to the lenses with smaller filter sizes. For each lens model, the filter size is the last number, e.g. Canon F4 80-200 58mm.

I bought an eye cup to fit on my Canon FT. I was planning to buy a diopter lens to fit into the eye cup, to enable me to see better to focus the camera. However, I found that using the eye cup was unpleasant. It made the image I saw in the viewfinder look further away. I abandoned it after a few minutes.

A screw-on rubber lens hood is both inexpensive and essential. Of course, get the size that fits your camera lens. I see from the Porter’s catalog that you can get an extra long one to use with a zoom lens. When I buy a zoom or longer lens, I’ll get that hood for it.

To protect the camera lens, I keep a Hoya multicoated Haze or UV filter on it all the time. So I have one for each lens. A Hoya Skylight filter would also work. I was warned that Quantaray brand filters are not as high a quality, so I avoided these though they’re readily available at many photo stores.

Note that some of my links lead to 58mm size filters. Of course you’ll get the size that fits your camera lens. If your lenses are different sizes, you can buy all your filters in the largest size needed, and buy step-up rings for the other lenses. I’m with the camp that believes in leaving a UV or Skylight filter on each lens all the time, though. So you’ll need one of these for each lens.

I tried two different warming filters, since the strong light from the photo bulbs can give warm colors a washed out effect. My new bowl sculptures include a lot of copper, so I wanted to be sure the copper looked warm and bright. Warming filters also give the effect of that beautiful warm late afternoon sunlight. Many things look their most attractive in this light. So I thought it well worth experimenting with this kind of filter.

Comparing the Hoya 81A with the Tiffen 812, I had a very slight preference for slides of my work using the Tiffen 812. The differences seemed hardly perceptible to me. Perhaps with more experience I’ll see them better. But I think either filter would do fine.

I consider the protective Skylight filter a camera essential. And for photographing my current work, the Tiffen 812 is one of the best things I bought. It’s wonderful how much difference it makes.

If you plan to take any daylight print film with 3200K photo lights, you’ll need an 80A filter. I think it’s better to just have prints made from the best slides. The color will be more accurate. I used to take a roll of print film to evaluate lighting and views before shooting slides, but a digital camera is less expensive and more efficient for this purpose. The machine processing of print film can turn a black background to a medium gray, defeating the purpose.

Usually each camera lens will come with a back cap to protect the back end of the lens when it’s not installed on the camera. Often the lens comes with a front cap as well. I found it convenient to have more than one kind of cap on hand. Again, it’s easiest if all your lenses use the same size filter and hence the same size cap.

Inexpensive snap-on caps are useful for quick covering – when changing lenses, for example. Generic brands are easy to find in most camera stores and work fine. A friction cap is easier to use when the rubber hood is attached, unless the camera angle makes it fall off. (Overall, the friction caps tend to fall off a lot.) A screw-on cap is great for storage and for use until it’s time to put the hood on, just before starting to shoot. It’s absolutely secure and dust proof.

Ziplock bags in various sizes, (snack, pint, quart) are useful for temporary storage of lenses and accessories to keep dust off. You can add renewable silica gel in dustproof containers, to help prevent fungus and mold when the humidity is high. A drinking straw is handy for sucking excess air out of ziplock bags as you close them.

Camera, lenses, filters and accessories that need to be kept very clean and dry can also be stored in tight Rubbermaid boxes. You can find these in many housewares departments. Look for the kind with the tightest lids, the kind you can "burp" to get out extra air. Silica gel containers added to these can make for good storage. The clear sides that let light in may help deter fungus growth, which thrives in the dark. But using a camera and lens often is the best deterrent.

Once you know what lenses you need, you can buy a "real" camera and lens case made for an SLR and its accessories. Look for one that’s waterproof and dustproof. Meanwhile – the ziplock bags and tight containers with silica gel can suffice. Some people advocate using ammunition boxes because they’re so tight. I tried this but closing or opening the lid is so violent that it would be hard to pad the camera enough to make it safe.

A digital camera is valuable for taking preview shots. This enables you to establish the best background and lighting to use without using any slide film. It’s also invaluable for selecting the best views of your artwork. I find it difficult to select the best views during an actual slide shoot. I "know" too much about the artwork, so my mind discounts what I’m seeing through the viewfinder in favor of what I "know" it really looks like.

So I take previews with the digital. As long as I’m using full lighting (two 500-watt photo bulbs) I can handhold the digital camera. So I can quickly take just about all the possible views that might work. I gradually rotate the sculpture to shoot all sides, taking shots at various heights as I go.

I also take digital photos of various views of "detail shots" I might want to use.

Then I download the photos to my computer with a card reader. I can view all the shots as a slide show, making notes about the best ones. If I’m still not sure, I can print out all or selected shots as a "catalog" from my image management program, Thumbs Plus.

It helps to view the preview shots from a distance as well as close up. The closeup view shows details, but the distance view shows the overall composition and impact. This can be more important in selecting the best views to use.

Once I’ve selected the best views, I print them out at about half-page size. I use Paint Shop Pro for this because it makes it easy to arrange two images on a page. Quite a few photo software programs do the same thing.

Having the best view printed out as a guide, makes the actual slide shooting session a relative breeze. It enables me to place the artwork at the best angle to the camera. Then I can adjust the tripod height and camera angle to frame the shot.

After taking my first rolls of practice slides this go-round, I realized that of all the factors that make up a good slide, the view is by far the most important. Composition makes more difference than anything else. You can bracket for exposure, and play with lighting as you go. But if the composition isn’t good, or the view of the artwork makes it look awkward or distorted or confusing, no other factor can make up for this.

Read the digital camera reviews at:

• Steve’s Digicams

• Phil Askey’s dpreview (where you can also find forums on specific brands and models)

I wouldn’t think of buying a new digital camera without having read its reviews on both these sites. Once you’ve narrowed the field to the best options, you may want to do a google search on each model you’re considering, to find more messages and sites about it.

The newsgroup, rec.photo.digital, is also well worth reading before buying a new camera. You’ll find out its best and worst points. It’s good to know these in advance. No camera is perfect, so there will be disadvantages to any model you choose. With knowledge of these in advance, you can choose the camera whose disadvantages that bother you the least.

I use my digital camera primarily for "inspiration photos" so I need it handy at all times. I’ve learned that I prefer a digital camera small enough to keep in my pants pocket all my waking hours. Otherwise, I won’t bother to keep it at hand all the time and will miss shots I want.

After using a Canon s110 for several years, I moved up to the s400 recently. I can see the difference in image sharpness. Also it has a custom white balance setting, useful when doing the preview shots under 3200K photo lights. And it will take movies up to 3 minutes long, so I can film videos of my sculptures rotating on an electric turntable base, showing them from all sides. This is a useful addition to the website.

In the spring of 2004, Canon is coming out with newer versions of this pocket camera, with better closeup capability and higher resolution. Reviews aren’t out as I write this, but the new models look promising. The s500 might be the best yet.

It’s important to have a sturdy tripod that’s easy to adjust in three directions separately: tilt, forward, and horizontally. A quick release pad is also a major convenience. I use a Bogen with the 3030 head. When I tried the long, heavy 80-200 zoom, I started having problems with the tripod head. I think the zoom lens was just too heavy for it.

If I were buying a new tripod head, I’d buy the same model but with a built in level, the Bogen 3047. Leveling the tripod and camera is really important for photographing artwork. Built in levels would be a blessing.

The other tripod head model that attracts me is the Bogen 3275 (410) compact geared head, for even smoother control.

One of the best things I bought was a level that fits onto the flash hotshoe mount on the top of my camera. It’s a two-way level so it works even when you’re framing a photo in vertical format. If the $30-40 price is just too much, you can buy a tiny keychain level from the hardware store and apply it to the camera top with double stick tape. This works for my digital camera. But I strongly recommend going ahead and buying the camera hotshoe level. It costs less at Adorama than at B&H Photo, but I can’t compare the two since I bought it from B&H as part of a larger order.

Buying an incident light meter was also one of my best investments. I chose a Minolta IVF and have found it a joy to use. Now I think this model has been superceded by a later one. Accessories for the Minolta meters are easiest to find at Calumet Photo.

A less expensive alternative is to use a reflective light meter with Kodak gray cards. You can also use the camera’s built in light meter with the gray cards. But since the gray card should fill the camera viewfinder and be placed in a certain way in relation to the lights and camera, it can be tricky and awkward. The incident light meter makes planning exposures quick and easy. It also makes it easy to compare various lighting and diffusion arrangements well in advance of the actual shooting session.

My choice was between Kodak EPY 64T (T for tungsten lights) or Fuji 64T (RTP-II). Comparing the two in some test slides, I had a slight preference for the Fuji. It’s only slight. I didn’t make the slide rolls totally comparable in terms of lighting and subject, so my comparisons were not easy to make. At any rate, I’ve been happy with the Fuji.

Since the coloring of your artwork could show better with one of these films than the other, it’s worth taking a roll of each before buying more of either. Then you can buy in quantity after you decide. If it doesn’t seem to matter, the Fuji tends to be less expensive unless you buy "gray" Kodak film. So allow enough time at the start, to take these test slides and have them processed.

These are professional films. If you buy them at a camera store, they should come out of the store refrigerator. If you buy them by mail, take weather into account so they don’t get too hot en route. Once you have the film, store it in a freezer ziplock bag in the refrigerator. This is to keep colors and exposures as consistent as possible from one roll to the next. You want the film to behave predictably.

The night before you’re going to shoot some film, take out the rolls you think you’ll need to let them come to room temperature. Let them warm inside another freezer ziplock bag. If you don’t do it this far ahead, allow an hour or two before taking them from the refrigerator, before putting a roll in the camera to shoot.

It can be useful, especially if you shoot print film rather than slide film, to include a Kodak Color Guide at the edge of the frames, or at least in the first shot of each roll of film. This guides other people working with the negatives, in making accurate color reproductions later. Modern Postcard asks for this.

I made the background hanger from two pieces of wooden molding, ¾ x 1". Screw eyes on the top of one piece enable the background to be hung from any nail or hook. The two pieces of molding are held tightly together by bolts and wingnuts. Of course you clamp the pieces together to keep them aligned, before drilling the holes for these bolts. I painted the hanger white.

The background paper or fabric slips between the two pieces of molding. Sometimes I need to add a small C-clamp in the middle, to hold the slot closed securely.

I made the background hanger wide enough to hold 53" wide backgrounds. Now I’d make it a little wider, because some, like the black velour, comes wider. It’s possible to trim backgrounds to a narrower width. Sometimes this is worthwhile. But it’s quite a pain to do.

The current photo studio has Closetmaid wire shelving along the sides of the room useful for photo backgrounds. So I hang the background hanger from large S hooks suspended from this shelving. I’ve found it useful to put turnbuckles between the S hooks and the background hanger. This makes it easy to adjust the height of the hanger, and to even it out.

Choosing the best background for the artwork is a major decision. For the new series of bowls, I tried several backgrounds before settling on the best one. The background should be nonreflective, unwrinkled, sturdy, and attractive with the specific artwork. It’s best to keep the same background for the whole series of related artworks. And the background should be completely unobtrusive in viewing the slide, so all attention goes to the artwork itself.

To establish the background width needed, you’ll need to frame some shots and measure the width. Since the camera viewfinder doesn’t show the entire shot, leeway is needed. I found that adding 2" at each side, to the background I could see through the viewfinder, was enough leeway. The background will need to be wider than you imagine, so be sure to take this measure before buying any backgrounds to try.

Workable choices include:

1. wide felt from a fabric department or store. Black or gray work well, but for your particular art another color might be perfect.

2. Plush or velour fabrics. I found that black plush (like polartec) was my second best choice.

3. Standard photo background paper, usually 53" wide, in light gray or any of a wide selection of colors. There are two or three major brands, with slightly different colors. Usually each photo equipment dealer carries one of these brands, so to find exactly the right color you’ll need to look at several sites. If you can select the paper in person from a photography shop, so much the better.

4. Black velour backed with plastic. I bought a trial piece but haven’t tested it because I found that a completely black background gave the bowl sculptures too much "ungrounded floating" quality.

5. Graduated backgrounds, light at the base of the artwork, gradually darkening toward the top of the artwork. These come in various colors, but white to black is most often used.

I found the graduated background wonderful. You can achieve the same effect with a "drop shadow" setup or other lighting and diffusion arrangements. But it requires more space than I have. So for me, the graduated background is perfect. I use the 42" wide white to black background, Varitone 09. For smaller work, it’s available in 31" and 15" widths. For larger works, it’s available in a 70" width.

I almost didn’t try the Varitone graduated background, because I’d read several forum messages online from artists who said it always looked blue instead of black in their slides. I decided that if this were a problem, I might be able to cope with it by using a warming filter on the camera lens. As it happens, using the warm Fuji 64T slide film, I didn’t have this problem at all.

Picnic tablecloth clips work well to hold the front edge of the background in place. For the photo setup base, I use a drawing board or a larger melamine tabletop laid on top of the drawing board. So the tablecloth clips fit nicely.

Of course you can use little C clamps or doublestick tape too. But the tablecloth clips are faster and don’t mar the background. You find them in the camping section of a store.

Once the room is blacked out, you’ll need a light you can use for setting up the photo lights, changing camera lenses, loading film, etc. I found my combo drafting light useful for this. It’s the kind with a fluorescent circle tube as well as a central incandescent bulb. (These are often on sale at Jerry’s or ASW.)

With both bulbs on, I had enough light to set everything up. The fluorescent bulb provided lower light for changing lenses and loading film. To make this work, I had to buy a mobile stand for my light. This was very useful as I could place the light exactly where I needed it, out of the way of the photo lighting and close to my camera "staging area" for loading film. The stand turned out to be shakier than I expected, not at all perfect, but it has been workable and thus a blessing. I’d buy it again, imperfect or not.

"Hot lights" that stay on all the time are easier to use for photographing sculpture and crafts. You can see exactly how the lighting and shadows will look. Either 3200K photo bulbs or halogen lights will work. My photo studio is so small that the lights need to be very close to the artwork. I don’t have the extra space required to place hotter halogen lights further from the artwork.

The free Smith-Victor catalog has useful charts showing how much light various photography bulbs and reflectors cast at various distances from the artwork. This is helpful in selecting lights that will work in your space. You can request the catalog by calling 800-886-1976.

Quite a few artists recommend Totalites. I don’t remember why I decided on Smith Victor lamps instead. The best option is probably Photoflex soft boxes, but at the time I selected my basic lighting setup, I couldn’t imagine spending $1,000 on lighting.

I bought a bargain light kit, the Smith Victor KT900, with two 12" lights and stands with umbrella adapters and white umbrellas, a 5" light on a boom, and a case to hold all of it.

This was a start, and not a terrible choice. As it turns out, the boom is strong enough to hold a 12" light, so I can add a diffuser and have a quasi soft box suspended over a sculpture. And for someone unfamiliar with lighting equipment, it gave me a start at learning which pieces go with which, and how to use the basic items.

Warning: the inexpensive Smith Victor kits are supposed to include the simplest socket and cord set arrangements that don’t have a heatproof handle. Somehow I lucked out and my set did include handles that stay cool for adjusting the light angles. This kind of handle makes for great convenience. Having to guard against getting burned makes a shooting session more stressful. So I recommend getting the next grade up of light.

I ended up getting black covered Photogenic umbrellas, so I rarely use the white umbrellas that came with the kit.

If I were buying the 12" reflector sets again, I’d buy the

Smith-Victor A12 Adapta-Lights from B&H or from Adorama instead of buying the kit. The kit light reflectors are described as 12" but they’re really about 11 3/8" in diameter. So the Smith Victor barn door filters don’t fit them. I wasted some money finding this out the hard way. Also, if you buy the A12, you’re sure to get the cool handle.

Now that I realize how much money it’s possible to spend on barn doors and various diffusion arrangements, the Photoflex softbox total doesn’t look that much higher than using reflector lights. So I’d probably just go ahead and start with that. However, I’ve made great slides with two 12" Smith Victor lights with 3200K 500 watt (ECT) bulbs.

Most of my links to specific equipment items are to the B&H Photo site, where I make most of my orders. I’ve found that ordering from Adorama is a less reliable in terms of prompt order fulfillment. Often Adorama prices are less expensive, however, and their pages of lighting equipment show the available accessories better. So if timing is not an issue, Adorama can be the better source.

You’ll need at least two 6’ light stands. The basic black steel stands that came with my kit are fine. For a little more money, you can buy air dampened light stands. This means that when you adjust the height, there’s less chance of accidentally letting the light drop sharply, perhaps breaking the bulb.

At Wolf Camera in Atlanta, I found a cute short light stand that works well for holding a light or reflector much lower than usual. This is a nice addition.

A boom stand is useful for photographing bowls or sculptures. However, I found that a regular light directed at about a 45 degree angle to the work served very well. So I’ve used the boom that came with my kit much less than I expected.

I found that the tripod, all the light stands, the mini-boom, and the reflector holder could be stored nicely in a Rubbermaid Jumbo Wrap n Craft box made for 40" rolls of paper. (These are easy to buy just before and after Christmas. But stores may not carry them year ‘round. If not, you can find them online.) By adding some Bullfrog rust inhibiting strips inside this box, I can store these painted steel items out in my unheated, uncooled studio year ‘round.

The light dimmers were one of the very best things I bought. I added grounded triple outlet adapters so I could experiment with using 1000 watts for the main light, plugging two 500-watt lights into one dimmer. However, I haven’t experimented with that yet.

The light dimmers enable one to turn the lights on gradually – starting with them off, then turning them on low, then turning them full when ready to shoot. This makes the bulbs last longer and helps keep both room and artwork from overheating. It also makes the light sets last longer, because you’re never using the switch built into the light. Otherwise, the switch is usually the thing that usually wears out first.

They clamp onto the light stands at any height. So it’s convenient to turn the lights on and off. Little conveniences like this can make the difference between barely tolerating photography, and enjoying it.

Oil from your hands can decrease the lift of a light bulb. So use lint free gloves when changing bulbs. Clean oven mitts can be useful if you need to do something about a bulb while it’s still hot.

As I mentioned earlier, two white umbrellas came with my Smith Victor kit. You can arrange the second "fill light" so it shines on the artwork through the white umbrella to give a diffused light on the shadow side of the work. Or you can aim the light up and away from the artwork, into the umbrella, so the umbrella reflects diffuse light onto the shadow side of the work. Varying the distance between light and umbrella also changes the effect. There’s a "sweet spot" distance for maximum light on the work.

So the white umbrellas are flexible. However, when using the umbrella to reflect light, a black cover maximizes the light reflected onto the work. I bought two Photogenic Eclipse black covered umbrellas with a slightly silvery white lining, one in 42" and one at 30 or 32". Usually I use the larger one to maximize the light.

Umbrella holders came with my kit. Otherwise, they are available separately. You may only need one, for the fill light.

Having no idea what would work best, I tried a lot of different diffusing methods before settling on one that is simple and seems effective enough. A white plastic diffuser clips quickly to the rim of a 12" reflector. It’s also available from Adorama in a generic brand, for less. Both work fine.

I ended up using two 12" lights on their regular stands. The main light was one the left, where we usually expect to see it. I clipped the diffuser on the front. The fill light was on the right, aimed up into the 42" black covered umbrella.

That’s it! By adjusting the position, height, and angle of each light, I was able to get light where I wanted it – on shiny beads, for example – or on the base – without harsh shadows.

Reflectors can make a big difference in adding light to areas of the scene that are cast into shadow by the main light. I tried three colors: white, silver, and gold. My eye just isn’t refined enough at this point to tell much difference, although I studied the comparison slides carefully. White reflectors add the most light, and foam board is easy to handle and keep in place. White poster board is handy too, though it flops around more.

I ended up routinely using a white board on each side of the setup, parallel with the sides of the table. To hold white foamboard in place, I used a small table top vise that I already owned. It clamps onto the edge of the table. Poster board can be held in place by a "Page-Up" paper holder or a flexible copy holder, both often available at office supply stores.

From a photo supply store, I bought matte gold and silver reflector boards, basically heavy mat board with a reflective coating. The white reverse sides of these boards also served as white reflectors. Also I bought a more expensive reflector disc set by PhotoFlex, along with a holder for it. I was tired of struggling with flapping sheets of board, trying to hold them in place. Maybe I’ll use the disc set more as I start to refine my eye and process. But I found ways to hold a front reflector board in place, usually attaching it to the tripod just under the camera with a flexible clip. So I could have done without the disc set and holder.

I used to use a small reflector made by covering a paper plate with aluminum foil. I had one handy while taking these last slides. But it didn’t make as much difference with the scene already very well lit with the main light and fill light.

Jewelers talk about using a lot of mirrors to reflect light onto their work, to create bright highlights in just the places they choose. I experimented with this, but made no visible progress. I experimented with other very focused beams of light, trying to highlight beads. I ended up just adjusting the main and fill lights till the beads were bright enough. Mirrors and highly focused beams still seem promising, so I’ll experiment more with these next time.

I mentioned the PhotoFlex softbox setup as an option. Steve Meltzer recommends a softbox hanging directly above (and perhaps slightly in front of) as the best lighting for most vessel forms. I wanted to buy a setup but the cost deterred me. Had I realized how much I’d end up spending on other diffusers and reflectors, I might have gone ahead and bought it. Who knows, someday I may still get one.

For table top sculpture, PhotoFlex recommends a medium whitedome kit with two1000 watt lamps. This includes a heavy duty boom and stand. (This equipment is available at a discount at B&H Photo and at Adorama.) Jerry Jones wrote a helpful online review of the SilverDome kit.

Another option, especially for somewhat larger spaces, are standing diffusion panels. These can be made with PVC pipe frames. The lights are equipped with barn doors. Information on this kind of lighting setup is available online at lightingmagic.com.

It’s also possible to build a diffusion box around the artwork, as jewelers do, but on a larger scale. This is often called a light tent. I thought of several ways to do this, but decided my work isn’t so reflective that this is really necessary. PVC pipe is probably the simplest frame to build, at least for small spaces, since it can be disassembled easily. Various light boxes for medium sized work, such as the MiniCove, or the largest Cocoon, are also available to buy. This could work if you have a macro lens for your camera, and can store the photo setup when it’s not in use.

Given enough space, you can build a "drop shadow" setup so that a white or light grey background gives the effect of a graduated background, light at the base of your artwork, darkening gradually toward the top of the frame. I believe that the standing light panel setup can achieve a similar effect.

It’s convenient and cost effective to evaluate different backgrounds using a digital camera. You can find out right way which background shows your work to best advantage.

After a number of practice rolls of film, it dawned on me that far more important than exposure or even lighting or background, was the composition. For slides of artwork, the framing needs to make the piece as large as possible, while leaving enough background around the piece to give a sense of comfort. So framing is pretty obvious. What’s not so obvious is finding the best positioning and camera angle for each artwork. And this is by far the most important factor in making a slide that evokes a "Wow!" response.

I finally developed a simple method for finding the best views of each piece. Of course it’s on the best background, already established from prior digital shots. I use the same lighting I’d use for film shots.

By having so much light (1000 watts diffused) I can hand hold the digital camera and not get a camera shake warning. This makes taking a lot of views very fast and convenient.

So I place the piece on the background at where I’d call "front." I take digital photos of this view at all the different heights that might work – changing the height just slightly with each shot. I frame the shot with enough background on all sides that I can crop the photo later to 35mm ratio of 2:3. Using my digital camera, this means leaving more room at top and bottom. This also allows me to rotate the shot a little if I’ve held the camera a little crooked.

Then I rotate the piece a little bit and repeat – taking this view with all the relevant heights.

I keep rotating the piece, taking shots at each point, till I’ve turned it around to the original view.

Then I use a card reader to transfer these photo files to my computer.

Over the years I’ve accumulated photo editing and management software that I like: Thumbs Plus for image cataloging and previewing, PaintShopPro for printing and some editing, and PhotoShop Elements v2 for editing. There are many similar programs that you may already have. I just use these because they’re familiar and I have them – and they work fine.

I can take a preliminary look at these views in an image management program called Thumbs Plus. It makes thumbnail views of the shots and shows me all the thumbnails onscreen. I often settle back in my chair and watch a slide show of the full size shots. When I see a shot of the piece that looks really good, I note the file number.

Sometimes I print a "catalog" of the thumbnails and judge the printed thumbnails from a distance. Often some will leap out this way, because their composition is superior. Or the overall form of the piece leaps out as a "Wow!"

This way I narrow down the views to the few that are worth considering for film slides.

In PhotoShop Elements v2 I can duplicate the best files, then easily crop them. I want to see how each shot would look with 35mm film. I set the cropping ratio to 3:2 (or 2:3 for a vertical shot.) If necessary I can rotate the shot a bit too. I can use the auto levels feature to adjust the white balance so the colors are more accurate.

I like the ease with which I can print photo files from PaintShopPro. So I use this to print out the final views for the slides to take. I print them pretty large so it’s easy to see them when I’m doing a slide shoot.

If I still need to narrow down my choices, I use PaintShopPro to print three or four comparable views on one sheet of paper. I like this software’s File/Print Multiples feature.

Line up your processing lab before you shoot your slides.

Be sure to get the slide film processed at a professional lab that specializes in E-6 film processing. Be sure they use the "dip and dunk" method rather than a machine. Machines are more liable to scratch the slides. Ask other artists to recommend a good lab in your area.

I live about 80 miles from the nearest lab like this, so I usually ship the slide film to them by FedEx overnight express. When you sign up for a

FedEx online account, you can charge the shipment to your credit card and print out the label on your printer. You can order ten small FedEx boxes free from FedEx as well. If it’s not convenient to drop the packed box in a FedEx box in town, you can call the order in instead of doing it online, and have the box picked up at your address.

For originals, it can be handy to have your name and phone # or other contact information imprinted on each slide mount, along with the slide number. That way, when you send an original off to have duplicates made, there’s less chance that it could get lost forever.

If you can get the lab to imprint the roll label on each of the slides from the roll, this will make it easier to organize and evaluate slides later. Of course you have to come up with a system for labeling the rolls and mark each film container accordingly.

As I take shots, I record details on a printed form. My form is in Excel format. You’re welcome to download and use it or adapt it.

If you have a laptop in your photo studio, you could type the information right into the Excel sheet. I keep the handwritten copies and use them later to evaluate the shots and learn more about the best exposures, views, etc.

Have your view printouts handy. These should be the exact views you want to shoot of each piece.

Wear gray, black, or white clothes so no color or colored light is reflected onto your artwork. Make the clothes as clean and lint free as possible – run a lint roller over yourself. If possible don’t wear your shoes in the photo studio.

Of course you’ve cleaned the room. Just before you unroll the background, set up your artwork, and turn up the lights, spray a little plain water around down low. This will raise the humidity enough to lessen static attraction. And it will make it less likely that as you move around, you kick up dust from the floor.

Shooting a test roll of film with the same lighting you intend to use for your main slides, will enable you to narrow down the bracketing to three half stops. Also, you can practice using the light meter with this roll. Remember to note any filter and reflectors (left, right, front, spot) that you use. It may take more than one test roll to see how your work looks with different filters and reflectors. It’s worth the investment.

I keep the camera set at the smallest aperture the lens permits – F16, F22, or F32. This is for maximum depth of field. I need this for my bowl sculptures. However, since shutter speed on my camera varies by full exposure stops, I do change the aperture a half stop for one exposure.

For example, suppose according to the light meter, my best exposure at F22 will be a shutter speed of ½ second. To increase the exposure by ½ stop, I can take the shot at F16.5 at ½ second. To decrease the exposure by ½ stop, I can take the shot at F16.5 at ¼ second.

A half stop exposure difference does matter with slide film. Sometimes all three exposures will be acceptable, but one is clearly more powerful when projected.

How many copies of each view do you want, as originals? Usually original slides are slightly better in quality than any duplicates you have made. So you certainly need at least two of each view and exposure – one to send in for scans and duplicates, and one to safeguard in a safety deposit box or other safe place. I decided to have a third made as well. That way if one gets scratched, I still have two originals.

Doing this preparation means that when you begin a "real" shoot, you already know what to do. You know the views to take. You know how many copies of each exposure to take with each view. You’re basically running down a list. This makes it easier to relax and enjoy the process. So you can catch little things you might not notice if you had too much to think about with each shot.

Because your mind "knows" what it "should" see through the viewfinder, it’s easy to miss a big piece of lint on a dark background, or a dirty smudge on a light background. Maybe the light is actually in the picture – or the umbrella protrudes. Maybe an edge of the background shows. When you’re relaxed and know what you’re doing, you can notice these things before you take the shot.

From the book Effortless Mastery, I picked up something that has helped me take better photos of my work. As I set up for the shots and take each one, I think "this is the most beautiful _____________ I’ve ever seen." (Fill in the blank for this specific artwork – bowl, sculpture, medicine bag, painting, etc.) The photographs mysteriously improve.

The most stressful attitude to take is that "I have to make perfect slides because it’s the only way I can get ahead in my art career." The "have to" creates mental and emotional resistance immediately. The "perfect" doesn’t help a thing. And emphasizing the career use of the slides is more stressful than remembering that wonderful slides are a way to share your artwork with people who will love seeing it. It serves your work, getting it out into the world where it can be used and appreciated. And it serves other people, including people who might not be able to afford to buy the work, but can still enjoy the photographs.

Remember to relax and breathe, breathe, breathe.

Take your time. Act as if you have all the time in the world. Act as if you’re making slides for eternity, to be enjoyed for eternity. No deadlines apply. Enjoy the present moment.

Eliminate any thought of "wasting" film. Regard the price of film and processing for practice slides as relatively inexpensive tuition in photography. If you regard each practice roll as "wasted film" it feels expensive. If you regard each roll as a "photography lesson" it looks pretty reasonable. And when you think about it, as an artist you know already that there’s only so much you can learn from books and articles. At some point, practice is required.

My most frequent mistakes with practice rolls involved forgetting to change the lighting. I’d forget to turn the photo lights from low to high. Or I’d forget to turn off the fluorescent light I used at the "staging station" to change lenses or load film. Or both!

The solution was a simple Post-It reminder to check the lights. I’d put this right on the shooting log or view picture where I’d see it before I took the next shot. This solved it.

Don’t hesitate to make any reminders that serve you. The idea is to make the slide shooting effortless and joyful.

With views preplanned, all you need to do with each shot is check the composition and focus. Check to see if the artwork is exactly where you want it in the frame. Is there anything in view that shouldn’t be there? Light, umbrella, background edge, dirt?

I focus by running the focus back and forth from front edge to back edge, front edge to back edge. Then I get a feel for where to focus one third in from the front edge. This gives me maximum depth of field. The depth of field preview on my camera doesn’t help since I’m using such a small aperture. Everything is too dark to really tell what’s sharp and what isn’t. So I do it by feel. This seems to work.

Since I wear glasses, I tried using an eye cup to help me focus. It made the view look too small and far away. It was uncomfortable so I don’t use it.

I did find it necessary to buy new glasses in order to focus well. Also, I found it necessary in order to judge the sharpness of projected slides. With my old glasses I just couldn’t see well enough to do either one.

My backup plan, in case even with my new glasses I had trouble focusing the camera, was to buy a new Canon eos 7e and try its auto focus. Some people find that the camera does follow their eye direction accurately and I thought it worth a try. The camera also has an auto depth of field focus so you can point it at the front edge of a piece, then at the back edge, and have it make both sharp. However, I found that with new glasses, my old manual focus camera works fine for me.

My routine is to focus, set exposure, press the mirror lockup lever, and press the cable release to take the shot. Then I rewind immediately. I make my notes on the shot, and start on the next shot.

The mirror lockup reduces vibration during the shot. Rewinding before I make my notes and start setting up the next shot, lets the camera vibration from rewinding settle down before I take the next shot.

All this facilitates sharply focused shots since the best focus can’t prevent blur from camera vibration.

As when shooting slides, it can help to spray a little plain water low down in the room, to cut down on static electricity and dust kickup. Use a lint roller on your clothes. Antistatic gloves are handy for handling slides. I’ve been happy with the Polygenex "All-Day" antistatic gloves.

I use an evaluation sheet that corresponds to the shooting log. Fill in one sheet for each roll you shot. Feel free to download my sheet and use it, adapting it to your own preferences as needed.

It’s important to project slides as part of the evaluation process. This is how juries will see your slides. You can catch some problems here that are easy to miss otherwise. You can tell which bits of dust or lint actually show when the slide is projected. And you can tell more about exposure than any other way – at least, until you have a lot of experience.

You don’t need to buy a projector if you can borrow one conveniently from your local library. I decided to go ahead and buy one just for convenience.

I tried a Braun Novamat 330AF autofocus projector but returned it. I was attracted to the idea of the 8x8" preview screen. This looked very convenient for checking slides. I read quite a few online reviews that told of problems getting the preview screen aligned properly, as well as problems with focus overall. The feature attracted me so much that I bought it anyway.

However, I found it impossible to get the preview screen correctly aligned. So parts of the image were out of focus. When I used the Braun Novamat to project onto a screen, it kept going out of focus. I could bring it back with the manual adjustment knob, but it was distracting.

I noticed that it arrived awfully dusty outside and in, for a new projector.

Some people have found this projector, or a similar model, to work fine for them. So perhaps it’s a matter of luck in getting one that works right.

When I borrowed a Kodak Carousel 4200 projector from my library, I found it worked fine. It was easy to judge exposure and sharpness. So I decided to buy a Kodak Carousel. To get remote focusing, I chose one model up, the 4400. I bought an EC56 dust cover for it too, as well as a projector case.

For projecting slides in cardboard or plastic mounts, Kodak now recommends a flat field lens. I bought the Kodak 85mm lens but wasn’t happy with it. It made the image too large for my small space, and edges seemed blurry. I replaced it with a Raynox 100mm lens and like using this much better.

If you buy a used Carousel projector, it will probably come with an Ektanar curved field lens. So for best results, plan to buy a flat field lens to use with it.

There are more expensive, better quality lenses available. If you plan to offer slide shows regularly, it might be worth investing in a better lens. However, if you project slides mostly to evaluate them, a more ordinary lens makes more sense. You can see your slides pretty much the way most viewers will see them, with their ordinary Carousel projectors and lenses.

I like the slide carousels that come with dust covers. They’re the Kodak Ektapro 80 model, labeled for Kodak Ektagraphic projectors but work fine with Carousel models. You can store a slide show in them, or load a set of slides in one to take to preview at a library.

I didn’t find the Kodak stack loader as useful as I expected. I usually preview slides by just inserting them into the Carousel slot one at a time. Unless you take loads of rolls, I’d suggest skipping this accessory.

This was another waste of money. I ordered the Kimac protective sleeves on the recommendation of professional crafts photographer Steve Meltzer. But when they arrived, the plastic sleeves themselves were full of dust and lint – not only on the outside, but inside too. Forget that!

Some other brands are available. If you try them, buy a few to check them out first. Make sure they arrive clean.

I use a large sheet of white foamboard held onto my studio door with Velcro. This seems to work fine. My small space makes using even a 40" screen awkward. If I were buying a screen, I’d buy a matte white screen, probably made by Da-lite. It’s also possible to buy a small table top screen and a projector table that mounts on a camera tripod – another solution for small spaces.

You’ll also want a color corrected light box and a good loupe for checking slides. This enables you to check slides for scratches as well as for dust, lint, and who knows what. It’s amazing how much stuff can attach itself to a slide, because the slide attracts it by static electricity.

I’ve been content with a relatively small, inexpensive light box by PortaTrace, in the 10x12 size. I usually look at just a few slides at a time on it anyway. You can buy a nice cover for it, as well as a slide sorter.

When I shopped for a loupe, I was lucky enough to find some to try in person at Showcase Photo in Atlanta. One loupe let me see with great comfort and clarity. It really stood out. So I bought the Mamiya 4X loupe. I’ve been very happy with it. For the first time I can really see the whole slide easily and clearly.

Your vision and comfort may differ from mine. So if at all possible, try several loupes at a good photo store before buying one. Or order two or three and send back all but the one you like best.

You can also buy large light boxes that are set up just for organizing slides. I haven’t found one necessary yet since I’m organizing the slides as I go.

This has been one of my very best investments. I used to try all kinds of things to clean dust and lint off slides – a can of compressed air, a clean soft paintbrush, an anti static cloth, etc. Nothing worked very well. The 1" antistatic brush does the trick. It’s still tedious to clean a lot of slides, but at least it works.

Having a roll of slide masking tape on hand enables you to redeem slides that are perfect except that the artwork is off center or something at the edge is in the frame that shouldn’t be there. Tape comes in black or silver. Silver is said to reflect heat away from the slide so it may be slightly preferable.

I love the Logan boxes I got. They’re model 110. Slots hold each slide securely with air space between. The boxes seem to be plenty airtight and dustproof too.

For sending in a few slides at a time to be duplicated, these

small divided boxes from Porter’s are perfect. They’re also useful for storing a set of originals in a safety deposit box.

For making slide pages to send to galleries and registries, you’ll need good quality archival pages. PrintFile has the best reviews overall. I found a good selection online at a company called Get Smart Products.

Avery #5267 labels (or the same size) are most often recommended for labeling slides. You can use two labels, one for each wider part of the mount. In addition, a red Sharpie pen or Avery red dot labels (#05790) are needed to make a red dot on the corner that will be seen when the slides are loaded into a slide tray.

Looking at the slide from the base side, so your image is seen in its correct orientation, not reversed, the red dot goes in the lower lefthand corner of the slide mount. It’s customary to indicate orientation also by writing "top" at the top of the mount, or putting an upward pointing arrow there.

You’ll need to develop a consistent labeling format for slides that you label to send to galleries. I looked at quite a few articles on slide label formats, and found the most useful one to be at the Rowan University Department of Art.

Leave some slide sets unlabeled, in case you need to send them to a show jury that requires a certain label format.

You may have software like Working Artist from which you can print slide labels from your database of artwork. If not, you can use Microsoft Word to print labels from an Excel list of artwork, with one field for each part of the label. Or download these instructions on printing slide labels in Word.

My photo lab, E-Six Lab in Atlanta, Georgia, will do a "premium scan" to produce files of about 4MB, enough for a 5x8 print at 300dpi. I have an Epson Perfection 3200 scanner, which may do as well. When I try the Epson I’ll report on results here.

It’s these digital files that you’ll use for email and web use. Editing and resizing them is a complete topic in itself. I’ll just mention again that I like PhotoShop Elements v2 for this. Its "Save for Web" features are very good, in my opinion easier to use than PaintShopPro v6. Elements seems to resize and compress photo files with very attractive results and fast download speeds.

For just a few prints from a slide, a Cibachrome print is ideal. You’ll need a different lab for this. Or you may find a lab that makes excellent negatives from slides. This is more expensive than a direct print for just one or two prints, but then you’ll have the negative and can have more prints made as needed.

Note: Links are to titles listed at amazon.com. This is for your convenience. Sometimes the same books are available at other dealers for less. I’ve had good experiences buying secondhand books through amazon.com, as well as finding them through www.bookfinder.com. I have no affiliate status with amazon, nor any other reason to recommend them except for good prices and service over the years. Also I find the customer reviews very useful.

This is the book I found most useful:

Photographing Your Artwork, by Russell Hart, 2000.

In addition, I’ve studied:

• The Quick & Easy Guide to Photographing Your Artwork, by Roger Saddington, 2003. Diagrams and examples are excellent.

• Photographing Your Craftwork, by Steve Meltzer, 1997. This is the classic guide, very useful though I don’t agree with everything Steve says.

• How to Photograph Works of Art, by Sheldan Collins, 1992.

• Photographing Works of Art, by William H. Titus, 1981.

• SLR Photographer’s Handbook, by Carl Shipman, 1977. Any basic SLR manual that’s easy to understand, will be useful for study and reference. I got this at a library sale and have found it very helpful.

• Lighting Secrets for the Professional Photographer, by Alan Brown, Joe Braun, and Tim Grondin, 1990. This is much more advanced, but as a supplement to one of the basic books above, illuminates the differences various reflectors and other accessories can make. It aids in learning to see new possibilities.

For answers to film photography questions and problems, try the usenet group, rec.photo.35mm. You can access this through your news reader (like Microsoft Outlook Express) or via google groups.

Yahoo groups has mailing list groups for almost every brand of 35mm camera. The group for your camera can be invaluable in selecting lenses and solving problems. For old manual cameras, this is especially useful.

Of course you can search for specific topics at www.google.com, both on the web and in usenet groups. Often the answers will turn out to be located in the photonet forums.

You can also search for Steve Meltzer’s past columns in The Crafts Report. Quite a few are available online. This link is to the search page.

Amy O’Connell on Basic Jewelry Photography. Much of this can be adapted to larger works.

Tabletop Photography.

Photo Tips for Metalsmiths.

I’ve read quite a few articles online about photographing artwork, but have lost track of them.

New articles online since I first published this article:

Photographing Enamels, by Alexa Smarsh - step by step information on using a Nikon 995 digital camera to photograph small enamel jewelry pieces.

Photographing Your Artwork, by Nita Leland - brief guide, mostly for photographing 2D artwork.

taking, shooting slides of 3-d artwork, 3d artwork, sculpture, crafts

tabletop photography

how to photograph 3d artwork, 3-d artwork, sculpture, crafts