Photographing a Print

[Robert Vigurs]

I have a good idea of how to do this with good results,but there are many on this site with experience,and I would welcome any tips. I want to make negatives of existing prints. My thought is, that sunlight would be the best light to use, of course, taken at an angle that would preclude any reflection from the print. I was thinking of using my Hasselblad, but The 4x5 would give a better resolution when enlarged.
I like the 210mm on the 4x5, I was thinking of using the Sonnar if the Hasselblad were to be used. Any tips appreciated. I thank you in advance. Robert

[photobymike]

Film plane parallel to print. Do not use sun light, to hard to control. If you are coping B&W florescence lighting ok.. color use filter... polarize ....lights at a 45 degree angle. Very important .. use a lens with a flat field ...most 210s are not flat field. There are some really cheap good copy lenses out there. tominon comes to mind... see http://www.largeformatphotography.info/macro.html I am also thinking of a polaroid MP4 copy system i saw one that also took 4x5 film holders and had the lights on it

[ic-racer]

Lee Friedlander photographed all his prints on 35mm film (for book keeping). I believe he used a standard copy stand and artificial lighting.

[SteveH]

Hi Robert
I used to work in a commercial studio that did a lot of LF repro work of artwork.
My advice would be to only use sunlight if you have no access to studio lighting.
Daylight can be unpredictable and uncontrollable and will always give you a certain amount of 'scatter'.
We used to use 2 flash heads each positioned exactly 45 degrees either side of the artwork and equi-distance from the centre. Using a flash meter we would measure the illumination from each head individually and move each head in or out along its 45 degree line until the illumination was the same for each head.
Each head had a linear polarising gel filter and the camera had a polarising lens which eliminated any glare from uneven surfaces.
If you have to use sunlight (and it's certainly better than incandescant or flouro light), make sure you choose a sunny day and use a polarising filter.
Or else consider scanning
hope that helps
cheers
Steve

[Armyphotog]

We built a small "stage" with a track running up to it to mount a 4X5 Graflex on. Standard floods were mounted on each side, and of course, focusing through the ground glass. Prints were mounted to the stage with two sided tape. Simple and eficient.

[Henry Ambrose]

You can use sunlight, but its better to use it "open sky". Place your print on a stand under an awning or on the shaded side of a building. Open sky is quite constant and very even on a clear sunny day. Square everything up with the camera on axis perpendicular to the print and start shooting. Your camera's shadow might be the biggest problem, a longer lens will help you move farther away.

[jp]

You should be able to get a normal copy stand on c-list for next to nothing. I used to shoot lots of B&W old photos. I visited local people who had lots of local history illustrated in old photos, and I'd copy their collection while someone else talked to them about the photos. I used 35mm with a macro lens and tmax 100. (I'm sure 4x5 would do an even better job, but it was overkill for my requirements.) The copy stand had aluminum reflectors on normal 60-100w lamps. It did a great job.

If you must do it outdoors, Henry Ambrose's suggestion can work. I've shot paintings and things too big for the copy stand this way.

[Greg Lockrey]

Use crossed polarized lighting and copy film. But you be better off doing it digitally with a scanner.