lateral arm for gitzo tripod?

[Sasquatchian]

Chester - Are all the pieces flat or are they somewhat dimensional? If they are flat art then the traditional method of lighting - two lights at 45 deg angle with Polarizing film over each light and a Polarizer over the lens is the best way to go, but sometimes you still want a bit of reflection in the piece so you back off on the PL or add a third or fourth non Polarized light and I'm sure everyone knows to lay a nickel or a quarter down and adjust the PL until it disappears. And have a meter that reads in tenths of a stop and adjust the lights until you're within 2-3 tenths across the piece.

[Chester McCheeserton]

Thanks everyone - appreciate all the suggestions... Looks like the manfrotto arm would be the way to go if I don't just build my own....

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...r-a-copy-stand

will likely end up having to do something like tin can describes here...except have to set it up on site where the artwork is....good thing is I'll have a dedicated secure room so can leave it all set up until the job is done.

Sasquatchian - they are flat - but some may be be curled...they're like screenprints with bright colors....I may have to get a piece of museum glass for the worst ones...Hope to avoid messing with polarizing stuff - don't think the surfaces are that reflective....and think that if I bounce strobes or use big softboxes that I can get pretty even coverage....

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks everyone - appreciate all the suggestions... Looks like the manfrotto arm would be the way to go if I don't just build my own....

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...r-a-copy-stand

will likely end up having to do something like tin can describes here...except have to set it up on site where the artwork is....good thing is I'll have a dedicated secure room so can leave it all set up until the job is done.

Sasquatchian - they are flat - but some may be be curled...they're like screenprints with bright colors....I may have to get a piece of museum glass for the worst ones...Hope to avoid messing with polarizing stuff - don't think the surfaces are that reflective....and think that if I bounce strobes or use big softboxes that I can get pretty even coverage....

If you want even coverage use two lights of equal output, one on each side of the camera at the same angle to the art. Point the left one at the right edge of the copy and the right one at the left edge of the copy. That way the illumination will be even across the Art. If you point each at the center of the Art then the center of the Art will have more light then the edges.

Umbrellas, soft boxes and bounce are not good copy light sources.

[jonby]

Have you considered getting a board for the artwork and tilting it somewhat so that you could have the camera to one side rather than directly overhead? Should be possible to do without the tilt being so great that the artwork slides off. That way you wouldn't have to modify your tripod. It also makes it way easier to get to your camera. You can use a mirror which lies flat on the board to ensure that the sensor plane is parallel.

This setup does make it more work if you have to change the camera distance, but you could probably plan this out so that you don't have to do that very often.

[Pieter]

Since the mid-70's, I have made photos to document paintings for a good friend. I started shooting 8x10 transparencies, because that was the best way to record the large paintings. Now, I use a digital camera and don't have to sweat as much about getting everything perfectly squared up because photoshop allows you to easily correct for such things. I also have always used polarizing filters over the lights (strobes) and a circular polarizer on the lens.

A vacuum easel is very handy to keep works on paper flat when shooting. Once again, digital is your friend--you can easily mask or crop out the easel if it shows. If the work has plain borders, small, strong magnets and a metal surface will hold it flat and can be cloned out in photoshop.

[Sasquatchian]

I just copied a newspaper I found in my father's garage after he died. Monterey Herald from November 22, 1963. It had been folded in a box for over fifty years and because the Monterey Herald was an evening paper they were able to get the headline on the day.

I shot straight down with a Canon 135mm T/S-E, with a 5DSR on a 12' Cambo stand. Polarized both lights and the lens and laid a 30x30x1/4 piece of glass from the local glass shop over it. That glass which cost me about thirty dollars is all the special you need. Holds everything flat, disappears under Polarization and does not degrade the image.

[Pieter]

Sometimes you need to capture texture and reflections when copying art. One of the challenges I remember was a piece that incorporated metallic foil. Without some reflection, it was dead and not a good representation of the art. So there are no hard and fast rules when copying.

[Chester McCheeserton]

Have you considered getting a board for the artwork and tilting it somewhat so that you could have the camera to one side rather than directly overhead?

Yes – I may do this for the larger pieces....Thanks.

and the regular glass, vacuum easel, and magnets are also worthwhile considerations....appreciate all the input.

need to inspect in person just how bad the curling is before making the leap into polarizing and glass...

[LabRat]

I used an enlarging easel to hold curled smaller works on paper...

Steve K

[Jim Andrada]

I have a monster Majestic tripod with a side arm I think the tube is 2 1/4 inch - haven't actually measured it - but I've hung an 8 x 10 Linhof Kardan Bi out on the arm for a vertical shot and it was pretty stable)

Of course it would be nicer to have one of the Gigant stands... Some enlargers could be used for copying IIRC.