The Photography of Art

Photographing art is a unique niche of photography as art. In 2005, Albert published “The Challenges of Museum Photography” in Viewfinder (Volume 38.4, pgs. 15-18).

We recently traveled through Germany and Austria with a particular goal of visiting some of the world’s greatest art museums. Berlin, Dresden and Vienna house extensive and fine collections of rare antiquities, Old Masters, fine porcelain, objects made of ivory and gold and gemstones, Impressionists and Expressionists and Secessionists.

Detail of “The Kiss” – 1908/1909, Gustav Klimt, Upper Belvedere Palace, Vienna. Leica Q at f/5, 1/250 sec, ISO 6400.

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Children’s Games” – 1560, Pieter Bruegel, The Elder, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Leica Q at f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO 3200

To engage more closely with these spectacular artworks we undertook to photograph them. But, how to show the original art work at its very best, how to enhance the colors in a painting while remaining true to the artist’s palette, delineate the texture of brushstrokes or render 3 dimensional sculpture into a 2 dimensional format? Museums today utilize scientific methodology in the organization, restoration, preservation and displaying of artwork. Special attention is paid to original materials and techniques, requirements for temperature and humidity control, considerations of natural or artificial lighting, and effects of UV radiation. Some pieces are behind glass; others glare because of the shiny high gloss finish of the paint itself. Window reflections, shadows from frames and fixtures also pose impediments to capturing the work directly in the camera.

PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (1525/1530-1569) HUNTERS IN THE SNOW [WINTER] (1565) KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM VIENNA AUSTRIA

Museums have changed in other ways over the last decade. Large crowds often fill the galleries. They now expect that visitors will snap pictures of the pictures with their phones, point and shoots and even an occasional Leica S or Q. Museum photography was once a furtive sport where you matched your wit and cunning against the beleaguered guards. This is no longer true. But they have not given up entirely: flash remains prohibited as it can destabilize the pigment and tripods are forbidden for fear that “professionals” might use the files for commercial purposes.

Digital photography has radically altered the technology and technique of photographing art. Albert now uses both the Leica M10 with a 50 mm f/2 APO ASPH as well as the Leica S (Typ 007) coupled to the 70 mm f/2.5 ASPH. Ruth relies on her easy to handle Leica Q with a 28mm f/1.7 ASPH. These excellent Leica cameras also have their specific attributes. The M10 is light and less noisy but parallax is an annoying problem. The Leica S is heavier, has greater resolution and is more reliable for accurate framing. Although the fixed wide angle of the Leica Q is limiting in some circumstances, it is ideal for large artworks and details. Ruth’s feet provide the perfect zoom in the confines of a museum gallery!

RUTH ORATZ MD EGON SCHIELE (1890-1918) THE RAINER BOY (1910) UPPER BELVEDERE PALACE VIENNA AUSTRIA

EGON SCHIELE (1890-1918) EDITH SCHIELE (1918) UPPER BELVEDERE PALACE VIENNA AUSTRIA

There is no doubt that the digital improvement in functional ISO is the most important technical advance for indoor museum photography. With all three Leicas, one can safely use ISO 1600. Also, all Leica lenses are optimized for wide-open apertures. Practically, this means that effective speeds of 1/90 to 1/125 sec further increased by exposure compensation can be achieved. As a general rule, a sharp picture can be obtained at a speed that is equal to 2 or 3 times the focal length. This is not a problem for the Q, but the M and S are borderline in this regard.

Therefore working with both the M and the S requires proper position directly in front of the artwork, steady handholding and then exhale slowly and take multiple pictures in continuous mode of the artwork. Over the years Albert has found that the first picture in continuous mode is very often the best, but the second, third or fourth pictures may also be superb and sharp. It is critical to eschew coffee or other caffeinated products, relax, and take the time needed to minimize camera shake and truly enjoy the experience of visualizing the original artwork clearly seen through a Leica viewfinder. This is a skill that is learned and practiced. Don’t forget to take a photograph of the museum description label for accurate referencing in keywords and metadata.

The true joy in photographing art comes in the post-process, courtesy of Lightroom. After baseline processing using your preset, group the photo- graphs of the same artwork together then compare in the “C” mode. Select the sharpest file with the highest magnification and discard the rest. Then white balance the photograph cautiously: take note that many museums still rely on antiquated lighting systems that seriously distort the artworks’ color temperature and that many artists did not paint their works with an ideal color temperature in mind. Also pigments and substrates have altered color value over time. With color accuracy as a goal, search the Internet for a representational photograph and balance accordingly so as to achieve a realistic rendition. Adjust contrast and selectively increase highlights or shadows judiciously, as these are powerful tools with which subtle moves can result in drastic effects. Then eliminate keystoning or other artifacts in the transform mode. For a photograph that is not perfectly sharp, turn to Photoshop for rescue and select a high pass filter with soft light or overlay, but again use this tool gently so as to preclude artifact. A mask is helpful if only select areas are “unsharp.”

We feel that in photographing paintings in museums it is best to eliminate the decorative frame; this is a distracting element, not created by the artist and is usually out of focus given that the lens is wide open. Occasionally, one will experience varnish-mediated glare or frame-induced shadows due to the vagaries of museum lighting. These two problems are easily addressed by the brush function in Lightroom by either lightening the shadow area or in the case of glare, cutting down on highlights and whites.

The photography of art in the digital age requires a modicum of technical skill, practice and patience. It may not be the ultimate in personal artistic expression but it most definitely augments our personal viewing and pleasure of fine art. The choice of what and how to photograph, means that we are indeed spending more time with each painting, sculpture, object, that we are looking more closely and seeing more deeply. This process enhances our love of the visual arts as participants not merely observers. By photographing the work we are connecting with it, creating our own images as well as embedding memory and shared emotion, with one another and perhaps with an artist from another time and place.

When done with care, photographing art can provide a nice database and many pleasant recollections. For now the technical limitation is undoubtedly the maximum ISO. While ISO 1600 is certainly fast, it is not quite fast enough. With the development of newer CMOS sensors, we are sanguine that the effective Leica ISO will exceed 3200 or even 6400 which, when coupled with the fast wideopen Leica lenses, will allow baseline exposures of 1/250 or greater that will obviate all camera shake and photo sharpness issues.

MAX PECHSTEIN (1881-1955) THE YELLOW MASK II (1910) LEOPOLD MUSEUM VIENNA AUSTRIA

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1606-1669) THE ABDUCTION OF GANYMEDE (1635) GEMALDEGALERIE ALTE MEISTER ZWINGER PALACE DRESDEN GERMANY

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Head of a Male, Terra Cotta, Nicosia, Cyprus (7th C BCE), Neues Museum, Berlin. Leica Q at f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 6400.