GFY Photographers - Advice needed please (Big Pics)
 

A friend of mine has requested that I take pictures of his sculptures so he can send the pictures to some galleries. At this time he really can't afford to get the pictures professionally taken and while he isn't expecting that level from me I would like to do the best I can. I am posting some pictures of his sculptures that were just candid shots. Any advice on lighting, background, angles anything would be greatly appreciated. All the sculptures are welded from stainless steel so I am a little worried about reflections of the lights ect. He has a black felt backdrop to use. Thanks in advance.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...otterbirds.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...otterwhale.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...esculpture.jpg

And if anyone is interested in the actual artwork let me know and I could put you in touch with the artist.

I don't have any tips on the photography part but I just wanted to say I absolutely love the Cockatoo sculpture :thumbsup

Those are very nice works.

Its for sale. Think the price on that one is $3100. :winkwink: If I manage to pull off some good pics I will post more of his work on here. He does some simply amazing work.

for sure find something to use as backgrounds cause that first one is very bad with the window AC unit in the background. You want to make sure 100% of the viewers attention is on the item not the million of other things around the sculptures..

So my biggest tip would be find a great place to shoot it and the sculptures will look 100% better

Yeah..try another background :)

Those were just pictures I took with my cell phone at an art festival we were at. I only posted them to give you an idea of the subject matter I will be taking pictures of. He has plain black felt material to use as a backdrop but if anyone can recommend something that would be better to use that would be great also.

yes, first of all: the black backdrop

then: watch out with the autofocus, the camera seems to have a problem to focus on these objects cause they are no solid - hence the blurriness. some cams have 6 or 9 focus points or the focus is moving around with the point the camera considers to be the object you want to take a pic of. try to switch to one fixed focus point in the middle of the lens and then make sure that the cam really focusses on the object.

you can also put up 2 lights left and right of you that cross each other for better exposure

and then do not use auto white balance on your cam, try manual if possible and adjust it with a white sheet of paper. or use a fixed white balance setting that looks good

and use a tripod


edit: didn't know it's cellphone pics so i might add: use a real camera ;)

Awesome pics, mate!

I am no professional photographer, but I think the art is made with a pretty dark metal and would blend in too much with a black backdrop.

But again not a professional.

If I was going to spend the money I would probably get a live one instead :winkwink:

I've never photographed sculptures before but a few things come to mind.

The purpose of the pictures is to show the work to the galleries so the pictures should be plain and simple. It's about the sculpture not the photography so nothing fancy is needed. If you have access to other photographs to use as a guideline all you would need to do is replicate their technique.

A plain background is a must. I would think some detail would be lost against a black background so I'd look for something off white to a dark gray to help the sculptures stand out. Use the black felt and drape it over something to use as a pedestal to hold the sculpture and then place it as far away from an outside wall you can and still have just the wall in the background. Try using the smallest F stop on the lens like 2.8 or 3.5 which will help soften the background helping to make the sculpture stand out. Direct sunlight on the sculpture would probably be best and bring out the detail. A wall that is shaded in the background would be an added plus.

I don't know if it's important to show size or dimension but it might be something that's required.

Good luck :)

hey i saw you said these were candid but you asked for advice and the pictures seem to be good angles and if you used a non cell phone and a background they would be great for what you are looking for.

I wonder about the black felt though. I can't tell if it's lighting or is the first one almost black itself? Maybe wait for more advice but if it were me i'd look and see if you had a pastel SOLID sheet to could put behind them. I just think a black background with grey to dark grey sculptures would make it look dull where a colored background would make the objects stand out more.

just my :2 cents: take it or leave it cause I've never claimed to be a pro photographer. just a amateur one shooting porn

The sculptures look great! First thing that comes to mind with those pics would be the background. Figure a way to have a nice solid background that doesn't distract from the artwork.

Solid light background (I'd be avoiding black at all costs).

Lighting: two, or minimum one and a reflector
One up front - slightly to the top left, one at back (or the flector), adjusted so you can see the rim / edge of the metal (kicker).

If you can, another on the background itself to knock it to pure white..

kinda like http://www.myersonphoto.com/private/istock/setup_01.jpg

I'd set the sculptures up in our studio with a black backdrop and lightpaint them from various angles using long exposures. I'd experiment using either LED lighting or tungsten-based flashlight.

If done right - lightpainting would really add to the overall effect of the sculptures.

Nice work by the artist, BTW. I especially liked that last shot.

The metal is mostly light silver but some pieces have darker metal incorporated so I was worried about using the black backround. I am nervous more about the lighting. His living room has some skylights and lots of windows and I am hoping the natural light is enough. My fear with setting up lights is a glare off the metal.

And all advice is greatly appreciated so thank you.

Alternatively, if you want to shoot outside, use the sun in the top-left position, a reflector for the kicker, and a shallow DOF so the background is completely blurred out, but the edges of the sculptures are defined

I am working with a sure shot Canon 8.1 and I only understood about 1/2 of that. :1orglaugh

Depth of Field or DOF for short is a description of how much of your photograph is in focus. A shallow depth of field simply means that one specific area of your photo is tack sharp while other elements remain blurred.

Those are cool looking.

Thanks, he really does amazing work and I will be sure to post the pictures when I finally get them taken. I am sure it will take a couple of tries and some critiquing before I have something good enough to send to the galleries.

Who fucking cares?

Great advice:thumbsup

Or maybe you can fly in and take the pictures for me? Please??? LOL

Some good photography advice has been given already but I will shed some light on what and how you should shoot it for gallery submission. Prior to moving into adult I owned an art gallery for over 10 years, so I have looked over hundreds of artist submissions.

Be sure to shoot the work in several set-ups. I would shoot with a neutral backdrop, as well as a gallery type setting, and in a real life set-up.

For gallery type setting try to shoot in a empty room with the work on the floor or a pedestal. For the real life set up, place the work in a well manicured garden.

Gallery owners need to see the work from several vantage points, and in various locales. The images may also be used to pre-sell to select clients so seeing the work in various environments could not only sell the gallery owner but generate interest from collectors.

And don't forget a good selection of detail shots, and close-ups.

Best of luck, sculpture is a tough sell, usually comes in about second to last in terms of revenue for a gallery.

Sinclair

With your experience as a gallery owner what is your opinion about his work? As far as originality etc. At the art festival we were at there was a ton of interest in his work and people were raving about his pieces. Unfortunately his stuff was over priced for the area.

Not an easy question to answer based on those shots. Let me also say right up front that sculpture is not my background. It is a very diverse field and the galleries that do the best with it are ones that sell only sculpture.

The artist certainly shows a command of 3D space which is very important. Sculptural composition is vastly different from 2D mediums and the works are strong in that area. I dont think the content is going to win any awards. In so far as decorative art is concerned I could see some galleries showing it. I cant really imagine many fine art galleries showing interest however. And I make this point purely on style. The style is very trendy right now, and established galleries seldom get that way by taking risks on trends.

I would encourage the artist to however begin to price his work according to the area in which he sells. Until he establishes a following and base price for his work the value of the work will only be relative. Pricing ones work is the point which most artist fail miserably at.

Sinclair

well put :thumbsup

because the subjects are visually very busy, you do not want anything in the background... there's already too much movement in the sculptures... stay away from black!!! get a nice white or light gray background, and try to stay away from using flash.. I think shadows will kill the shot.. get a bunch of lamps, take the covers off, and place them around, or shoot a lil high iso and use daylight from the windows... a lil grain from the high iso would actually look pretty badass i think :)

:thumbsup