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Museum Photography Help

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NSXType-R

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I was in the Metropolitan Museum of Art the other day, and I was having lots of trouble photographing stuff in cases. How do you guys do it? Would you use a circular polarizer to cut down on the reflections from windows?

My plan of attack that day was to just bump ISO- I never dropped below 400, sometimes went to 800. I haven't looked at the photos yet, but I don't think they were very good. I didn't have a very wide lens to get everything in, nor was it very fast. I now can see how some people want a wide prime with AF-S, maybe VR too?

Edit- On certain days the Met allows tripods, but you must get it approved by the museum.

Posted 3 years ago #
nau

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90 degrees to the glass and as close as possible to the glass ... thats the only thing I can think of

"Would you use a circular polarizer to cut down on the reflections from windows? " never tried it but it might be a good idea ...

Posted 3 years ago #
NSXType-R

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The 90 degrees to the glass would be a good idea, but it may not be the portion of the piece of art you're trying to take a picture of. It's frustrating when you do have enough light- then you have reflections, if it's too dark, image quality suffers because I need to bump ISO.

Plus, lighting conditions are not constant and I need to constantly check my white balance- I don't shoot in RAW. I finally noticed that Auto White Balance is not too accurate on my D40. Then again, these are extreme conditions, but it would be nice if it worked perfectly.

Taking pictures in a museum is a nightmare! (If you don't have proper equipment like I did.)

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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Hi,

I find VR very useful in those cases. Reflections? well I find that there are 2 ways. you can use a large rubbery lens hood. and bring that right up close to the glass so it covers the glass and cut out all the reflections another way is to get a black piece of pastic bag and put the lens through a hole cut in it .. does the same thing as the rubbery lens hood but cost next to nothing. the other way is just to use a longer lens and angle your self to make sure you are photographing through a non reflecting area on the glass. Have thought about polariser filters but not tried them. should work well esp if you have vr.

Have fun!

Posted 3 years ago #
adamz

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use tripod is the first that comes to my mind, but I realize that in most places it's forbidden, circular polarizer is also a good idea, but You need to be ready to loose at least 1 stop of light, which OTOH You can take back by using RAW (as it's fore forgivable than jpg), also use a spot meter settings on Your camera (instead of matrix)

Posted 3 years ago #
nau

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get D700 /cough /cough : ) no ISO issues there : )

but yeh there is not that much that you can do if you dont have control over 'hash' environment :)

Posted 3 years ago #
AcquaCow

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The last time I had to shoot through glass, I went to Home Depot and picked up a large rubber pipe coupler to fit over my lens hood.

This let me put that flat against the glass and keep any odd reflection from lighting/etc from interfering with the shots.

This of course only works if you are allowed to get up against the glass...

-- Dave

Posted 3 years ago #
Willis

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Polarizer should take care of most of the glare on from the glass. Of course if you are already shooting 400-800 ISO, then you will have to go to 800-1600... if you have an older camera, that's going to look pretty bad. If you can't use a tripod, you might give something like this a try

http://www.instructables.com/id/String-Tripod/

I've not done it myself, but my guess is that it will give you a 1 stop reduction in camera shake. Its a much cheaper solution than a faster lens.

Posted 3 years ago #
adamz

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willis - the solution is great, need to check it out - thanks for info

Posted 3 years ago #
Willis

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Let me know how it works... have been wanting to try this for a while.

Posted 3 years ago #
mb

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One more thing, do not try to put everything in a single shot, unless you can use tripod and have really wide lens.
@Willis - clever solution. will try it as soon I find 1x 1/4 -20 Stainless steel eye hook in a shops near by (they are not so common in Europe).

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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I have tried the string tripod. I actually used electronics wire which does not stretch. I have the contraption tucked away in the camera bag .. does not take up any space really. does it help? a little. Maybe 0.5 to 1 stop.
Couple that with VR and its not too bad. Not as good as a tripod because you still have 5 degrees of motion. My version actually has 2 strings/wires of equal length so it is even more stable. I would use 3 strings but I don't have 3 feet !! LOL.

Posted 3 years ago #
NSXType-R

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Thanks for all the tips guys. I have seen the string monopod in the past, I just never got around to making it.

Posted 3 years ago #
nau

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NSXType-R: all thats missing to this post is few photos of yours :) from that museum

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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@ nau : LOL true! True! reflections and all!

Posted 3 years ago #
NSXType-R

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To be honest, is it bad that I only thought a couple of the pictures came out well out of maybe 200 or so? They weren't very artsy, the way I would have wanted them to be, like in a magazine or something.

I wasn't really out to get good pictures, I was there to record as much as possible so I could do an extra credit assignment. It was better than writing notes in a notebook.

And how do you post photos anyway? I'm really really busy (as I had said about my other posts too- read the one about the dust one- I haven't gotten to that either). School started all over again, so yes, I will be busy.

Posted 3 years ago #

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Museum Photography Help

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