Everything Artistic

The concept of animated GIFs is as old as the internet, and are often tacky and low quality. However, photographer, Jamie Beck, and web designer (with a background in video and motion graphics), Kevin Burg, have taken animated GIFs to a whole new level by creating a slight motion in an otherwise still photo. They call this new art form “cinemagraphs,” which are described as  ”more than a photo, but not quite a video” by Canadian model, Coco Rocha, who has been featured in a number of Jamie Beck’s cinemagraphs.

Utilizing an old technique to create something new and beautiful is truly impressive and inspiring! If any photographers are willing to try out this new technique, I found a short tutorial on how to make a cinemagraph in Photoshop - Click Here.

UPDATE - read an interview with Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg on Huffington Post.

(Source: fromme-toyou)

One of the most common questions asked by our clients is -  “These prints don’t look exactly like they do on my monitor, why is that?”

The reason for that is that every single monitor is different from computer to computer.  So, the way the image looks on your monitor has no bearing what-so-ever on how the final image will turn out.  Only when a monitor is calibrated correctly will the monitor reflect exactly what the image will look like after it’s printed.  The paper also does play a part.  The ultrasmooth paper, along with a couple of our other fine art papers will tend to darken the image just a little bit. But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a little Photoshop. This is the main reason that we always suggest getting a proof print done.  At Faville Photo, we offer 6”x8” proofs at $4 each, so it might be cost effective to pay the extra $4 to make sure you get exactly what you’re looking for. And usually if you place a large order, we will waive the cost of the proofs anyway.

“In order to see images the way they were intended to be seen, your monitor might need to be calibrated. If you’re a web designer, digital photographer, or graphic designer, this is especially important. You don’t want to spend hours choosing the perfect subtle color scheme only to see a mis-matched mess on someone else’s monitor or coming out of a printer. Here’s how to calibrate your monitor so that what you see is what you get.

1. Check the screen resolution. Choose the highest resolution available unless the text is too small. If you are using an LCD monitor, check the manual or box for the “native” resolution. Set your computer to this resolution.

2. Verify that your computer monitor is in high color or 24-bit mode. In Windows, check this by right clicking on your desktop and choosing Graphic Properties. On Mac, go to Preferences, then click on Displays and then choose Colors:Millions. If your display is in 16-bit color, there won’t be enough color depth for the calibration process.

3. Let your monitor warm up for at least 15 (preferably 30) minutes before beginning the calibration.

4. Make sure that no reflections, glare or strong, direct light reaches your screen. The room doesn’t have to be dark, but ambient light shouldn’t interfere with how you see what’s on the screen.

5. Print a test photo on a professional quality printer. Choose a daylight photo with a person who has natural skin tone and print it using the highest quality settings and top-quality glossy photo paper. Let it dry away from direct sunlight for a few hours so that the colors can set permanently.

6. Adjust your contrast and brightness controls. They are located either on the front of your monitor or in an on screen menu. Find a calibration test screen online by conducting a search. A free basic calibration tool can be found here.

7. Open the image file that you just printed.

8. Place the printed photo right next to the original image on the screen and compare.

9. Adjust the brightness, contrast, and color levels (red, green, blue) on your monitor until the image on the screen resembles the printed photo as closely as possible. This takes time and a good eye for color. Continue to the next step if you’d like to use software to calibrate your monitor.

10. Use basic software such as Adobe Gamma (if you have Adobe Photoshop 7 or below installed), QuickGamma (which is free), Apple ColorSync, or Monica for Linux to calibrate your monitor. To access Adobe Gamma, click “Start,” “Settings” and “Control Panel.” For all the software, follow the step by step instructions to perform the calibration. These will provide a basic calibration for, say, casual Photoshop users who don’t print a lot of photographs.

11. Purchase specialized software used in conjunction with a colorimeter (a device that reads the actual color values produced by your monitor) if color accuracy is vital to your profession. Some calibration systems worth looking into are ColorVision Spyder 3 Pro, the ColorVision Color Plus (great for home systems), Monaco Systems MonacoOPTIX, and Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display.

12. Calibrate your monitor every 2 to 4 weeks for optimum visual accuracy.”

(Source: wikihow.com)

Recommended Equipment:
1) Digital SLR camera capable of manual settings (m) higher than 8mp
2) A good lens, preferably a macro or telephoto. (Both of these lenses help reduce lens distortion.)
2) Tripod
3) Cable Release
4) Gray Card (for metering)
5) Drafting tape, nails, or thumbtacks for hanging artwork onto wall
6) Professional studio lighting with reflective umbrellas (500 watts or more)
7) Adobe CS3, CS4, or CS5 (You will be using Photomerge)

This article focuses on how to reproduce any form of 2-D artwork with professional camera and lighting equipment.

NOTE: This process is unique to Faville Photo and results in a very high resolution file. You will be taking multiple photos of the painting like a panorama and stitching them together with Photomerge in Adobe Photoshop.

Start out by hanging your artwork on the wall. If your artwork is on a paper medium, tape or thumbtack all four corners to the wall to ensure the artwork is completely flat. If your artwork is on stretched canvas, put thumbtacks or nails in the wall for the top stretcher bar to rest on. Make sure your artwork is as level and as flat against the wall as possible. This will reduce the amount of post production work afterwords. Then find a spot to tape your graycard to the wall as well, as close to the painting as possible.

For photographing artwork, I have found that using two 500 watt (or more) light bulbs, each on a light stand and each reflected into an umbrella, is the best setup. One light goes on each side of the artwork (angled towards the artwork), at the same height as the artwork and at 45° to the artwork. The distance depends on the size of the artwork, but start out with around 3 feet from the wall and from each side of the artwork and move the lighting accordingly.



How to set up your lights and your camera:
• Set your camera’s ISO to its lowest native setting This will ensure optimal image quality and reduce or eliminate grain. The lowest ISO is usually 100.
• Set your camera’s white balance to either cloudy or tungsten. You might have to do a little experimenting to see which white balance works best in your situation.
• Set your aperture to between f/5.6 and f/11 for optimal image quality. This is the range that most lenses obtain the sharpest image.
• Use the light meter on your camera to find the best shutter speed for your lighting situation.

1. Set your camera according to the instructions above.

2. Find a spot to set your camera where just the bottom right corner of the painting is showing in your viewfinder. Try to get as little wall in the frame as possible.

3. Keep your camera settings (f/stop, shutter, iso) the same for all of the photos. This is important!

4. Focus your lens on the painting and take one photo of the corner of the painting. Use your cable release to eliminate camera shake or losing focus.

5. If it is a small painting, move your tripod to the opposite (left, bottom) corner and take a photo. But, make sure that part of the painting is overlapping in both photos. If no part of the painting is overlapping, move your tripod to the bottom middle of the painting. The larger the painting, the more photos you will have to take. (You can also take more photos for higher resolution.)

6. Keep your tripod the same distance away from the painting each time you move it. To help with this, put a piece of tape on the floor or use the lines in your tiles or hardwood floor for guidance (if you have them). Make sure the front two legs of the tripod are on that line at all times.

7. Move the tripod up to the top right corner of the painting and take photo. Then to the left corner. Again, if the painting is larger, you will have to take more pictures. Just go across the painting in rows, up and down, and make sure there is an overlap in the photos. Remember, take a set of photos across the bottom, move your tripod up, and take a set of photos across the top. Make sure there is an overlap in between the top and bottom row. If there is not, you will have to take a row of photos across the middle of the painting as well. Use your best judgment. If you miss part of the painting, or if it does not overlap, photomerge will not be able to stitch it together.



The photo above is my outcome of reproducing a 16x20 canvas print. I took 4 photos of each corner, with enough of the painting overlapping to stitch together effectively in photoshop.

I use a 60mm prime macro lens, which has a 1:1 ratio. These two combined highly reduces any distortion in the images. (The smaller mm, the wider the lens, the more distortion in the photo). Faville Photo also has a rig specifically designed for reproducing artwork. The rig is designed to move the painting, so that the tripod can stay in one spot. This set up allows the lighting to be directed onto one spot, which allows even lighting over the entire painting, even on extremely large pieces. It also reduces the distortion caused by accidentally changing the distance of the tripod in between pictures.

8. Once you have the image files, upload them to your computer. I use Adobe Bridge to view photos. In Adobe Bridge, highlight your photos, then click Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge


(click photo for larger view)

9. These files will open up in Photomerge in Photoshop. You can use the setting “Reposition Only”, but I find that “Auto” works better half the time, especially if there is any distortion. Click OK.



10. Once the photos are stitched together (which can take awhile with a lot of photos), highlight all of the layers, right click on them, then click “Merge Layers”.



11. Make sure your rulers are showing. If not, click View>Rulers. Then drag a guidline from the ruler to the highest corner of the top of the painting. Do this for all four sides.



12. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to draw a box around the painting, using the guides as a guideline. Then, right click, click on Free Transform. Then, right click again, click on Distort.



13. Drag the sides and edges of the painting to line up with the guidelines that you created before. This eliminates any distortion.



14. Finally, open up the levels adjustments to use the gray card. Image>Adjustments>Levels. Click on the gray dropper between the black and white droppers on the right side, then click on the gray card with the dropper.



15. Use your guidelines one last time to crop the wall and graycard out of the photo. Having all of these photos stitched together produces a high resolution file of your painting.



16. If the colors in your image are still off, you can use color balance, Image>Adjustments>Color Balance.

Once you have your final image, you can email it to FavillePhoto@gmail.com for printing onto canvas, photo paper, or any of our other fine art papers. If you would rather have Faville Photo do the reproduction, all color correction and proof prints are included free with the reproduction.

NOTE: If you’re looking for a lower quality file portfolios, publication, or internet use, visit this article - Photographing Artwork for Reproduction, Portfolios, or Publication.

www.FavillePhoto.com