Thursday, October 7, 2010 at 8:00AM When I'm photographing for corporate clients, sometimes we set up the shot, and sometimes not. It all depends on what the needs are for the assignment, and how the images are going to be used.
I shot the image below while photographing gallery interiors at The Corcoran. It's an unplanned moment I came across while roaming the gallery space.
Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 8:00AM Most images have a lifespan.
The image below is a refreshed version of a scene I've shot a few times previously. The exterior of the Corcoran has recently undergone a lot of changes, and that required new photographs. The stone was restored to it's original color, and the bright red and orange flags were removed. The Corcoran is back to looking it's best and new images needed to be shot showing it that way.
The previous versions of this image appeared in many printed publications for The Corcoran, as well as the home page of the Corcoran website. When I shot this assignment, I shot a few images very similar to the old ones, and a few that are completely different. This way the new images can easily be swapped in for the old ones, but also offer new options for future publications.
17th Street Entrance to the Corcoran Gallery
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 8:00AM The New York Times online recently posted an article about the legality of photographing artwork in galleries. Often visitors to many galleries are not allowed to take pictures because the work on display is contemporary or on loan from the artist or another gallery. Some galleries do allow visitors to photograph or otherwise copy some of the artwork on display. With the proper permission, some galleries allow artists to bring an easel and set up shop for a short time. Many times the galleries will clearly post whether photography is allowed, and when in doubt, the security guards will always know for sure.
There are other considerations to take into account when photographing art in a gallery. The NY Times article seemed to make the assumption that a simple snapshot taken on the fly would be an accurate facsimile of the artwork on the wall. There are a number of factors that can make taking pictures in a museum difficult. Lighting in most galleries is kept dim as way to preserve the artwork on display. The dim lighting can in turn make it difficult to get a sharp image handheld, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. While some galleries will allow photography, none that I know will allow the use of flash. Often, artwork is framed with glass or plastic in front of it, which can create rather ugly reflections. The reflections sin the glass may not be much of a distraction when viewing the artwork normally, but can easily ruin pictures.
Drawing in the Corcoran Gallery
Pictures can be a great way to remember a trip to a see a famous artwork or museum, but for an accurate copy of the works, the gift shop is often the best place to visit.
Monday, September 6, 2010 at 8:00AM Last week I wrote about photographing in low light inside the Corcoran gallery. The other big challenge of shooting in the galleries are the odd color casts that the walls create. For example, the Salon Doré is an 18th century room that has been recreated in The Corcoran. The Salon Doré one of the few rooms in the gallery that has un-obstructed natural light. The direct light coming through the windows is great, but the walls are covered in gold gilding that reflect back a warm yellow color on the room. I normally end up using my Colorchecker Passport to set my white balance manually, and still have to adjust it slightly in Lightroom.
The images below are of a tour for new graduate students led by a conservator who helped to restore the Salon Doré.
Corcoran Graduate students in the gallery
Corcoran Graduate students in the Gallery
Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 8:00AM The gallery space in the Corcoran can be a fun and challenging environment to shoot in. The main challenge of shooting in the galleries is that the light levels are kept very low to protect the artwork. The conditions give me a welcome excuse to shoot with my fast prime lenses.
The image below is from a gallery talk that coincided with the annual all-senior show. For the talk, a group of about 9 students spoke to gallery visitors about the work that they had in the show. The talk was interesting for me because I had seen and photographed all of the work in the weeks an months leading up to the show, but had never heard anything more about it than what was in the artists statements.
Corcoran Students talking about their work in the gallery.