Introduction to 2-D Copy Work

Introduction to 2-D Copy Work

What is the purpose of creating digital copies of your analogue work? To use for digital editing To submit work electronically to professors or clients To share your work on the internet

What qualities should a good digital copy have?

Using a high quality scanner Can vary the resolution and can generally scan at a high enough resolution to print at the same size as the original the scanner's moving lens maintains a constant distance from the object on the platen, ensuring dimensional accuracy, perfect focus, and even lighting over the entire record If you have access to a high quality scanner large enough to copy your work, this may be the best option for making accurate digital copies

The Alternative - DSLR copy stand or copy board It is not always possible to use a scanner due to size constraints, availability and physical limitations of the record It is possible to set up an effective copy board that will give you good results as long as you control your settings and environment In setting up a copy board we are trying to replicate the control of a scanner, where the camera's lens is parallel to the record, the lighting is controlled and even across the surface of the record, and the resolution of the image taken is high enough to resolve the fine details of your work

Copy stand vs. Copy board Traditionally, copy stands are used to create copies (either with film or digital cameras) of relatively small originals and copy boards are used for much larger originals Copy stand A copy board is easier to build on your own, but will require more precision and attention to detail create acceptable results

Using your DSLR to make digital copies In order to create an accurate digital copy you will need: a space where you can control the light two lights of equal colour temperature and power your camera, a memory card and an appropriate lens a tripod to brace your camera a blank wall or a board to hang your work on a grey card

Setting up your lights Choose a space where it is possible to turn off all overhead lighting and where there is no natural light coming in Scott has provided two fluorescent lights and stands for you to use for copy work. They are of equal colour temperature and power. You may also consider purchasing your own lights

Placing the lights Normal Reflected Illumination relatively flat and even illumination lamps should be placed between 25 and 45 degrees from the surface of the subject the angle of the light will depend on the reflectivity of the subject, the more reflective, the smaller the degree of the angle keep the lights at a good distance from the subject, especially larger subjects, in order to create even lighting across the surface

point the lights slightly beyond the far edge of the subject ensure that the lights are parallel to each other and equal distance from the camera and the subject the placement of the lights is extremely important to ensure even lighting the camera should be directly opposite the subject and it should be level (many tripods have built in levels)

Camera Settings file format: this will vary, depending on your workflow ISO: 100 metering mode: evaluative colour space: Adobe RGB White balance: Custom

A note on file formats What is a RAW file? technically not a file format - it refers to many different proprietary formats unique to each camera manufacturer It contains the raw or unprocessed data directly from your camera Sometimes referred to as the digital equivalent to the photographic negative With the use of specific RAW processing software, the user has the ability to make adjustments to a variety of different image parameters with little or no loss in image quality

Choosing a lens Select a "normal" lens a 50mm lens is considered a normal lens for full frame digital cameras For DSLRs with sensor's smaller than traditional 35mm film format, a 35mm lens is considered normal Normal means that this is the lens length that most accurately approximates the field of view of the human eye

White Balance

The most accurate approach to setting the white balance is by using the custom white balance function on your camera It is a simple procedure and can be performed by most DSLR cameras but the procedure will vary from camera to camera, so consult your camera manual The general procedure will require you to have a grey balance card that you can purchase at most camera supply stores for about $15. You can also use a white card, but it must be absolutely neutral

You will fill your camera s field of view with the card that is illuminated by the same light source as your subject The camera automatically determines what modifications are necessary to produce identical RGB values for the grey balance card and this set of modifications is then applied to all subsequent photographs until you change the WB mode Be sure that the lights are set exactly as they will be set for the shoot Place the card in the exact same place as the object that you will be photographing

Taking the first shot Once the camera is firmly placed on the tripod, make sure that the tripod is level and that the camera's lens is completely parallel to the hanging record. This step is crucial, so take your time making sure that everything is lined up properly Double check the lights, ensuring that they are evenly illuminating the record If you haven't already, go through the custom white balance procedure, making sure that all other room lights are turned out and natural light is blacked out

Frame the record so that the entire record is included with little dead space surrounding it Set the aperture to f8 In manual mode balance your meter with the appropriate shutter speed Focus the lens Take the first shot

A note on metering Your camera s meter reads reflected light and balances exposures to render the reflected light at a middle grey value. This approach works for scenes where there is a good balance of bright and dark values, but it fails when a scene is mostly light or mostly dark. If you photograph a mostly light scene, your meter will set the exposure to render the scene at middle grey and the same is true of a mostly dark scene.

To properly expose a mostly bright scene you ll have to overexpose (choose a slower shutter speed) To properly expose a mostly dark scene you ll have to underexpose (choose a faster shutter speed)

Determining the appropriate exposure Review the shot in playback mode Use the single image display to ensure that the subject is properly framed Use the shooting information mode to view the histogram

Check your exposure using the histogram

Check to make sure that the slope of the histogram does not extend beyond the right or left ends of the graph If the slope extends beyond the right, the image is overexposed, so shoot again at a faster shutter speed If the slope extends beyond the left, the image is underexposed, so shoot again at a slower shutter speed You may choose to take many shots of your subject at various shutter speeds, always maintaining the same f- stop This is called exposure bracketing

Auto Bracketing Your camera may have a custom function called auto bracketing that will do this work for you This function will automatically take the same shot in 1/2 or 1/3 stop increments for 2 full stops of light Before you finish your shoot be sure that at least one of your shots is exposed correctly and is in focus