by Joseph T. Sinclair
Taking photos in art museums? What great fun! Many paintings and other works of art have not only artistic appeal but also rich saturated colors that dazzle or subtle muted colors that beguile. A photographer’s delight! You can use the photos of such art as you would any other photos (e.g., wallpaper, website decor, Facebook page, email, photo website, etc) including showing friends and family what you saw at the museum.
You can even print your art photos large and use them as posters. I had a 16 x 20 photo printed at Costco recently for just a few bucks. Beautiful!
I went with some friends to San Francisco’s DeYoung Museum. It never crossed my mind to take art photos. We went to the top-floor observatory to get some panoramas of the city, a typical tourist photo shoot.
Then we entered the museum, specifically the section featuring early Americana. It’s a fabulous collection. It suddenly occurred to me that I stood in the middle of an outstanding photo op. What a surprise! So much to photograph. I went crazy shooting.
Here are some of my phone camera shots from the DeYoung.
Not only paintings provide you with an opportunity to take some attractive photos but sculptures can make great pictures, too, particularly if you shoot them against a dark lifeless background.
You can shoot bas relief sculpture just like paintings.
Sometimes it takes close cropping to turn a 3D object d’art into an imposing photo.
First, before you have fun, make sure it’s OK to take photos. Some museums allow photo taking. Some don’t. They each have their reasons. Respect the rules to avoid an awkward embarrassment.
Are art galleries the same as museums? Sure, as long as they allow photographs. Again, ask before you shoot.
When it comes to art shows, however, you may have trouble getting permission. Most art shows allow photographs, but some artists don’t, particularly painters and photographers. After all, the artists participate to sell their art, not to have people duplicate their art with photos.
Note: There’s the issue of copyrights. I’ll cover that in a post someday. Suffice to say here, I try to avoid photographing anything that might be copyrighted including works of art. But anything created before the mid-1930’s is public domain.
Then too, there’s issue of etiquette. You don’t want to disturb other people’s enjoyment of a museum or gallery. Don’t use flash. Photograph discretely only those artworks that catch your fancy, and keep your phone in your pocket the rest of the time.
Alas, I wish I could follow my own advice. I get carried away with the fun of shooting and likely disturb others. But try your best to be discrete and look apologetic. Others will be more forgiving.
The actual photo techniques for shooting artworks will be the subject for a future blog post, but you don’t need the refined techniques to give it a try. Remember, you can always check your work by viewing your photographs on the screen of your phone—one of the great benefits of a digital camera. If you didn’t get a good shot, try, try again.
Have some fun and acquire some delightful images. Get out to your nearest art museum, art gallery, or art show and shoot, shoot, shoot.
