CHAPTER THREE

Taking the Picture

Most people think automatic cameras are easier to use than manual cameras. Surprisingly, the totally manual camera provides the simplest and most versatile way to photograph artwork. Both manual and automatic cameras will work for artwork photography. You’ll need a gray card, available from professional photo shops and some amateur suppliers. The gray coloring, referred to as 18 percent gray, is a uniform standard for measuring light levels. The average tonal values of most scenes in photography end up somewhere near 18 percent gray, so camera manufacturers use this value to calibrate the light meter in your camera.