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HELP – job on tomorow (taking pics of pics)
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Ok so here’s the deal by a mad set or circumstances I have to go to the office of the attorney jouranl to take pictures of all the past attorney generals. Here’s the kicker I have to take shots of the pictures on the wall (I can’t even take them down).
I know a huge amount will depend on the lighting, how they are displayed etc but what I’m wondering is how do I go about taking them, lol?
Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.
I’m not charging so I’m not under pressure on the results. However, the pictures, if it works will be included in a book being published at the end of the year.
I’m off to run a google search.
D.
So, the state lawyer wants you to breach copyright by copying work created by other people? Interesting! But then nothing that happens in this state should surprise us anymore. What they should actually do is track down the photographers that took the original images and ask them if they would contribute or sell rights to have their image published in a book. I wonder what would happen if you said to them that you wouldn’t do it because it is illegal to do so?
Thorsten
Given that the pictures date back to 1924 and are owned by the Office of the Attorney General my right (as granted by the owners of the image) to photograh the pictures is not in question.
Only how to take them remains to be answered, lol
In addition, the book is for charity and the Office of the Attorney will be acknowledged as the source.
I appreciate your input, and your concern, but it doesn’t really apply here.
I’ve seen your work on here here so I know you have some tips for me?
C’mon buddy throw a dog a bone.
D.
Quite possibly these pictures are behind glass?
To cut down on reflections,
a black backdrop on a stand, might be handy-
It’d need to be at least double the dimensions of the largest picture-Position the backdrop so that its filling the reflection in the glass, and that will make your life a lot easier-
A shift lens would be good-
(or some other arrangement that might alter the relationship between lens and sensor-)
but not essential-
geometry can always be rectified in ps at the expense of some pixels and definition-Sounds like an interesting project-
j
JB,
You know I was so worried about will I have enough light that I forgot I could have too much in the form of a reflection (although had considered this if I needed a flash).
I’m going to bring some back cloth, two sweeping brush hanndles and some gaffa tape to rig a backdrop for my mate to hold (just picture a home made banner from a soccer match for a idea, lol). Funny but I never thought of a backdrop for behind the camera rather than the subject.
Thanks for the tip.
D.
Obviously, you don’t want to use a flash, because of the reflection, so you’d need a fast lens and probably a tripod or monopod as well.
Random,
I’m hoping that there will be loads of light and that I’ll be able to shoot free hand with my 50mm 1.4. However, do i remember rightly that being that wide open can lead the picture to be soft and that therefore i should use 8-11 or does this not really matter.
This is my gear and I’ll bring everything as it all fits in one backpack.
Canon 350D (with battery grip)
Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Canon Speedlite 580EXThanks to everyone for ideas so far.
D.
Imagine wrote:
Random,
I’m hoping that there will be loads of light and that I’ll be able to shoot free hand with my 50mm 1.4. However, do i remember rightly that being that wide open can lead the picture to be soft and that therefore i should use 8-11 or does this not really matter.
This is my gear and I’ll bring everything as it all fits in one backpack.
Canon 350D (with battery grip)
Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Canon Speedlite 580EXThanks to everyone for ideas so far.
D.
I’d not attempt a job like that without a tripod. I’d also shoot at not less than f5.6. I always find that these places are really never suitable for taking the pics ……… there is always some annoying “something” that will cause problems like a window in the wrong place, too much light from one source, glass reflection, etc, etc. It sems you have many pitfalls here like not being able to take down the pics will make them very difficult to photograph.
One thing though, I’m surprised that Thorstons remarks were dismissed so easily. He is 400% RIGHT and be it for charity purposes or just for designer loo paper rolls the person who commisioned the illegal copying of these photographs is breaking the law and the book stops with the Atorney General. Not just me or Thorston saying this …….. its the way it is !
Copying photographs, reproducing them or allowing them to be copied for any purpose whatsoever is illegal.Even if the origional photographer is dead the copyright exists in some shape or form and the law was ammended and strengthened in 2000 just to solidify the whole copyright act.
A job like that could cost a photographer a lot of money and will damage his reputation. The pictures on the wall are owned by the Atorney General but the copyright is owned by the photographer who took the images and the Atorney General, the entire goverment and even the president cannot give anyone the right to copy these images.
Is it possible that the attorney general owns the copyright to the pictures?
As photographers it is very important to recognise the importance of copyright and I don’t think any self respecting photographer can dismiss those rights.If these issues are sorted I’d recommend using a tripod definitely and also a narrower aperture of f/8 or f/11 with your 50mm lens. Good luck.
GCP wrote:
I’d not attempt a job like that without a tripod. I’d also shoot at not less than f5.6.
That was going to be my tip too, though I was going to plump for suggesting an f8-ish aperture but sure, no less than f5.6 absolutely.
I’m a huge fan of the Benbo and highly recommend one if a tripod is on your wishlist, it’s unconventional and scores where a conventional tripod can’t deliver like a tight corner, narrow space, uneven surface etc.
I would choose the lens depending on the physical dimensions of the pic being photographed, as perspective and lens aberration would certainly account for some of the output.
You would generally see a better result with your 100mm f2.8 prime lens at f5.6 than using your 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 100mm, because the latter will be at it’s widest open aperture there, whereas the former would be stopped down from it’s widest, hence minimizing potential aberration. Notwithstanding the 2.8 is a prime yielding a higher overall quality.
Lens choice will also be determined by the space available to you – whether it’s a narow corridor, a large square hall, a lobby, etc – for distance to the subject and the space required for tripod plus you behind it.
And be careful of light sources too. Like, say, a large window with plenty of natural light from the left but a flourescent strip above to your right. Colour can be balanced in PP but the mix might cause an uneven exposure across the image, making one part brighter or harsher or duller, etc. Or just the large window from the left, giving it a gradual left-to-right drop in exposure. I might try to offset that with diffused fill flash and fix any colour balance in PP.
How large are the pics you’re photographing anyway?
The letter of the law is obviously an important consideration,
but the scenario outlined in the original post is a little bit special-
we are talking about Attorneys General through the history of the Free State and the Republic- political appointees all, and the photographers who made the portraits are, by extension, political appointees too-Do you really think they’ll be lining up to sue the Attorney General because their pictures are to be reproduced in some dry tome, with probably limited readership and circulation, published in the interests of charity?
Its not like they’re advertising Virgin Mobile here-
I can imagine there might be logistical difficulties in going through the dusty old ledgers to find the original photographers- but an official portrait, for a Government Appointee must surely come with some knowledge that that picture has been taken for the purposes of publication- I’m sure those pictures would have been published in the Law Society Newsletter or newspapers, or whatever, at the time of the appointment- No doubt, it was one of the reasons why the pictures were taken-
I take pictures for clients- and I’m not sure where they’re published- but that’s what they’re for- if I was to argue every time somebody reproduced my pictures, then I’m sure I wouldn’t be asked to do any more- But I don’t do pictures for advertising campaigns, which is the medium you’d need to be published in in order to be able to claim any kind of reasonable recompense-
The photographers were paid for the sitting, I’m sure in the full knowledge that the Office of the Attorney General would have full use of the pictures for any reasonable purpose- I don’t think anyone is planning on printing posters of these to hang on student’s walls.
If these were taken in the digital age ( and I’m sure some of them were) then there wouldn’t be any need to photocopy them- they’d just ask for the file to be emailed-
and I’m sure the photographer would comply- no questions asked-Try to track down the original photographer for some of these, and ask them to find and print the original negative, and it would be a logistical nightmare-
The points about copyright are very valid-
but the threats to a photographer’s reputation in this situation are a bit sinister-
its a digitization job, and whether they’re removed from the frame and photocopied, or copied some other way with less disruption, the responsibility here is with the employer and the publisher- in this case the office of the Attorney General.If the office junior was asked to run them through the photocopier, do you think the photographer would track them down to bring them to court to sue for damages? Or the organization that published them?
These are my opinions- just as valid as other opinions in this thread- but only opinions-
others may also make inaccurate claims about their interpretation of the law and preach it as gospel-
but thats all they are- inaccurate claims, on the basis of incomplete information.One point to consider though-
I wouldn’t be looking for a photo credit in this book unless I actually had a portrait in it-Good luck with the job,
and use a tripod-j
jb7 wrote:
Do you really think they’ll be lining up to sue the Attorney General because their pictures are to be reproduced in some dry tome, with probably limited readership and circulation, published in the interests of charity?
Gwan so Joseph, bet Darren’s enthusiasm just shot right up! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Just so long as he doesn’t post them on Flickr under a CC license. Meteor might be onto him :lol:
Thanks to everyone for responding some require more time than I have right now (as I’m practicing for tomorrow, lol).
However just to note that the we have investigated the legalites of reproducing the images (i’m a solicitor by trade) and we are good to go. The photographs, and the copyright applied to them, belong to the state as the pictures were taken by employees of the state. They were not engaged in their own capacity or “in a creative act” and as such their output belongs to the state.
I’ll respond in more detail when I get back from the long weekend.
Thanks for tips of the f stop etc.
D.
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