Art Reproduction
Art may be photographed in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of your reproduction:
- Exhibition prints: full size, or reduced, in limited or open editions
- Documentation prints or transparencies for archives
- Media: catalogs, press
- Web or email: display, gallery submissions
We also photograph installations and 3-D artwork and we are available to document openings & events.
At Upstate Light the heart of our repro studio is our Sinar™ large format camera with the Better Light™ scanning back. With precise Schneider™ optics, digital focus confirmation and exact optical alignment tools we capture the finest detail of your original artwork. Lighting is by ceramic HID Northlight™ copy lights which are filtered for harmful UV and when appropriate, cross-polarized to manage reflective surfaces including acrylics. For works on paper up to 30 x 40 inches we employ a vacuum easel to hold the work flat and ensure perfect focus. We maintain a color-managed workflow which minimizes the need for color correction.
For installation views in your gallery, or for 3-D objects, the Sinar offers all the ordinary advantages of the view camera including the ability to precisely control the plane of focus and the ability to capture wide angle views without distortion or converging verticals.
At Upstate Light we remain committed to our state of the art film scanning studio, catering to fine art photographers. But for art reproduction, in fact for accurately photographing anything that is stationary, the Better Light scanning back is superior to even large format film in every way:
- Detail: A 4 x 5 transparency can be scanned to about 400 MB on our Imacon Flextight 949. The Better Light can produce a 618 MB file. However the Better Light image has no film grain and is virtually free of the digital noise inherent in all scanned film images. Bear in mind that a 10 megapixel camera can only produce a 60 MB file, and even a professional 39 megapixel one-shot medium format camera back produces only a 234 MB file. Though our Better Light scanning back fits in a 4 x 5 camera, the information it captures is comparable to a drum-scanned 8 x 10 transparency.
- Color Accuracy: The camera is precisely profiled for our lighting setup, and the inherent color variations in film manufacturing and processing are eliminated.
- Turnaround time: Most jobs can be completed "while you wait." You leave with your original art and your finished images on DVD.
- Price: The cost of film, film processing, film scanning, retouching, and color correction is eliminated. You pay only for our time in the studio and the burning of your discs.
Other Considerations:
You may need 35 mm slides or 4 x 5 transparencies.
Though we don't have the facility to prepare film from digital files in-house, we can direct you to a lab that does, or if you prefer we will gladly send your files out for quick turnaround.
Your art may be too large, too heavy, or otherwise impractical to bring to our studio.
Our equipment is portable and we are available for location work throughout the Northeast.
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