Preserving and sharing our cultural heritage through photography and online image sharing sites

1. Leaving a Legacy Worth More Than A Thousand Words

2. • Provide resources for
authors of online content
• Wikipedia
• Bloggers
• Informational websites

3. • Provide classroom materials for
teachers and students
• Provide materials for free online
university-level courseware
initiatives like M.I.T.’s Open
Courseware program

4. • Provide exposure to art and
history to a global audience
• Provide opportunities for
those physically or financially
unable to travel to experience
our shared cultural heritage

5. • Provide exposure of less
well-known art and artifacts
to researchers and the
general public
• Provide publicity to
museums and heritage sites
with limited budgets

6. 2 Extra Batteries & 24 Gb or
more of SD cards especially if
shooting in RAW format
Laptop or netbook with SD card
reader or USB compatible card
reader to backup images
Noise Reduction Software such
as Imagenomic Noiseware
Plugin for Photoshop/Elements
If traveling overseas, obtain
appropriate AC adapter(s) for
your planned destination(s) and
a power strip for hotel rooms
with limited available power
outlets
Basic Equipment
Black (not silver) camera capable of shooting
low noise images on high ISO settings (at least
ISO 1600 – 3200 – check DPReview noise tests
before purchasing; shoot test images after)
Accessories

7. If traveling overseas make sure your
passport is current and that you have
obtained any special visas needed.
Allow 6 – 8 weeks to get your passport
renewed if it is expired
British-governed and EU member
nations usually do not require visas
Order currency appropriate to your
destination from a bank – credit unions
cannot obtain foreign currency. (about
U.S. equivalent of $400-$500 .) May
take up to a week
A couple of days before departure, call
each credit card service center for cards
you are taking and notify them of your
departure and return dates and
countries you will be visiting
Pack dark, non-reflective clothing for
gallery shoots
Preparing for the shoot
Old Fisherman or Dying Seneca 2nd century
CE Roman copy of Hellenistic original Black
Marble and Alabaster

8. Check photography policy on
website usually under
“Planning your visit”
Most:
No Flash
No Tripods or Monopods
No photography of traveling
exhibits
Sometimes:
No photography of objects on
loan from another institution
(Must check loan status on
each ID card before
photographing object)
At The Museum
Getty Villa in Malibu, California is
designed after the Villa dei Papiri buried
by Vesuvius in Herculaneum in 79 CE

9. Be courteous to
other visitors!
Don’t block view of
an object for more
than a couple of
seconds
Move to another
display if large
group is clustered
around an object
Museum
Etiquette
Fresco of a Seated Woman playing a Kithara from
the reception hall of the villa of P Fannius Synistor
at Boscoreale Italy Late Roman Republican Period
50-40 BCE

10. Set ISO to highest value with acceptable noise
level
Set camera to Shutter speed priority and select
shutter speed you know you can hand hold
without camera shake.
Set aperture to F 5.0. If too dark, open
aperture a little (lifesize human sculpture will
be within depth of field at F3.2 with short focal
length lens)
If still too dark, adjust shutter speed 1 stop
lower and use delayed shutter mode (2
seconds) or burst mode
Wrap camera strap in figure 8 around your arm
between elbow and wrist for stability or use
exhibit barrier posts or door frames for camera
rests
Coping with Low Light
Putto in St Peter’s Basilica
photographed handheld at ISO 1600
for 1/18th second with Fujifilm Finepix
200 EXR

11. Frame image and check Live View for
reflections
Place lens directly against glass
enclosure if possible or
Position lens at 45 degree angle from
exhibit glass enclosure
Shift Left or Right to avoid reflection
Extend arms upward then tip camera
down slightly
Block reflection with your body or recruit
friend or other visitor to block reflection
Position reflection in non-detailed area
that can be edited out later
Zoom in on detail of the object
Dealing with Reflections
Breastplate engraving on armor of
Emperor Ferdinand I King of the
Romans, German 1549 CE

12. Take closeups of:
Hands or Footwear
Hairstyle
Clothing
Facial Expressions
Symbolic Objects held by the
subject or included in the sculpture
Think instructionally!
Hands of Boxer Resting 1st
century BCE Roman copy of 3rd
century BCE Greek original by
Apollonius, Bronze

13. Native American and Buffalo on the Washington Monument in
Eakins Oval near the Philadelphia Museum of Art Rudolf
Siemering Bronze 1897 CE
Look around the
display gallery and
think about object
relationships.
Look for opportunities
to juxtapose
related objects!

14. Remember Rule of Thirds
Focus on the eyes of people and
animals
Leave space for eyes to “look
into”
Flex knees if necessary to angle
camera upward toward the face
Place objects of emphasis in the
foreground
Basic Composition
Antinous Ludovisi 18th century copy
of known portraits, Carrara Marble,
Palazzo Altemps, Rome,

15. Photographs of 2-D artwork
considered “slavish copies” and not
copyrightable but useful for
instructional illustrations
Stand back 10-15 feet then zoom in
to eliminate surface glare on oil
from nearby light sources
Meter then adjust EV to – ¾ to
improve color saturation
Take closeups of individual painting
details
Paintings & 2-D
artwork

16. Small items seldom
included in museum
catalogues
Use Macro Mode
Place lens against the
glass to minimize glare
Remember depth of field
(usually shallow) and
focus just behind surface
nearest to the camera
Don’t forget to
photograph the ID card
before moving on to the
next object
Don’t overlook
small items!
Etruscan Gold Grappolo Earrings late 5th-3rd century
BCE, Dallas Museum of Art

17. Scout locations ahead if possible to
determine light angles at different
times of the day
Side lighting will bring out more
textures and add drama with
shadows
Set aperture to the smallest setting
(highest number) for maximum
depth of field
In bright sun, meter then set EV
from -3/4 to -1 to improve color
saturation
Take both horizontal and vertical
shots – most book and publications
covers are portrait orientation
Get low to gain more dynamic
perspective
Shoot 180 degree video panoramas,
too!
In the Field
The Renaissance rises from the ruins of
ancient Rome in the Forum Romanum

18. Boats named for King Henry VIII’s queens at Hever Castle,
ancestral home of Anne Boleyn
Shooting for
Publication
Include a
combination of:
Overall context shots
Medium range shots
of portions of a
structure or object
Closeups of details
Look for title shots
with local signage
5 – 7 images for an
average 3-page
magazine article

19.  Post Production Workflow
 Average Camera Raw Adjustments
 Exposure adjustment if needed
 White Balance adjustment if needed
 Fill Light if needed
 Blacks +12
 Contrast +30
 Clarity +21
 Vibrance +19
 Sharpness +70
 Radius 1.5
 Details +30
 Noise Reduction – Luminance +68-79 as
revealed by 1:1 examination
Then:
Focus Magic (if needed)
Noiseware (usually
between 33 & 50%)
Topaz Adjust for detail
enhancement, HDR
effects (if desired),
additional exposure
adjustments and
vignettes (if desired)

20. • Flickr
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Blogger
• Pinterest
• YouTube

21. Can specify Facebook and Twitter accounts in Flickr
account settings
Connect Twitter to Facebook through Twitter profile
settings
Connect Blog to Twitter with Twitterfeed.com

22. • Flickr (http://www.flickr.com)
• Free account – 300 Mb per month/may include 2
videos per month
• Pro account – Unlimited space $24.95 per year

23. Under your account – Privacy and Permissions tab

24. http://www.flickr.com/tools/

26. • Titles
• Descriptions
• Tags

27. • Include Key Words
• Eye catching – Think newspaper headline
• If you tweet to Twitter or post image to Facebook
the image title is used as the linking phrase

28. • Can use some HTML
• Include location information
such as venue, nearest city,
state or province, country
• Include desired attribution
either here or in set or
collection description

29. • Type of image (portrait, landscape, seascape, abstract)
• Subject
• Synonyms – animal, mammal, predator, cat, feline, etc.
• Gender
• Age – infant, child, youth, old, ancient
• Location– site or venue, nearest city, state or province, country,
nation, continent
• Time reference – year or century or historical period such as
Roman Republic or Roman Imperial Period
• Color
• Artist if known
• Culture
• Composition such as marble, granite, earthenware, lapis lazuli

30. Replacing a Photo automatically
uploads a FULL size image to
the Flickr Server.
If you are licensing with Creative
Commons, resize image locally
before performing a Replace
action.

35. Windows users: Windows Live Movie Maker
Apple users: iMovie
• Select series of images
• Apply transitions between images
• Add soundtrack
• Create title frame and closing credits

36. Limited to 90 seconds or less
Limited to 500 Mb in size for Pro Users and 150 Mb for Free
Accounts
HD video may be uploaded but only Pro Users can play back a
video in HD
If background music has been applied, you must attribute your
music source in video description or ending credits

37. 15 minutes maximum length unless you become a
“partner”
Full HD support
No depictions of animal abuse, drug use, underage
drinking or smoking or bomb construction
No gratuitous violence
No copyright infringement

40. • Images must be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use in Wikipedia
articles
• Wikimedia Commons requires unrestricted Creative Commons licensing
although you may specify Attribution required & Share-Alike required
for derivatives produced
• Upload 800X600 lower resolution images to Wikimedia Commons to
preserve all rights on high resolution images
• Images can be used in either Wikipedia articles or Wikibooks

44. Available from: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/