We all learned how to shoot artwork back in the days of film, and unless you take a good look at why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’re likely still using the same methods.  But here’s the thing.  Our tools have changed.

First, let’s talk about the file size and how that relates to the frame we’re shooting.  At 300ppi, the file from a Nikon D800, for example, measures out at about a 16″ x 24″.  Even the little D5000, at 180ppi, figures out to around that.  I’m going to just keep it simple, and standardize on a 16×20 frame across cameras and platforms, but here’s the point:  Most DSLRs, today, will give you around 16×20″ at 300ppi, so for even the most conservative of skeptics, you can make the case that, at 16″ x 20″, the camera is making a file that is working at 100%.

Now, how does that apply to our technique?  Given the ability to stitch images together into a seamless single file, it changes everything about what we can do.  Let’s say we want to reproduce art at 100% with our DSLR, we have to shoot a 16″ x 20″ frame.  If you do it the way you’ve always done it, then you set up a big painting, light the whole thing, and then move the camera around, carefully keeping it square, and at the same distance, and then merge the frames together.  But there’s another option – if you do it using an x-y device, then it’s a whole different story.  Using some sort of x-y easel, you can keep the camera stationary and consistent, and simply step and move the art.  You only have to light one small area: the 16×20″ frame.

This is a lesson learned from my experience with the Cruse Synchron system.  The real secret to the Cruse, in spite of the many limitations of it, is the fact that it takes a sample from a very small slice of the image at any given time and the camera is stationary – the work moves through the sample area (shown in the graphic above).  Using an x-y easel lets us do this with virtually any camera.

What exactly is an x-y easel?  It’s a simple easel that allows you to move a platen up and down, and side to side – on an x and y axis – much like a CNC machine tool moves.  It is precise and repeatable, and ultimately, pretty simple.  The camera frame remains static.  The work moves through the frame.

This is all well and good, but what about the artist’s vision?

If you extend the example out to that conversation, there’s an interesting observation.  When an artist is standing in front of a painting, brush in hand, arm extended, guess what their field of vision is?  You guessed it…  about 16″ x 20″.  Capturing the painting in 16″ x 20″ sections is “seeing” the work just as the artist sees it when creating it.  This is probably the most fundamental and important point…  of course we stand back to appreciate a painting in entirety, but it’s composed of a much more intimate view – created in parts, if you will, and that’s how we capture it.

The x-y Easel changed everything about how we could work, coupled with digital tools like color management, field-equalizing and file merging software.  Read all about the x-y Easel here.