Photographs of photographs was the name of the game for documenting Berlin-based Artist Cindie Cheung’s latest exhibition ‘A Selection of Photographs from 1995 to 1997’ at TG Gallery in Nottingham.
It is a task that would seem relatively straight-forward but once considering all the factors that feed into representing the work as true and precise as possible, it becomes an operation.
Firstly is creating a lighting environment that evenly lights the work as naturally as possible but avoids all reflections, while also giving depth to the frames. Using my trusty Rotolight Aeos set up I was able to achieve a soft spread of light. Positioning the lights at a 45 degree angle towards the work eliminated most reflections, joined with making sure no other light was entering the space (god bless gaff tape). Got really nice shadows too, bonus!
Secondly, and most importantly is colour-matching the works to the actual photographs because as smart as modern mirrorless cameras are they don’t always reproduce colours completely accurately.
Thirdly is careful getting rid of any dust or foreign objects on the photographs or behind the glass with a bit of gentle retouch.
Lastly is exporting the images large and detailed enough (TIFFs) that they can be archived to then be used in a multitude of applications for the future.
And there you have it, some sweet documentation of some great photographs.
