Photographing documents

[Denis]

I have the chance to interview a 93 year old former WAAF who has many documents relating to an old wartime airfield that I historically research . Using my D3000 Nikon, what or rather how, is the best way to go about it?

Should I use the kit 18-55 lens or the prime 35mm? what settings, ect as I will probably have just one chance at doing this, so I dont want to f....*ahem*  .... err... screw it up!

[colinb]

Dennis I would use the prime but does the kit lens have VR or do you have a tripod? 

 

have you anything you can use at a suitable angle to place each document on, while  the camera is mounted on a tripod? You could then use either the timer or remote shutter release. This would help remove any camera movement especially if the lighting is not too good. Might be an idea to use live view to ensure a good focus?

[Denis]

Cheers Colin,

I do have a couple of tripods that will angle sufficiently, a remote but no live view. And yes the 18-55 has VR, but the prime has not.

[colinb]

Cheers Colin,

I do have a couple of tripods that will angle sufficiently, a remote but no live view. And yes the 18-55 has VR, but the prime has not.

 

then I would certainly try the 18-55, I find my vr lens really does take a sharp picture.

[JHFoto]

As above but if you are going to use the camera on a tripod, for added accuracy use mirror lock up or  on my Nikon 5300 I have a 2 sec delay on the shutter which eliminates mirror vibration. good luck.........

[ChrisLumix]

Also, if the camera is on a tripod and the documents are on a fixed surface beneath it, you should use manual focus (get it set right for the first document, then don't touch it). A reasonably small aperture, e.g. f8 or f11 would give you good DOF in the event some documents have folds or are different thicknesses.

Edited November 2, 2014 by ChrisLumix

[FUJI]

Amazing as it might seem to the more technical photographer, I discovered that my Nokia 1020 smartphone camera more than adequate for document recording.

In my attic, I have a very old photocopy of an eighteenth century map, the very large original was photocopied in A4 segments, these were then cut up to stick to 4 ft square of hardboard......this was done back in the 1980s

I was asked by a local historian for a copy, but not really knowing just how to set up either my Sony DSLR or my Panasonic GX7, I remembered that my phone has a 41mp camera.

I set the map in front of a north facing window, added a little fill light from directly above ( fluorescent tube), propped the large hardboard mounted map on to a chair.....then took a series of shots, hand held.

The best if these, were truly amazing, every tiny bit of detail and text were recorded exceptionally sharply, all so easy to see and read......I can't post a sample here because of copyright.

Those JPEG pics can be enlarged to over A3 without loss of detail.......I was truly impressed.

If you have a decent smartphone camera give it a try.

I will post a demo shot from my phone shortly, so you can see what I mean, bearing in mind that I will be posting a reduced for the web JPEG.

FUJI

Edited November 2, 2014 by FUJI

[Black Pearl]

Both lenses will introduce distortions to the subject you are photographing so bare this in mind - ideally you should 'correct' them when you process the RAW files.

 

On that subject the D3000 also lacks auto lateral chromatic aberration correction so if you are familiar with shooting in RAW and dealing with the files I would strongly suggest you do so as CA's are going to be an issue.

 

Once you stop down to f8-f11 there is little or no different in the sharpness of either lens so personally I would use the zoom as it will allow for easier framing should the documents be different sizes - yes you can move the tripod but once you get it all levelled then a quick twist of a zoom barrel is far simpler. Give your self a little space around the framing so you can correct files and crop with a little bit of forgiveness. The trick is to get the tripod/camera aligned with your subject so one side/edge isn't out of focus. Stopping down will help with minor offsets but that won't stop geometric distortions (think what happens when you point your camera up at a tall building) so a little time spent at the start will make life easier.

 

If your tripod is sturdy then switch off the VR as you aren't meant to use it with the camera on a tripod - use the delayed release (self timer) to let any user induced camera movements settle and you will get biting sharp results.

 

Auto focus will be far more consistent than manual focus with your camera as the pentamirror viewing system is next to useless for accurate manual control - there is no Live View function on the D3000 so you're stuck with the viewfinder.

 

Make sure you use the lowest ISO (100 in the case of the D3000) and make sure you don't have the Auto ISO turned on.

 

Use manual exposure and set it up by metering from a grey card - if you don't have on to hand use the back of your hand, because if you meter from the white paper it will skew the exposure. Once set leave it be unless the lighting is changing for some reason as differences in the paper won't matter to the overall exposure. 

 

As to the lighting keep it natural and try to keep it even - a room with bright but diffused lighting will be fine but don't mix natural and artificial light as the colour temperatures are different and your WB will be all over the place. Don't worry about WB if you are shooting RAW as you can set it in your software and apply the same settings to every shot for consistency. Again if you do have access to a grey card then the test shots for your exposure will make ideal WB reference files when processing. 

[FUJI]

Here you go....

This was literally a snap shot, taken just now, in the same conditions as the map described above, if you look closely you will see that I have used the mounted map as a backing board to my subject, a draft handwritten letter from the 1980s.

Literally taken, hand held with my phone, emailed to my iPad, resized for posting here, using the ever useful....Image Resizer App.

If you view this on an iPad, then enlarge as much as possible you will see the detail recorded, including a tiny portion of the old map described above.

Set up with far more care, a good smartphone camera is all you require, just keep the camera parallel with the subject to avoid distortions.....there are mini tripods for phones available also.

FUJI

[ChrisLumix]

Auto focus will be far more consistent than manual focus with your camera as the pentamirror viewing system is next to useless for accurate manual control - there is no Live View function on the D3000 so you're stuck with the viewfinder.

 

Ah, I hadn't realised this. The advantages of shooting with a compact removes this difficulty!

[Denis]

Thank you all for the info supplied, No smart phone Fuji, so camera it will be.

 

BP thanks for the very detailed explanation, I just need you to clarify the 'metering from a grey card' a little. not ever having done this can you describe in basic terms how this is done? I understand and have a grey card printed in the back cover of a photographic magazine I purchased recently. I take it that the metering should be set to spot but how do I store that or do I have to meter every time prior to taking a photo? Sorry to appear dumb, but this is the reason I'm not a 'photographer'

[Black Pearl]

So long as the grey card fills the frame you can use any metering mode - set the camera to manual exposure, set your shutter speed appropriate to an aperture of say f11 from the meter readings you get off the grey card and leave it alone after that.

Simply swap out each document and take a picture - all the exposures should be the same regardless of the subject matter.

[Denis]

All images turned out Ok, thank you for your help & advice