5 Tips for Photographing a Museum

5 Tips for Photographing a Museum

Lines of Instagram-crazed art fans circled the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden this spring to get the hottest ticket in Washington D.C. Toting phones and cameras, the record-breaking 160,000 visitors arrived for the mesmerizing polka dot paintings and trippy instalment rooms of this much-hyped “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors” exhibition installations in Washington, D.C..

National Geographic Your Shot photo community attracted only few of these fans of the Japanese artist, to get a photograph walk before the museum opened to the audiences. For people who missed the event, have a look at a number of the top pointers for leading travel photography in museums. These five tips will help bring your museum photographs to a different level, wherever you go.

Bring a lens, possibly two

All set to get a photo adventure through a local museum? Before grabbing every lens and camera that you have, consider how much of the gear you truly want to carry. Try packing just a single lens, possibly two, such as something little such as a 35mm or 24-70mm. No need for that bulky 300mm on this excursion. Make certain to check for any photography constraints of the museum prior to getting started. Most museums have a no flash coverage when photographing artwork, plus you don’t want to use flash anyway as there is the potential for reflections on the photos due to the  acrylic showcases. You don’t want to get asked to leave because you wanted to liven up the artwork using a camera flash.

Look for the folks

Watch how visitors are interacting with or viewing the artwork. Anyone can picture a famous painting on a wall, but look for more interesting compositions. By focusing on the people in the scene, the picture takes on a life of its own. You never know what interesting or funny results that you may get.

Photograph the design of the Museum

Sometimes the buildings which house the art can be intriguing works of art themselves. Before stepping inside the museum, study the design of this building. Locate an interesting perspective and attempt to capture the character of the structure. This may involve getting low on the floor or photographing from throughout the street. Try to work the whole location until you create a photograph you’re delighted with.

View the light

Art exhibitions always have the ideal setting with some gorgeous light to compliment the showcase display systems. Whether it is the big windows with natural light flowing through, or only the overhead lighting supplied by the museum itself. Watch the way the light falls onto the art, and then write some nice exposures.

Don’t picture the artwork

Sure, everybody goes to museums for inspiration or to be wowed by amazing artwork. Do not just picture the paintings or sculptures. Find something interesting Going on in the area and add it to the framework, you can Google search for a Picture of the Mona Lisa, make something that’s all your own.

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