best setting for Canon 18-55 lens for photos of paintings

[neuroanatomist]

My recommendation:

• use a tripod, level and make sure the camera is square with the wall and centered on the painting
• use mirror lockup, and a cable release or self-timer to reduce vibration
• ~40mm
• f/8
• ISO 100
• distance somewhere between 10" (the minimum focus distance for the lens) and however far back you need to be to fill the frame

I recommend 40mm because zoom lenses (and especially consumer-level ones) usually perform best in the middle of the zoom range, not at the ends. A narrow aperture gives better performance with most lenses (the 18-55mm does poorly with the aperture wide open), but too narrow an aperture and you lose sharpness due to diffraction. For that lens and camera, f/8 is a good compromise. The lower the ISO the less noise, ISO 100 is the lowest your camera will go.


Make sure the paintings are well lit, with even lighting, off-angle to reduce reflections.


Good luck!

[Hillel]

thanks so much for your ideas. Very helpful and will give us a good starting point. Over time we can experiment with the lens, but your advice gives us the start we need.

[barba]

I would also consider your lighting pretty carefully. On color, use the custom white balance function on a few test frames. I would not rely on the auto white balance.

[neuroanatomist]

I would not rely on the auto white balance.

Goodness no! Shoot RAW, and once the lighting is set up, put a gray card in the spot where the paintings will be and snap a shot. When processing the RAW images, apply a click-white-balance from the gray card to the other images.