ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING MUSEUMS (SUCCESSFULLY)

As a good art lover that you surely are, I bet that you belong to the group of those who visit museums or exhibition halls at least from time to time. And surely you don't go to them without your camera, because photographing museums is full of creative opportunities.

Whether photographing museums is something you hadn't considered until today, or something you already used to do, I'd like to offer you some tips so you can get the most out of your visit ? .

1. PREVIOUS PREPARATION

If it is not the first time you have visited a museum, it is possible that you have already experienced a fiasco upon arrival. Not all museums allow you to take pictures, or bring certain material.

PERMISSIONS

Check before approaching the museum, what is allowed to take and what is not, if it is allowed to use the flash, take a tripod or even take pictures. It is best that you consult their website so as not to be disappointed.

Take, for example, a part of the regulations for the Museo del Prado in Madrid:

In this case, you could photograph in 3 places in the museum. In some you won't be able to in any, and in some you won't have a problem, but you should know what to expect before you arrive ? .

PREPARATION OF THE MATERIAL

Once you know what you can and can't take with you, make sure you go with empty memory cards, fully charged batteries, and clean, undamaged lenses.

PHOTOS

Knowing where you are going and what the place is like is always a way to prepare yourself for better photos. For example, when deciding which objective/s to take.

2. THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT

In an ideal situation in which you could carry everything you wanted, this is the material that we would recommend.

Tripod to gain stability and sharpness.
Or monopod, if it is more comfortable for you.
Polarizing filter to eliminate reflections from surfaces.
A 35 or 50mm objective. These are the focal points that I think can work best for you indoors. A wide angle that allows you to obtain a general view of the space, and a medium focal length to photograph the elements of the museum.
The brighter your lens, the better, you'll need all the light you can get ;).
Batteries and memory cards.

3. THE BEST SETTINGS WHEN PHOTOGRAPHING MUSEUMS

The settings will depend a lot on the type of museum you are going to photograph, especially on the light and the space you have. There are museums with huge windows and others that are very dark. You will even see a lot of difference between the different rooms of the same museum. However, these are some recommendations that will help you in a matter of adjustments when photographing in a museum:

Activate the image stabilizer if you do not have a tripod. It will help you get sharper images.
Set a minimum shutter speed for the focal length you are using. Remember that a rough way to calculate it is 1/focal length=minimum shutter speed. Or, what is the same, if you have a 24mm, the minimum shooting speed will be above 24s ?
ISO : There is no fixed setting. It's always recommended that you work with as low an ISO as possible , but it's also a good idea to turn it up if you're in a dimly lit room to get a shake-free image.
Diaphragm opening: if you need light, open the diaphragm, as well as if you want to blur the background. If, on the other hand, you want an image with a good depth of field, you should close the diaphragm to values such as f/8, however, remember that you will have less available light to work with.
The white balance : you will surely find different sources of light, the natural light that enters through the windows may be combined with the artificial light that illuminates the works of art. In this case, it is important that you manually control the white balance so that the different shades of light do not play a trick on you.
Work in RAW mode: this will solve both having to worry about white balance and will help you edit light and shadow in image processing.
Move the histogram to the right: a slightly overexposed image is preferable to an underexposed or dark one. So if you have to choose between highlights and shadows, go towards the light ? you will have much better dynamic range in the scene and therefore better results. But without going overboard, because the areas are very burned, there is no editor to recover them ? .
If you work freehand, hold the camera correctly to gain stability.