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Getting Started

1. Turn on the Mac and log onto the computer.

2. If this is your first time logging into the digitization studio computer, follow the instructions in Appendix B to map the M: and P: Drives.

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Getting Started/Setup 

Arrange with the Museum Registrar to select and pull objects for photography. Try to photograph at least five objects per session. Once the registrar has identified and pulled the objects for photography, they will place the objects on a cart in room 632 for retrieval.  

Retrieve cart of materials and transport to the basement photography studio; be sure that the cart also includes object supports, an extra pair of nitrile gloves, an archival tray, and acid free tags. 

Allow for 30 minutes at minimum for set-up. 

Supplies 

It is recommended to gather the following supplies prior to setup: 

• PhaseOne digital camera and camera digital back. 

• Hahnel Twin V Pro battery charger and battery 

• Tripod 

• 3 Profoto studio lights 

• 1000-watt Main light  

• 500-watt Fill light 

• 500-watt Kick light 

• Plexiglass sweep (for glass object photography) 

• Backdrop (white and focus grey) 

• Nitrile gloves 

• Object supports (foam and cotton beanbag weights) 

• Archival tray  

• Acid free tags 

• Pony clamps 

Laptop and Software 

1. Plug the laptop into the network cable (See Figure 1). This will allow the laptop to connect to the network drives. 

2. Turn on the Mac laptop and log onto the computer using your Institute credentials. 

3. Open Capture One and create a new

...

3. session 

...

1. Select “New

...

1. Session” at the bottom of the pop-up menu

...

1. or click on the Library tab in the top left menu of the opened software. Next to the session name, click the “+” icon to the right and “Add a New Session”. (See Figure 2) 

4. Name your session

...

4. according to the following file name format: 

 last name_year_month_day 

5. Save the session to your account’s local Pictures folder, as your session must run and save locally

...

5. on

...

5. this machine. 

6. Make sure that you do

...

6. not have “Open in a new window” ticked and click “OK.

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Open Shutter Control software.

1. When the box appears, click “select lens” on top and wait. The Apo-Digital 5, 6/72 L-62° lens name should appear.

2. Set shutter control settings to 1/60 s shutter speed and f8 aperture size.

3. Check that the red “release” button is greyed out and “C1 Control” doesn’t have an X through it. If it has an X, click the icon to make it disappear.

Prepare the Room

1. Turn on the lightbox by switching on the “Power” switch on the black box.

2. Determine if you need the pneumatic book cradle:

   1. If yes – Turn on the air compressor. Switch to “Auto” and turn the red valve in front of the compressor to “On” (facing the black pressure valve). You should hear a soft swish. Remove the top of the copy stand.

3. Remove the lens cap.

4. Turn off the lights in the room.

5. Set camera height according to desired image resolution (300, 400 or 600 DPI). Use the remote control to raise or lower the camera lens, positioning the bracket above the tape marker on the copy stand for your chosen resolution.

Preflight

1. In Capture One, navigate to the Preflight and Production menu.

2. Select Window > Workspace > CH Reflective – Preflight + Production.

3. Troubleshooting: If the CH workspaces don’t show up, go to Capture One + Licenses to switch from DB to Pro, re-entering the login info.

4. From the menu on the left-hand side, Select the Tools menu by clicking the hammer icon.

5. In Camera menu, choose “Phase One IQ3 80MP” in the drop-down menu if it reads “No camera connected.”

6. The camera is in landscape mode: place your item on the copy stand and center below the lens accordingly.

7. Place the Golden Thread color target next to the item Only handle the color target by its edges to avoid fingerprints.

Focus

1. Under the Tools Tab, click the icon of the movie camera in a circle in the Camera menu. This will put you in Live View for the shutter.

2. In the Shutter Control box (a separate window), click “Open” to open the shutter.

3. On the top navigation within live view mode, click the RGB box to turn off color view. It is recommended to use live view in black and white.

4. Resize the Live View window if necessary.

5. Double-click on a detailed area of the image to zoom in for better focusing.

6. Manually adjust the lens to focus. Watch the live view on the monitor. Take your time.

   1. Note: There is a 1-2 second delay to reflect the image.

   2. Note: it looks sharper in the actual exposure than it does in live view.

7. Optional: Turn on the Focus Meter. The main (white-colored) meter peaks at, or occasionally close to, optimal focus, leaving an orange-colored marker at the high point.

   1. A secondary, orange-colored fine-focus meter is used to verify the measurement (located in the main meter’s frame). Continue to adjust the focusing ring with care, until the secondary fine-focus meter reaches its maximum point.

   2. When optimal focus is achieved, the outer orange fine focus meter encloses the main white bar, which then changes color to orange.

   3. The Focus Meter helps with finetuning but check the final focus with the eye.

8. When you’re happy with the focus, hit “Close” in the Shutter Control box to close the lens. Then, close out of Live View.

9. Take a test exposure one of three ways:

   1. Click large circular button (in the left-hand menu in the Camera: Phase One IQ3 80MP box)

   2. Keyboard short-cut [Cmd]+[K]

   3. Tap black foot pedal at the imaging station.

10. Check the Base Characteristics box after the first shot. Adjust the following settings as necessary:

11. Zoom in by scrolling the mouse button to check if the item is in focus. Repeat steps 7-9 until focus is crisp.

a. Note: If you change the height of your object or camera, you will need to reset the focus.

Resolution

1. Double check that you have the minimum number of pixels required. You can downsize later, but you never want to upscale and add pixels that aren’t there.

2. Select the “Ruler” tool. Click and drag it over one inch of the color target ruler. The dpi

will display in

the box on the left-hand side under the Capture Resolution Ruler menu. Set the Length

to “1 inch.”

a. For first time users, to add the Capture Resolution Ruler tool, go to View > Customize Toolbar > Capture Resolution Ruler, and drag the tool to dock anywhere in the Tool Tabs section.

1. Type letter H to go back to “hand” tool at any time. Double-click on the screen to

return to 100%

view.

1. You may have to re-adjust the focus after attaining the desired resolution.

White Balance

1. Check the white balance.

a. Type W (shortcut) or select the eye dropper icon from the top center

navigation bar.

Click anywhere in patch 15 (grey).

b. Then click and hold on the eye drop menu and select “Add Color Readout.”

c. Click anywhere in White Patch (number 10).

d. Troubleshoot: If the Color Readout numbers are not reading against the Golden Thread (for example, the numbers are way too high because it’s reading in RGB), go to View menu on top navigation and select Lab Readout > Golden Thread (standard).

e. Troubleshoot: If the white balance checker is being buggy, delete and add a new color readout via the top eye drop menu, or use the eyedropper and hover over the target.

1. Adjust exposure until color readout reads near (slightly under) the target value 97.06.

a. A color readout of 90 would be an acceptable low for 97 because after applying the LCC (step 3) this number will be higher. Never be more than 5 numbers lower than target value, and you never want to go over the target number.

b. Bracket your shot: turn the

Bracket switch

on the black lightbox to control

light allowance.

c. Rock the B switch which

changes the

light input at greater steps

d. Last resort, adjust the f-stop in

Shutter Control

increasing by 1/10 of an

increment each

time, but try to stay close to f8.

e. “Bleed the strobe” after every

light adjustment

by hitting the illuminated “Test”

button.

1. Create the Lens Cast Correction (LCC) –

(Commonly

called Light Calibration)

a. Remove the item from the copy

stand if fragile.

b. Place white foam board over the Golden Thread on the table and turn Bracket switch on the black power box down two stops. Bleed strobe.

c. Take a picture of the white foam board.

d. Click “Create LCC” button in LCC menu on the left-hand side.

e. Unclick the boxes for Dust Removal and Wide-Angle Lens Movements.

f. Color cast and uniform light should be checked.

g. Click “Create.” An image marked LCC should appear at the top as a grey image.

h. Raise bracket power back up two stops. Bleed strobe.

i. Remove the white foam board and replace item. Take a picture with the Golden Thread target.

j. Check white balance. Applying the LCC will raise the Color Readout number by a few digits. If you’re now reading over the target value (97.06), follow steps 2a-2d to adjust the exposure again.

1. Use the Exposure tool in the software (left menu) .1 or .05 for tiny calibration adjustments to the f-stop to fine tune the white balance readout.

2. When color readout is approximately 97.06, click “set” next to eye dropper (located in the “Camera” menu).

a. Note: If you make any changes to the shot, such as moving the camera up or down, you will need to reset the LCC.

1. Shoot an image to verify LCC has been created. A square icon on the bottom right of images means that the LCC is being applied.

Taking Production Shots

1. Navigate to the Production menu.

2. Set your file name by clicking the ellipsis (three dots) after “Next Capture Naming.”

a. In Preset dropdown menu, select “Name and 3 Digit Counter”

b. In Format bar, insert an underscore symbol between “Name” and “3 Digit Counter”

c. Select OK.

1. In “Name” field, enter the items bib number, accession number, or other identifier.

a. Note: To reset the Capture Counter to “001,” click on the ellipses next to the “Help” (?) icon to expand the menu and select “Reset Capture Counter.”

1. Confirm the multi-file icon in the top left menu is highlighted orange to link all images

for batch

adjustments.

1. Begin imaging.

Loose Material

1. Select all images and crop using the Auto Crop function.

a. In the Auto Crop menu, apply the following settings.

Method: Loose Material

Straighten: Pick the straightest edge of your object.

Padding: 50-75 px

b. Select “On Crop” box.

c. Click “Auto Crop.”

d. Auto-rotation will have straightened all photos and should automatically crop out the Golden Thread target. Note: If auto crop and straighten are not working, try manually adjusting the crop area to include more space around the object, then click “Auto Crop” again.

e. Manually change the crop on the first image to keep the Golden Thread in the first photo only for a batch.

f. If the crop doesn’t catch,

there may not

enough contrast between the

item and the

background. Use the Levels

tool to change

the contrast. (If Levels tool

isn’t there,

select it via Window/Create

Floating

Tool/Levels and drag it onto

the left-hand

menu.)

i. Drag levels on

diagonals to

get severe contrast in colors.

ii. In the top menu, choose Diagonal Arrow tool to “copy and apply

changes” so

that changes are applied to all and not just primary images.

iii. Once images are showing in skewed colors, click Auto Crop button again. It should spot edges and crop correctly.

iv. Add more padding on edges if it’s still not catching the edges of the book.

v. Once done, click “Reset” on Levels tool by clicking the “undo arrow” icon in the Levels menu. This will take contrast off all images.

Books

1. Save a two-page spread as two individual pages.

a. Take image of opened book.

b. Manually crop left page with the Crop tool.

c. Clone the image via top navigation Image > Clone Variant or F3 key shortcut.

d. On cloned image, move crop to right-hand page.

1. Under Next Capture Adjustments menu, change “Other” field to “Copy Variants from Last”.

a. Hold the Command key (Mac) and select each of the variants where the crop position should be copied from.

1. Deselect (uncheck) the “On Crop” and “On Capture” boxes in the Auto Crop menu.

2. Capture an image of the next spread. The new capture should produce two images, cropped variants of the left-hand and right-hand sides. Finish shooting book.

3. Select all images and crop using the Auto Crop function

a. In the Auto Crop menu, apply the following settings.

Method: Bound Material

Straighten: Average or Right or Left edge

Padding: 50-75 px

b. Auto Cropping will automatically straighten and crop all photos to the page of the book. Sometimes the crop is inaccurate, so it is recommended to

Production Shooting Tips and Tricks

1. Try to image items according to size (larger to smaller or smaller to larger) and wait at least 5 seconds between shots or test shots to allow strobes to reset at full power.

2. When taking multiple images for a batch upload, you only need to use the Golden Thread for the first shot.

3. Name your production files something other than the Job Name. Change the name of the images by clicking on a file name text box as it appears in the image browser running down the right-hand side of the screen.

a. Another way to apply batch rename is to hit Control and click an image in this browser to make a new menu appear. Select “Batch Rename” and type in a new Job Name and select a 3-digit counter.

Troubleshooting

The camera is powered by the computer and will get “stuck” if the system sits idle for too long or if the computer goes to sleep. If the camera stops responding (“No camera attached”), try:

a. Closing out of all software and opening them again.

b. A hard shutdown of the computer (just logging off or restarting tends to not work).

c. Unplug and replug the camera from the Mac.

d. Turning the camera on and off.

e. Once everything is back on and the camera still isn’t responding, try going in and out of the live view to reestablish a connection.

If the shutter won’t trigger, make sure the shutter and aperture are both open in the Shutter Control application.

a. Make sure all cables are connected properly.

b. Make sure the camera card is seated properly.

c. Enable and disable the Capture One trigger from the Shutter Control software.

d. Look at the back of the camera to see if any errors have popped up.

Other: Make sure the “power source” is set to “Autodetect” and the “camera setting” is in “Camera Mode 1.”

For further help, you can also consult the online support forums, online camera manual, user guides, or contact Digital Transitions.

DT Technical Support & Staff

Email: support@digitaltransitions.com Wayne Cozzolino, Sales Rep

Phone: 212.529.6825 Email: wlc@digitaltransitions.com

Toll Free: 1.877.367.8537 Cell: 215-900-8865

Joseph King, Technical Support Mngr: Ext. 2320 Office: 212.529.6825 x2330

Scott Newirth, Technical Support: Ext. 2310 Toll Free: 877.367.8537

Please Note: Emails are preferred and generally responded to within 30 minutes if our technicians are assisting other clients.

End-of-the-Day Procedures

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Close all software on the Mac and shut down the machine.

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Turn off the black light power box. Then, bleed the lights.

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Turn the compressor switch to “off” and turn the red plastic valve to “off” (by switching it so that it is perpendicular to the metal tube below it).

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Replace the black copy table if you removed it.

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Put the lens cap back on.

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Turn off all lights in the room and make sure the door is securely locked.

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6. ” 

Camera Settings 

1. Remove the PhaseOne camera from the hard camera box. 

2. Carefully remove lens covers from the camera to attach lens. Avoid exposing the internal lenses to the open air for too long to avoid dust or other impurities to enter. To attach, press black button on the right side of the camera, match white dot on lens to white dot on camera and twist to lock into place. Choose lens based on the subject size: 

1. 55mm lens: large objects 

2. 80mm lens: medium objects 

3. 120mm macro lens: small objects 

3. Exchange batteries in the camera with batteries on the charger. 

4. Attach the tripod plate to the bottom of the camera and secure it in place, making sure the arrow above the word “Lens” is pointing in the direction of the camera lens. 

5. Secure the camera to the tripod, making sure the tripod plate is locked in place.   

6. Press the power buttons on the digital back and the camera front to turn the camera on. 

7. Connect the camera to the computer using the USB-A to USB-B cord. Once connected, the camera and lens should appear in Capture One under the Camera menu. 

8. Verify that the camera is set to the following settings in Capture One: 

1. Shutter speed: 1/125   

2. Aperture: f16 

3. ISO:  35 

Lighting and Staging 

Material Staging 

Prepare the objects to photograph by grouping objects by size and type.  This will prove efficient by eliminating constant adjustment of the camera, tripod, and lights. 

Be sure that you have a clear and safe path from the object cart to the photo staging area. Carefully transfer one object at a time to the photo area. The handler should use nitrile gloves when appropriate. Use a museum team member or archival tray when necessary.  

Place the object in the center of the backdrop leaving distance between the back of the object and the backdrop (to reduce shadow) and distance between the front of the object and edge of the table (to avoid capturing the front edge of the table surface in the photograph).  Make sure the object is as straight and level as possible. 

Use props and armatures as necessary to ensure materials are securely displayed. Mannequins and other display tools can be requested from the Collections Assistant. 

Objects may need to be photographed in several different arrangements or angles, especially if the work has multiple components or textual information that is not visible from a single view. Take a photograph of all the object’s components assembled and disassembled. If the object with multiple components has moving parts, take multiple photos of the object in various states/positions. Determine in advance how many photos and at which angles you will take them before staging the object in the photo area. 

Positioning the Camera 

Manually adjust the camera position as necessary. 

1. Use the silver rotating lever on the side of the tripod to raise or lower the camera until it is level with the object on the table. 

2. Loosen the circular tripod piece by twisting to the left to level and point the camera.  

1. To ensure camera is level, use the level setting on the camera (Menu > Play > Scroll down to bottom level option) 

3. For objects requiring an overhead view, insert the circular attachment piece into the tripod and fully extend the tripod legs for height. (See Figure 4) 

4. Position camera slightly higher and looking down on the object to capture depth (or you may turn the object at an angle) making sure that the object fills as much of the frame as possible.   

Note: Avoid too much empty space around the object in the frame. If the object is wide, photograph in landscape orientation; if the object is tall, photograph in portrait orientation. 

Lighting 

Lighting arrangements are dependent on the type of object being imaged, the mood the photographer wishes to convey, and the specific object details intended to be highlighted.  

For museum photography, the photographer should strive to evenly illuminate the object and convey the texture of the material. Avoid overtly “moody” or “artistic” lighting. 

Lighting Manipulation Tools  

Use to direct and alter light as necessary. 

• Use white cards to reflect light where needed to brighten the object 

• Use black cards to absorb light where needed to darken the object 

• Use diffusers to reduce glares on shiny objects 

• Light Box is used to diffuse light to give a softer, less harsh lighting 

• Grid can be placed on the light box to direct softened light in a specific area 

Connecting and Synching Lights Wirelessly  

1. Test lights to be sure that both the Kick light and Fill light goes off when Main light is tested by pressing “Test” button on Main light.  

2. Note: Listen for high pitched “beeps” as proof that all lights have gone off. 

3. Press “Channel Set” button on the control panel for all lights and be sure that all are set to 1A; this will make all the lights respond to the Main light. 

4.  To change Slave setting, hold down slave button for both “F” and “K” lights.  Proper Slave settings will allow “M” to control “F” and “K.”  

5. Wait for red “On” light (this means the lights are on standby); 

6.  Hit “On” button and green lights should illuminate 

7. Turn off room lights.  

Note: Power cord should go under tripod (if you trip, you drag the light instead of toppling it);  

LIGHTING ARRANGEMENTS ARE SUBJECTIVE TO CHANGE BASED ON THE OBJECT. BELOW ARE SUGGESTIONS FOR LIGHTING CONFIGURATIONS BASED ON OBJECT TYPE: 

Solid, Opaque Objects 

• Main light on the right pointed at right wall 

• Fill light on the left pointed at left wall 

• Kick light pointed at object 

• Black boards in back corners 

• Use Light Box on Key Light 

Main light (labeled “M”): Channel set = 1A; Slave setting = Radio; Light level = 7 

Fill light (labeled “F”): Channel set =1A; Slave setting =IR; Light level = 10 

Kick light (labeled “K”): Channel set = 1A; Slave setting = IR, Light level = 7 

Shiny Objects/Opaque Objects with Reflective Casing: 

• Main light on the right pointed at right wall 

• Fill light on the left pointed at left wall 

• Key light pointed at object with soft box 

• Use diffusers to get rid of glares on object 

• Place black boards in back corners 

Main light (labeled “M”): Channel set = 1A; Slave setting = Radio; Light level = 7 

Fill light (labeled “F”): Channel set =1A; Slave setting =IR; Light level = 9 

Kick light (labeled “K”): Channel set = 1A; Slave setting = IR, Light level = 8 

Large, Oversized Objects: 

Photograph clothing on a mannequin.  The museum has three dress forms and two mannequin leg forms used for exhibits.  For other textiles (e.g., swatches or cloth fragments or those too fragile to post on mannequin), lay objects flat. 

For large objects or objects too heavy to move, photograph the object in situ. 

• Move table away from photographing area 

• Main light on right pointed at right wall 

• Fill light on left pointed at left wall 

• Key light pointed at object with soft box on it 

Main light (labeled “M”): Channel set = 1A; Slave setting = Radio; Light level = 8.5 

Fill light (labeled “F”): Channel set =1A; Slave setting =IR; Light level = 8.5 

Kick light (labeled “K”): Channel set = 1A; Slave setting = IR; Light level = 9 

Clear, Glass objects: 

Use the plexiglass sweep and black background material to eliminate shadows and diffuse light on reflective objects making details on the object appear clearly. 

• Use light table, secure on plastic tub to raise height. 

• Shine light from behind the light table. Direct light at the bend in the table  

• Use black cards around object reflect get a black edge  

Fill light (labeled “F”): Channel set =1A; Slave setting =IR; Light level = 8 

Photography 

Take a photo one of three ways: 

1. Click large circular button (in the left-hand menu in Camera: Phase One IQ3 80MP box) 

2. Keyboard short-cut [Cmd]+[K] 

3. Click black button on camera- top right to the front on the camera (not preferred due to the possible introduction of vibrations. 

Figure 14: CaptureOne Camera menu with Capture button 

Focus 

1. Look through the camera viewfinder and manually adjust the lens to focus.  

1. A deep object or a long lens may make it difficult to get the entire object in focus. In these cases, take multiple images to capture each part of the object in focus. Then, focus stack the images in post processing. 

2. Zoom into the image by scrolling the mouse button to check if the item is in focus.   

1. Note: If you change the distance between your object and the camera, you will need to reset the focus. 

White Balance  

1. Take a QP card from the AV cart and place it in a strategic position near the object. Try to keep the greyscale perpendicular to camera. 

2. Shoot a reference image.  

3. Use the eyedropper icon in CaptureOne and select middle gray for neutral.  Pay attention to the histogram and adjust by clicking and dragging at a diagonal to change contrast. 

4. Once set, shoot without the greyscale card. 

Exposure 

1. Select the eyedropper icon menu and use the RGB Color Checker tool to place color checkers around the composition.  

2. Top value should lie between 245 and 220 

3. Exposure can be adjusted by changing the light levels or distance from the subject, or by adjusting the setting in the Exposure box of CaptureOne. 

Figure 15: Capture with color checkers placed around the image 

File Naming 

In the Next Capture Naming box, enter the new filename using the OBJECT ID number which can be found marked on the object or on the artifact tag: 

[ObjectID]_[3-digit counter].tif 

ex. FA_2000.001.083_001.tif (single image) 

ex. 2006.074.001_003.tif (multiple images) 

Crop 

1. The crop tool is the 4th tool on the top bar in Capture One. 

2. Crop photos so that objects are centered in the photo and that photos of the same object are cropped to the same proportions. 

Processing and Exporting in Capture One 

Exporting  

1. Select the image or images you want to export. 

2. Click export in the top left corner of Capture One. 

3. Under the naming heading the format should be image name. 

4. Location: promethium- digitization- museum- create a new folder named “accession # and descriptive information of the object” 

5. Click Export image in the bottom right corner. 

6. Make sure tiff Adobe RFV is selected under export receipts and that the resolution is set to 400 px/in. 

7. Repeat for each image. 

Post Processing 

Exposure/Color Correcting 

1. Create a new folder for saving edited images 

1. Name the folder: “[Accession number] Edits” (ex. 2022.007 Edits) 

2. Open the images you wish to use in Photoshop 

3. Duplicate the background layer of the image 

4. Select Adjustments > Levels 

5. Drag white and black arrows to edge of curve 

6. Save .TIF file as a copy in the new folder. Do not save layers. 

Focus Stacking in Photoshop  

Adapted from https://creativecloud.adobe.com/discover/article/focus-stacking-in-photoshop 

While our eyes focus immediately, applying multiple levels of focus among several photos requires digital assistance. After you import the images into your computer, open them as layers in Photoshop by choosing File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack; navigate to the image files and click OK.  

If you used exposure bracketing while shooting, first combine each set of exposures before sending them to Photoshop.  

Once the images are in a stack in a single Photoshop file, select all layers in the Layers panel and choose Edit > Auto-Align Layers. Leave Auto selected in the Auto-Align Layers dialog and press OK. This step is important even if you shot on a tripod. 

Optional: select the layers and group them into a folder (press Control/Command-G), and then duplicate that folder (press Control/Command-J). If Photoshop's automatic blending isn’t to your liking, you have a backup copy of untouched layers. 

Select the layers in the group and choose Edit > Auto-Blend Layers. In the dialog that appears, select Stack Images and (optionally) turn off Content Aware Fill Transparent Areas. Click OK. 

Photoshop then creates a layer mask for each layer that allows the sharpest areas to remain visible. 

Now that you have a focus-stacked image, you can apply tone, color, and other adjustments to match what your eyes saw when you were capturing the scene. 

Tear Down 

1. Remove all objects from the photography area and place them on the cart. 

2. Turn off all ProFoto lights and turn on room lights. 

3. Detach camera cord from Mac and remove camera from tripod; return camera back to its PhaseOne box making sure to put all lens caps back on camera. 

4. Turn off and unplug lights and tie up cords, remove tripod from photography area. 

5. Return museum objects to 6^th floor storage (Room 632) 

https://sciencehistory.pastperfectonline.com/RandomImages  

https://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/guidelines/FADGI_Still_Image_Tech_Guidelines_2016.pdf