Sunlight:- this is good. It is even and bright enough not to need slow shutter speeds.

In the shade: also good but a tendency to be a little blue which is usually corrected when a print is made.

Overcast sky:- also a good even light, does not bring out the colours quite as well as sunlight.

Room (tungsten and QI) lights:- these are orange when compared with sunlight and your prints will have an orange cast which cannot be completely removed. There is a blue filter for the camera (code 80B) available to correct this cast. You must also have equal lights placed on each side of the painting.

Fluorescent:- Not recommended – there is a correction filter but it is a poor performer when accurate colour is needed.

Flash:- Flash on the camera is a no-no – there is no way you can avoid the hot spot reflecting back. The colour – the same as daylight – is good. Two equal flashes, one on each side at 45º is ideal.

Use an SLR camera:- The more common “point and shoots” do not have a good enough viewfinder to get exact framing, their exposure meters and lenses are not as good.

Use a tripod if you want exact framing. Most of us cannot hold the camera still enough to maintain good framing while adjusting focusing, etc.

A zoom lens helps in framing. Modern zoom lenses are nearly as good as fixed lenses unless you want very big enlargements.

Get the camera square on to the picture. The easiest way to do this is to place a mirror at the centre of the picture and arrange the camera so you see its reflection in the mirror when looking through the viewfinder. This reflection must be at the centre of the viewfinder and most SLR cameras have some sort of marking at the centre of the finder. Don’t forget to remove the mirror before making the exposure.

Use 100m or 200 speed film for better quality.

Exposure, framing etc. is much more critical when using slide film.

Prints can be cut to size later if framing is not good. Slides may need masking – use aluminium kitchen foil inside the mount. Do not use plastic tape on the film – it will bleed and is not archival.

Flash on the camera and bright lights behind you will give unwanted reflections off the picture especially if it is behind glass. I have a large sheet of matt black board (eg. mount board) with a hole in the centre for the lens. This board needs to be at least twice the size of the picture being photographed.

Polarising filters. These are next to useless. They will not affect reflections coming at 90º to the picture and have the greatest effect when the light is reflected at about 40º. They have been used successfully to remove reflections off raised brushstrokes when using lamps (or flash) on each side at 45º to the picture AND you have polarising filters on the lamps.