Back by popular demand,
Photographing signs.
Basic Sign Photography Guide
1. Clean up. Remove all tools, trash, pop cans, buckets, people and debris from the scene.
2. Set the camera. Set the camera dial on the green “Program” icon (automatic).
3. Get closer. Before you shoot, take a step closer, maybe two.
4. Hold firm. Brace yourself before you shoot (triceps against chest).
5. Take two. Take two photographs for every view you select.
6. Sunlight. Try to have the sun behind you.
7. Start back, move closer. Shoot your first photographs from a distance, then move up for a medium closeup and, finally, get close.
8. Take a walk. Walk around the sign, to photograph it from several angles.
9. Details. Photograph any interesting details.
10. Record problems. Photograph anything that may cause a problem later, to show your boss when you return to the shop.
Prior to photographing a sign...
-->Prior to photographing a sign, a shop owner should ask the sign owner to authorize a photographer’s property-release form, which, within reason, will free a signshop from any improper use complaints or lawsuits. It’s all about copyrights and permissions and, expectedly, large corporations are the most exacting. The release allows the sign company to use the photograph for marketing, including web, brochure, portfolio images or other methods that may enhance its business.. The simplest method is to include” use” clauses within the sales contract. Ensure that your intent is clear, however, and that the signer is authorized to approve such uses.
Editorial use of photography (for, say, use in an ST feature) doesn’t require a property release.
Woe to the poor sign installer, the guy who, after having toiled his sunlight hours either hanging or planting a sign, at days end, is charged to shoot photographs of the installed work. Such action seldom produces glamorous results, because it counters successful sign photography’s first three options:
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