Museum Glare at its Worst

My husband and I were visiting the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, and because we were on another mission, I had grabbed my small camera as we headed out the door, just in case….   I can always find a good photograph.  We had a few minutes to preview the African Art Gallery, next to the New Guinea Gallery, before we were off to our next adventure. 

I saw the wonderful full-length human sculptures made from wood and wanted to get a shot.  All of the gallery lighting is ceiling spotlights, which provide lots of light, but also lots of glare.  The sculptures I wanted were in the middle of the gallery, surrounded by these ceiling lights.  I walked around the case, looking for the best, least-interferring angle.  I finally decided it was impossible to avoid the lights and glare, so looked for the angle that had the least amount of light hitting the sculpture itself and put as much as possible in the background.

I had already turned off my flash and set the camera for a mid-range light sensitivity reading, known as the ISO reading.  I used 400 – a mid-range setting, because the light in the gallery was good.

The results weren’t great, but they were acceptable.  I could still see the figure in some detail, and the lights were mostly in the background.

  I could, of course, stamp out the lights in a photo editing program, but lots of photoshop work isn’t what I want to do.  I would rather get the best shot I can out of my camera.  It’s a challenge sometimes, but a little thought and observation does make it possible.