Art Reproduction: Using Capture One’s Lens Cast Correction tool for creating a uniformly lit scene (flat-field correction)

The Leaf Aptus-II backs are considered to be the leading products when it comes to fine art reproduction. Over the years, our digital backs have become very popular in museums, libraries and archives and have become the benchmark for color reproduction and workflow in the reproduction of cultural heritage objects.

For best results in reproduction photography, you need not only the best camera, but you also need optimal lighting conditions. Achieving perfect, uniform lighting in a flat copy setup can sometimes be difficult and time consuming.

Capture One’s Lens Cast Correction (LCC) tool can be used to create a uniformly lit scene, assist in removing any color cast and correct any variations in light intensity across the frame.

The image below shows a typical flat copy artwork, lit with two heads where the top variant shows some variations in light intensity. We used the highlight warning tool to show the over exposed areas.

Using the LCC tool for applying uniform lighting

This procedure describes how to overcome imbalances in light, when photographing a typical flat copy artwork.

1. Using two light sources to illuminate your flat copy artwork, create a reasonably uniform-lit scene.
2. Remove the artwork and replace it with a white or a light gray sheet of matte paper or card.
3. Take a well-exposed shot.
4. From the Lens Correction panel of Capture One, select the LCC tool to analyze the scene and create a new LCC profile (for example “f8 flat copy”).
5. Use the options in the LCC tool to remove light fall-off, color cast and dust spots if required.
6. Apply the profile to the selected image to correct it.

The image below shows the scene before and after applying the correction.

The image below shows the artwork with corrections applied.