Ready for Their Close-Ups: Photographing the Collection

By Kate Austin
February 11, 2025

As the Rights and Reproductions Coordinator at the Norton Simon Museum, I facilitate artwork photography and organize the corresponding digital files. Any time you see a reproduction of one of the Museum’s artworks—whether in a book, on social media or on a street banner in Pasadena— you can be sure that the image file passed through my hands. It’s a responsibility that I take particular pride in, given that an image may be a visitor’s first interaction with the collections, shaping their museum experience before they even walk through the door.

The Museum has been investing in photography to document its collections since its founding. The oldest artwork images originate from the 35 mm slides and three-by-five-inch transparencies (typically a positive image on a transparent support of glass or plastic film) produced between the 1970s and early 2000s and then scanned for digital use. These important archival records are still in use as illustrations in museum catalogues and online collections pages.

Beginning around 2007, and guided by standards described in the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative, the Museum’s imaging procedures pivoted to digital photography. Since then, equipment, lighting and software have continued to improve, and our practices have likewise evolved. Considering the speed at which technologies change, it may come as no surprise that the Museum has accumulated four separate digital versions of Vincent van Gogh’s The Mulberry Tree, which range from transparency scans to high-resolution digital photographs. Each image helps document the appearance of the object—and aesthetic preferences—over time (fig. 1).

Currently, I am methodically working to ensure that more collection objects have updated photography. Given changing image standards and technologies, it is a job that may never be complete. However, it has been incredibly gratifying to oversee photography of these beloved works, knowing that their images may change the way visitors and scholars interact with the collections. The online experience of the Museum, for example, was substantially improved in 2024 when web consultants increased the site’s capability to display high-resolution images. Now, visitors and scholars can zoom in on them and experience works of art in extraordinary detail. The forthcoming collection catalogue Northern European Art in the Norton Simon Museum (2025) features beautiful photographs and details from recent photography sessions.

I often prioritize the photography of objects that will be featured in publications, exhibitions, conservation efforts and other staff-driven projects. For example, the exhibition Benevolent Beings: Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from South and Southeast Asia (2023–24) presented an excellent opportunity to rephotograph South and Southeast Asian objects for which the Museum had only scanned transparencies. The Dipankara Buddha (c. 1600–1650) (fig. 2) was determined to be a high-priority candidate for new photography, to better capture its intricate features. When compared to the sculpture in person, the existing image appeared washed out, and the reflection overpowered the richness of the copper surface. The small file size also precluded the image’s use for large reproductions or for magnification of the elaborate garments and jewelry.

Choosing which object to photograph is the start of a collaborative workflow at the Museum. Before photographing the Dipankara Buddha, I consulted our External Affairs team, who oversee communications, publicity, graphic design and the website. Would the image be used in the promotion of the show? Would it appear in the exhibition banner hung on the exterior of the building? Social media? The newsletter? File size requirements vary drastically, especially for images that will be reproduced on the enormous building banner (fig. 3), so knowing the planned use for the file enables me to make choices about how the object will be photographed.

I also consult with the curators—in this case, Assistant Curator Lakshika Senarath Gamage—and our Head of Conservation and Installations, John Griswold, to better understand the physical and historical background of the work. Their knowledge and perspectives help the photographer and me make informed decisions about capturing certain angles, technical images (such as those with raking light or infrared reflectography) or interesting details that may be useful in publications (fig. 4).

When a three-dimensional object like the Dipankara Buddha is due for photography, we also discuss points of view, backdrops and safe conditions for posing the object. How heavy is the work? Is it in stable enough condition to stand freely and be rotated? What background color would work best? How should light and its reflection be adjusted? For the Dipankara Buddha, a black background better served the details and minimized reflections; however, another sculpture photographed the same day, Buddha Shakyamuni in Meditation, was shot with a neutral gray backdrop. Each object is given individualized attention, and each photography day raises a new set of questions and considerations. Paintings, though they may seem straightforward to photograph, require just as much calculated planning and technical deliberation. The thick impasto of The Mulberry Tree, the smooth surface of Sappho Recalled to Life by the Charm of Music and the reflective gold detail in Botticelli’s Madonna and Child with Adoring Angel are all approached differently.

The photography of the Dipankara Buddha took close to four hours to complete (fig. 5). This included preparation of the equipment, careful handling of the sculpture, adjustments to lights, examination by John Griswold and Lakshika Senarath Gamage and the readjustment of these elements for each distinct angle. The accurate, vivid images that resulted were used for advertising the exhibition and for image identification on the website. Their success (and beauty) is the result of the incredible collaboration I have come to rely on from our photographer, installations team, preparators and my other colleagues in the Curatorial Department. In the coming months, I’ll continue replacing older images on the Museum’s website. When you encounter images of the collection, I hope you’ll enjoy imagining each work getting its moment in the spotlight, as staff members at the Museum prepare it for its close-up.