7. Photography and Imaging

The default approach for exhibitions is to get a digital surrogate of everything that will be on display. This is true whether or not any particular item is going to be reproduced or featured in the online version of the exhibition. Many photographs and some archival materials may have already been digitized; in those cases, download a hi-res version of the image from the DRS. Materials that have not previously been formally digitized will need to be photographed or sent to Imaging Services, depending on the type of material and any condition issues. 

a. Imaging guidelines for exhibitions

Imaging should be done as early as possible in the process once the materials for the exhibition have been finalized. Usually, collections photography happens around X months before installation. For materials that are being sent for digitization with Imaging Services, coordination is required with the Digital Services team (manuscript collections) or Lead Archivist for Visual Materials & Recorded Sound Collections (photographs). Turnaround times to Imaging Services can vary, but items requiring this treatment should be prioritized and scheduled for transfer as early as possible in the exhibition process.

Below are some general guidelines for exhibition digitization planning.

Published Materials: Published materials can be photographed for the exhibition. The digitized version should mimic the version being displayed in the exhibition; thus, if only the cover of a book is shown, an image of the cover should be captured. If the item is open to a particular page or pages, that is what should be photographed/scanned. The resulting images will not be cataloged or uploaded to the DRS.

Archival Materials: Individual items from a manuscript collection that has not yet been digitized can be photographed rather than sent to Imaging Services. The resulting images will not be cataloged, uploaded to the DRS, or linked to the finding aid. It's worth checking with the Digital Services department and/or looking in the Digital Projects Tracker in FileMaker to check for recent or upcoming digitization work (so you don't have something photographed that has already been/is about to be digitized). 

Photographs: As a rule, any undigitized photographs that are chosen for use in an exhibition should be sent to Imaging Services for formal digitization. This process will need to be discussed and coordinated with the Lead Archivist for Visual Materials & Recorded Sound Collections. The A/V Archivist will also catalog the images once they are digitized. Make sure to build in adequate time for this to take place before installation.

Memorabilia/Realia: Most materials in this category can be photographed for the exhibition, but committee members may also want to consult with the Head of Manuscripts and the Digital Services team to see if some specialized materials (posters, textiles, 3D ephemera) should be sent to Imaging Services instead.

b. Types of photography/photo shoots required for exhibitions

Items: The main type of photography that needs to be arranged for an exhibition is to bring in a professional photographer to take images of previously undigitized items. Depending on how long the shoot list is, this typically happens over 1-2 days at the Library in the Radcliffe Room. The Gallery Coordinator is responsible for booking the photographer; once the dates are finalized, the Content and Collection Specialist should check that the Radcliffe Room is booked as well. The Registrar and/or the Content and Collection Specialist are responsible for compiling the shoot list and providing the items for the photographer. Someone from the committee also needs to be on hand if any questions arise about what to photograph or how to photograph it. It is helpful if the material is organized by size in the shoot list for the photographer (small items together, large items together) so they don’t have to move the camera/adjust the setup over and over. Note also that the Registrar must assign IDs for each item in the shot list prior to the shoot, since those will be used by the photographer to create the photo file names.

Installation Photos: As of fall 2023, it is a new practice to have formal images taken of the fully installed exhibition. These are taken by the Radcliffe staff photographer, and this process can be facilitated by the Project Manager. These photos serve multiple purposes; they are part of the Radcliffe press kit for the exhibition, can be used in social media and other online promotion, and can provide documentation of past gallery layout/design choices for the purpose of future exhibition work.

Other/Additional Photography: Occasionally, other types of photography may be required for a particular exhibition–for example, the In Their Own Voices exhibition included contributions from four current Harvard students, and featured large-scale portraits of the students as well as smaller images of them interacting with collections.

The Registrar is responsible for management of all digital files associated with the exhibition, including file names, organization in an accessible shared folder, and sharing with stakeholders such as Communications.

c. File resolution and format requirements

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