How to Photograph Museums and Galleries

If you visit here regularly you will know we are fans of Tom Dining, his good sense and thoughtful approach are things we value. This post by Tom on the Lightstalking site also fits with our views. Museums are great places to photograph, as long as you are allowed, which in the UK is becoming a rare opportunity. The British Museum in London allows photography as does the Ashmolean and the Natural History in Oxford. Fascinating places all of them and often great lighting.

“Behind the often stolid walls of our galleries and museums lies objects of often indescribable beauty. Art, archaeology, artifacts taken out of their context and displayed for us to admire, comprehend, understand and where we often feel the inadequacy of our own capacity to duplicate, replicate, imitate or emulate.

Photo by Tom Dinning

Never fear. These are also places where you can produce your own piece of art; photographs. Not necessarily of the art work, but all the contents of the building.”….more

I have spent many enjoyable hours photographing in museums and galleries, here are just a couple from my archive

V&A Inside Out (Victoria and Albert Museum London)

The V&A is one of my favourite places along with the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the last two being places you can still photograph. I love wandering the vast galleries watching the light change, watching the people, just looking and of course photographing. These images are from parts of these museums I have never gained access and must admit to jealousy.

I can’t tell you who these are by as the gallery site where you can see more says multiple owners (what’s wrong with calling them photographers?) anyway go and have a look at the rest