Online collections
Object databases on museum and archive websites: an image, a descriptive record, sometimes several views and the terms of use.
Object records (in Russian)
Tools
Tools
To take a good look at an artwork on screen or carefully digitise a family heirloom, you rarely need anything special. What matters more is knowing which tool suits which job and where its weak points are.
A sheet of grey card next to a drawing will tell you more about colour than the most expensive camera.
How this section works: we describe types of tools rather than specific programs, websites or devices. Different developers name their features differently, so look for them by what they do.
Types of tools
Six types of tools that cover most tasks.
Reverse image search
You upload a picture or paste its address and see similar images. Useful for finding the original source and a better-quality version.
Zoomable viewers
They let you zoom into large images section by section without downloading the whole file. Many collections and virtual tours work this way.
Object photos (in Russian)
Scanner and smartphone
A scanner is good for flat sheets; a phone camera suits three-dimensional objects and anything that cannot be pressed against glass.
Colour chart
A strip of reference colours and grey patches placed next to the object. It is used afterwards to correct the colour in the photo.
Metadata editor
Lets you write the author, title, date and terms of use directly into the file, so the caption is not lost when the file is shared.
Things to remember
- Reverse image search finds similar pictures, but it does not tell you who owns the rights or whether the caption is correct.
- A zoomable viewer shows the file at the quality it was published in: it cannot add detail beyond that.
- A colour chart is only useful when it is lit by the same light as the object.
- Some websites and programs strip metadata on upload, so repeat the caption in the file name or in the text alongside it.
See also
- Guides
Practical guides: how to find, check, caption and lawfully use an image of an artwork. The article catalogue is here too.
- Comparisons
Scan or photo, online collection or search result, open licence or public domain — a comparison of what really matters.
- Problems
The image is blurry, the colours are off, the author is unknown, captions disagree, a tour will not load — what to check, in order.
- Glossary
Terms in plain English: registering museum objects, resolution and colour accuracy, copyright and licences.
- Object photos (in Russian)
The old address of the photo gallery: how to look closely at photos of objects and what a picture cannot convey.
Sources
- Creative Commons — licence descriptions (in general terms)
- Civil Code of the Russian Federation (arts. 1281, 1282)
Information on copyright terms, the public domain, open licences and the registration of museum objects was checked against the texts of the laws and the licence descriptions as of the date this page was prepared. The legal points refer to Russian law; terms and exceptions differ from country to country, so check the rules where you live. Online collections and image viewers work differently on different websites, so we describe them in general terms.