The use of appropriate camera equipment and lighting provides an important record of the artifact, its details and condition before, during and after treatment. The use of color and orthochromatic film captures intimate characteristics which define, in part, the intentions of the maker and his execution of thought. Such information provides sensitive historical advantage. Photography also serves the needs of training other conservators and provides for presentations both general and professional. There is a story to tell about instrument conservation, its problems and solutions.
Photographic records have other benefits.
Aside from being part of a documentation report of an assignment, photographs provide a means for communicating to a broader audience through articles and technical papers for the general public and within the profession. The author, having been trained as an instrument maker, has personal insight into the type of details which should be collected to fully characterize an instrument and provide data to gain understanding of the thoughts and abilities of the maker. A systematic approach enables the conservator to retrieve sensitive information which often proves valuable in the determination of provenance. Selected features help greatly to identify a maker and the period in which the instrument was fabricated. In addition to securing information of historical advantage, an appropriate examination provides the necessary information on the stage of condition of the artifact.