Digitising collectionsTe whakaahua matihiko i ngā kohinga taonga
There are various benefits to creating digital records of your collection items, including:
access – increasing exposure of your collection to the public via websites and other digital media
preservation – reducing the need for handling or disturbance of objects in-house.
Digitisation can be a time-consuming process. Don’t feel like you have to digitise every object. Select the more important items in your collection and start with them.
How to digitise your collection
An introduction to digital imaging for museums and galleries
These guides were created by Te Papa.
Part 1: Getting started, archiving, image integrity, file types (760.74 KB)
Part 2: Aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, histograms, exposure (2.86 MB)
Part 3: Post-production, tripods, autofocus, photographing behind glass (3.30 MB)
Part 4: Portraits, composition, installations, quick guide (1.91 MB)
DigitalNZ and National Library also have information you may find useful.
How to photograph 2-D objects
Te Papa’s Imaging Team Leader demonstrates a simple process to photograph flat items such as paintings, drawings, photographs, and prints.
How to photograph 3-D objects
Museums Australia (Victoria) shows you how to set up an affordable studio to photograph 3-D objects.
Photography lighting sheets
The lighting guides below show how Auckland Museum achieved certain looks for different collections and object types. In it, they've included setup images, technical explanations, and samples of the end results.
How to digitise audio recordings
The National Library of New Zealand details a process for converting heritage audio collections to digital format.
Digitisation of heritage audio collections – National Library of New Zealand
Camera, 1946-1957, England, by Eastman Kodak Company. Gift of Mrs W G Conroy, 1999. CC BY-NC-ND licence. Te Papa (GH009092)