Specialized photography (Selene System, Multispectral Imaging, RTI, Photogrammetry) for materials from PUL’s Special Collections or Collaborators will require a partnership between a subject specialist and a member of our IT digital studio staff who is proficient in the photography system(s) being discussed. Both individuals contribute their skills equally to help identify research questions and submit requests for specialized photography in order to support teaching, broaden training opportunities, or provide better user experience for researchers and staff working with our digital collections. Specialized photography opportunities add immense value to our collections as well as to our applications, while at the same time giving staff members the opportunity to work with colleagues, collaborators, and materials they might not usually interact with.

1 Getting Started
2 As a Subject Specialist, what do I need to provide?
3 As a Digital Studio Photographer, what do I need to provide?
4 The First Meeting: What to expect
5 What if I have questions while working on an item?
6 Once all deliverables are completed by the Digital Studio, what’s next?
7 What if I want training in software that allows me to work with the Studio filesets myself?
8 Workflows
- 8.1 Current State
- 8.2 Future State

Getting Started

Subject specialists interested in specialized photography (eg. Selene System, Multispectral Imaging, Reflectance Transformation Imaging, Photogrammetry) for an item they wish to research may fill out a Research Request Form. If you have problems or questions while filling out the form, please contact Kim Leaman (kleaman@princeton.edu). Once a completed form is submitted, a member of the Digital Studio staff will be in contact with you to set up a consultation time within 02-03 business days.

As a Subject Specialist, what do I need to provide?

When collaborating with the Digital Studio, subject specialists provide essential information about the selected item and the research questions they or their collaborators are hoping to answer. An excellent example of a completed and submitted form has been provided here. We have also started an evolving list of successful use cases that include requests from personal collections, General Collections and Special Collections materials that we invite you to explore. Additionally, it is always useful and appreciated to share a bit of information or an overview of the work itself and why it may have been selected for specialized photography. This helps our library staff prioritize the work (ex: is this part of a larger time-sensitive research project or for a possible future publication?).

Once your form is complete and submitted, the Digital Studio will contact you to schedule a time to meet at Firestone Library to discuss your project and review the item selected for research.

As a Digital Studio Photographer, what do I need to provide?

Digital Studio photographers collaborate with subject specialists to ensure requested enhancements to the digital object are reflected in the deliverables and are in accordance with our evolving best practices. Additionally, it is always useful and appreciated to share a bit of information about how the selected specialized photography is done and why the photography type was selected for their research, for example.

Once the requested photography is complete, photographers close the request in Airtable. Subject specialists (with a cc to Kim Leaman) will be sent an email letting them know their deliverables are ready for review, with a link to those deliverables.

The First Meeting: What to expect

The first meeting is an ideal place to discuss the selected item and research questions hoping to be answered, as well as the photography being selected for the work. Photographers and subject specialists walk through the possibilities together, asking questions and providing useful feedback to each other. The collaborators can then select a subset of the work that the Digital Studio will photograph and process, which will then be reviewed by the subject specialist before work is commenced in earnest.

What if I have questions while working on an item?

Subject specialists and Digital Studio photographers are encouraged to communicate in ways they feel are most appropriate. If Kim has helped set up your collaboration or if there are questions about our digital repository (Figgy) or any training opportunities, it might be a good idea to loop her into the conversation as well. It is also possible to set up a Slack channel for larger projects, if necessary.

Once all deliverables are completed by the Digital Studio, what’s next?

Once all photography and deliverables are complete, the Digital Studio photographer marks the item ready for review, and an e-mail to the subject specialist with Kim cced is sent, letting them know the deliverables are ready for download and/or review. The subject specialist is responsible for reviewing the deliverables, as well as any requests for restricting the visibility of specialized photography outputs in our applications. If everything looks good, the subject specialist approves the completion of the research request and lets the Digital Studio photographer and Kim know via email. If changes are needed, the subject specialist can request those changes or another meeting with the Digital Studio via the same email thread as the review request.

Helpful Hint: The Digital Studio has the bandwidth to accept up to 2 (two) formal consultations per request before the request is closed.

What if I want training in software that allows me to work with the Studio filesets myself?

The Digital Studio will prepare and make available all deliverables for download for those wishing to work with the filesets themselves. If you are interested in training and working with filesets in software like Global Mapper at one of our workstations, please contact our colleagues in the Digital Scholarship department to schedule a time with them for a training consultation.

Best Practices

Getting Started: Specialized Photography Requests for Selected Collections Materials