Photography at the Mary Rose Museum

Turn off your flash

Flash photography is not permitted in the museum for various conservation and safety reasons, so please make sure you know how to turn the flash off. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know how to do this and think they can take photos anyway!

Turning off the flash is pretty easy, usually done via a button on the back, featuring a lighting symbol like the one above. Turning the flash off will also help you take better photos as if you take a photo of something behind glass with flash on all you will get is reflection.

Find something steady to lean on

When a camera is set up for low light levels, it can be prone to blurring. This is because the camera is taking longer to get enough light into it to form a decent image. Therefore, unless you have a camera that is designed for low light you need to hold it really steady. The best way to do this in the museum is to hold the camera so the lens is touching the glass. This will prevent the camera getting any reflection from the glass plus acts as a tripod and will keep your camera steady.

While we don’t have a policy against tripods, it can inconvenience other visitors if you have one set up in the galleries.

Be patient

Yes the lights on the Mary Rose change colour but if you really want a picture of it in a different light setting just wait. The lights and projections are on a loop so if you miss your chance first time, wait for the sequence to go round again.

Photos with ‘Hatch’

Getting a #MuseumSelfie with our ship’s dog?

Rather than standing behind him, position yourself behind the narrow window of the case, looking through the case with the camera (see photo). This allows you to take advantage of the light from his case, otherwise you end up with a great picture of the dog, but you just end up as a shadow!