Rollout Photography

Rollout Photography refers to the area of photography that reproduces three-dimensional images so they appear two-dimensional. Most often used on maps or to print an image on a plate or vase, rollout photography emphasizes the planes and angles of a subject, rather than its depth and dynamism.

From 1972-78, inventor Justin Kerr worked closely with anthropologist Michael D. Coe to create a camera that could reproduce images on pottery.

In the practice of rollout photography, the photographer places the subject on a spinning turntable. The photographer then, using a vertically slit aperture, exposes the film at timed intervals as the subject rotates on the table. In effect, this technique takes piecemeal shots of the subject that the photographer then must assemble to create the two-dimensional image.

Rollout photography is most often used to replicate images of ancient artifacts or to make replicas of such artifacts, such as Egyptian pottery, that have two-dimensional images on them.