The Director of Conservation Imaging is IPCH’s newest role, charged with expanding and strengthening the Institute’s imaging capacity in support of its mission. The immediate priority is to establish a Conservation Imaging Studio within the Shared Conservation lab, enabling the effective, efficient, and consistent use of imaging modalities to characterize materials, assess condition, detect prior alterations, and produce documentation that supports evidence-based conservation decisions and on-going monitoring.
Long-term imaging goals include the development of a strategic roadmap for thoughtful growth—adding advanced tools such as hyperspectral imaging; pairing imaging with rigorous image data analysis; strengthening integration with material analysis; and fostering community-supported imaging practice across Yale’s collections. Current efforts also explore responsible application of emerging methods, including AI, and pursue targeted research that makes conservation imaging more effective, accessible, and impactful.
Equally important is mentorship and education. Through workshops, symposia, publication and digital engagement platforms, the program will create opportunities to train practitioners, share knowledge, and mentor future leaders in conservation imaging, ensuring the continuous transfer of skill and expertise.
The copy stand in the IPCH Imaging Studio on Yale West Campus features standardized lighting positions, allowing for streamlined capture and easy repeatability.
Conservation imaging is a constantly evolving discipline that extends far beyond standard photography.
It identifies and applies specialized photographic and technical imaging techniques, in visible or invisible wavelengths, to support conservation treatment, research, and the long-term preservation of cultural heritage.
The practice of conservation imaging prioritizes consistency, standardized capture and processing workflows because images often function as evidence that is used to guide treatment decisions, compare condition over time, and support scholarly interpretation.
Emphasis on robust, reliable, and repeatable image data ensures that documentation can be trusted, shared, and meaningfully revisited as technologies and research questions develop.
Recent News
Exciting Renovations Underway
Updated Conservation Imaging Studio coming to the IPCH Shared Conservation Lab
Work is underway to renovate the imaging studio into a dedicated space that supports conservation imaging for both 2D and 3D artifacts. The updated studio will house a copy stand, a wall easel, and a 3D seamless shooting table.
Once completed, it will give users of the shared conservation lab convenient access to a specialized environment for examining and documenting a wide range of artifacts.
Conservation Imaging Instruction at the University of Pretoria, South Africa
Continuing a long-established collaboration
In October 2025, Jiuan Jiuan Chen, Director of Conservation Imaging, traveled to South Africa to teach a week-long course on conservation imaging at the Tangible Heritage Conservation program at the University of Pretoria.
The course focused on multiband techniques and combined theory, and hands-on practice.
During a visit to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, skills and techniques were directly applied to Ernest Ullman’s painting, Untitled (1956). Documentation of the painting was then used to study the object’s materials and condition in preparation for for conservation treatment.
Imaging Roundtable Discussions
A place for colleagues to share imaging tools and techniques
Imaging Roundtable Discussions began as an initiative to connect subject experts in cultural heritage imaging across Yale University and to share imaging knowledge.
The first series of discussions focused on an application for Spectral Analysis, created by the MISHA Team at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
The first session featured Jiuan Jiuan Chen, Richard House, and Robert Hixon, who introduced the Spectral Analysis software. Damon Crockett presented the second session and shared an overview of statistical image analysis. Jiuan Jiuan Chen concluded the series with an online tutorial.
Research Highlights
Jiuan Jiuan Chen, Director of Conservation Imaging at IPCH, recently published “Considerations for Setting Up Technical Imaging with Modified UV-VIS-IR RGB Cameras; Tools and Equipment” in Conservation 360º.
This chapter is a contribution to a series of multi- and cross-disciplinary books on current themes in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage.
