Art Pic to Do in One or Tow Days

As artists, we spend a ton of time perfecting our craft.

And and then, after hours of working on a painting, exhausted and up against a deadline, nosotros often fail the well-nigh important office of the procedure: photographing the work. Too many of us are a trivial lost when information technology comes to the specifics and settle for a few sloppy shots before shipping the artwork out.

Since artists are required to submit work digitally for exhibitions, grants, talks and your public contour page, good photography offers the start impression of your art and your professionalism.

Nosotros frequently see artists with incredible artwork, but have images that are shot in dimly lit, sloppy environments that distort the original artwork.

Knowing how to properly photo your work can mean the divergence between existence accustomed to a testify, or winning the favors of an important client or gallery managing director.

We put together a few guidelines to photographing your artwork so you can begin to photograph your artwork like a pro.

Howard Sherman shows how he documents his work on his Instagram account. On the right "Edgy Community of Unconventional Types."

1. Hang your artwork on the wall

We regularly see artwork photographed leaned up against a wall and shot from a down angle. Find a neutral colored wall (white, black, grayness) and hang your work at a height where the heart of your slice will be parallel to where your camera volition be —either on a tripod or resting sturdily on a table or other surface.

2. Light your work properly

If you are shooting your work indoors, do so in a room with enough of windows and natural low-cal. Some artists also relish photographing their work outdoors when it is cloudy or overcast, as indirect sunlight provides the best lighting. Natural light can be a cute way to photograph your piece of work as long as information technology is indirect.

If the weather isn't cooperating, or if you are upwards against a late-dark deadline, you will need to set up a lighting kit. The good news is, you don't have to spend a ton for a professional person setting if you aren't ready to invest in i.

All you will need is 2 lights at a minimum for 2-dimensional work. We have used lighting stands that you often see in dorm rooms (the ones with three adjustable bulbs) or clamp lights. Identify the lights halfway between the camera and the canvas at a 45-degree angle pointing toward the wall (this will help eliminate shadows and "hot spots" on the painting). If you have umbrellas for your lights, adhere them at present.

Arthur Brouthers shows how he uses white panels to reflect light and a finished piece "Slipping Two" on his Instagram.

Light HACK: If you don't have professional grade lighting kit, you can easily hack diffusing the light with a white sheet or white plastic between the lights and your work. This helps to evenly distribute the light. Alternatively, a few sheets of white foam core tin can be ready to simulate a "raking lite" effect where the lights are pointed at the foam core and the whiteboard reflects the calorie-free back at the piece.

3. Adjust your camera and settings

Once your artwork is secured to the wall, double check that the camera is set to the lens lines up with the middle of the painting. Yous want to position your camera so that the frame is filled with most of the painting, with a bit of background that y'all tin crop out subsequently. It is of import for many juries to see the edges of the paintings to become a sense of scale.

The ISO and aperture of your camera are very important to get clear, crisp and vivid images of your artwork. ISO references what film speed used to measure. The higher the number, the more than sensitive the picture was to calorie-free and the coarser the prototype. In this case, since we desire very crisp images, we want a low ISO. Studio shots will generally exist shot at ISO 100.

The f-end of the discontinuity of your camera adjusts how much light is let through the lens by making the opening bigger or smaller. The higher the number, the less low-cal is being passed through. With a DSLR the ideal range for shooting artworks is between f-viii and f-xi.

TIP: Set your camera'due south timer to four or five seconds and then that pressing the shutter button doesn't create a shake in your image.

4. Edit your photos to perfection

At that place are plenty of free or inexpensive photo editing software alternatives out there that will assistance minimize any inconsistencies. While Photoshop however reigns king, Photoshop Elements or Gimp allow basic functions such as color correction, cropping, and other minor adjustments. Lightroom also offers a subscription-based editing plan that professional person photographers swear past.

At that place are, of course, many boosted nuances and tricks that could be added to this initial guide. Even so, if you are looking to improve your photographs and represent yourself professionally on your public profile page, this is a great starting place.

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Source: https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/4-steps-to-photographing-your-art-like-a-professional