How to Photograph Your Artwork
An Introduction
1
Why do Artists Photograph Their Artwork?
• Artists generally want photograph their work for some or
all of the following • Digital Submission, Presentations, Promotional
Purposes.
• Record Keeping - of progress or process.
• Portfolio Development.
• Art Reproduction.
2
Getting Started
3
Tips for Success
• Try to avoid photographing work under glass.
• Photographing framed work under glass is very difficult. Reflections
and shadows caused by the frame and or stand off mounting
techniques are often very difficult to control.
4
The Light
• Photograph your art outside when it’s overcast. Indirect
light will show your art better and it’s free.
• A brightly lit verandah or naturally lit room is also ideal.
Keep in mind that if you use an interior space that
brightly coloured walls will have an impact on the colour
of the light and that this may create its own set of
problems.
• We will look at this in more detail during the practical part
of the workshop.
5
Camera Angle
• Match the angle of camera with the tilt of the art you
have set up.
• Make sure the camera is focused at the exact center of
the art.
• Do not use a “wide angle” lens as they tend to create
unwanted distortions.
• Move back a little and zoom in. I like to work 1.2 to 1.5
metres away from the art work. This may vary for very
large or very small pieces.
6
Camera Angle - continued
• You must try to get the camera lined up perfectly "square" with the
artwork, so that the film plane of the camera is perfectly parallel with
the plane of the art.
7
Avoid These Looks
The Background
•
Whenever you photograph your work you really need to think about the
intended end use of the images.
•
If you’re keeping process or progress records, the way that you take your
photographs is likely to be different than if you intend to show a portfolio of
your finished work or present your work to a gallery curator.
•
For the workshop today lets assume that your photographs are intended for
the purposes of Presentations, Promotional Purposes or Portfolio
development.
•
So ideally you don’t want to see unwanted stuff in the background.
Therefore you will need to set up or find a plain background to photograph
your work against.
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The Background - continued
• White, Black or Grey are the most desirable options here.
• Steer well clear of patterns and bold colours. Remember it’s the art
that you want to show off.
• Your chosen surface should have a matte finish to ensure that it
does not create it’s own set of problems for you.
• If you choose a fabric make sure that you do your best to smooth
out wrinkles and fold lines. These can be rather distracting.
Actually they just look really bad.
10
Securing the Work
• Often this is where you will need to be a bit
inventive.
• Ideally your work will look best if it’s hung but
this isn’t always possible.
• You could simply use your easel. Perfect for
works on canvas or board
• Set your art securely on the easel as
perpendicular to the ground as possible. Make
sure everything is nice and secure to keep
the painting from doing a face-plant!
• But what about works on paper?
11
Securing the Work - continued
• Works on paper need to be secured temporarily to a secure surface
so that they’re not damaged and remain flat.
• Small pins, bluetac, clips, small pieces of double sides tape. Each
of these will work well if used in conjunction with an appropriate
backing surface.
• I don’t use any of these when I
photograph artwork. I use a
technique that ensures that the
base media is never compromised.
• However I do have the advantage
of being able to do post production
work in Photoshop.
12
Composition
• Fill the frame with your art get close enough so the art
nearly fills the viewfinder.
• Having large amounts of
anything unnecessary going
on in the background is going
to be a distraction, even if it’s
a plain colour.
• Remember it’s the art that we
want to see, not the studio,
the garden or the furniture.
13
Choosing Your Weapon
• There are plenty of camera choices that you can make and
ultimately you need to use the one that is right for you.
• However in my opinion there are some devices that perhaps should
not be your first choice.
• Phone Cameras and ipad type cameras will probably work but why
would one of these be your first choice?
• A compact camera is a good place to start and most will take good
photographs.
• A better choice is the DSLR.
14
Tripod
•
•
•
•
Use a tripod to hold the camera steady.
People often underestimate the true value of a tripod.
You cannot do this type of photography well without one.
If you need to acquire one make sure that it is sturdy. It
needs to support your camera and not move about in the
breeze.
• Remember that ‘cheap and cheerful’ is great until your
tripod falls over and your camera smashes on the
ground.
15
Turn the Camera Flash Off
• Using your camera flash is going to cause you plenty of
grief. Reflections and hot spots are never a good look.
• If your work has any sort of gloss to it the flash is only
going to show this up and spoil the result.
16
Camera Settings - Which one to use?
• Now it gets a bit technical.
• In addition to turning off the camera flash there are a few
other basic functions that need to be considered.
• It can all become quite overwhelming if you’re not a
camera buff and/or familiar with your camera. So at
some point you may have to refer back to the manual.
• Keeping it all fairly simple we are going to look at three
main camera functions.
17
Camera Settings - continued
• White Balance
• ISO
• Camera Mode
• Each of the above settings needs to be given some
consideration, so lets briefly look at each one.
18
White Balance
Setting the ‘White Balance’ correctly for the lighting
environment that you’re working in, is important and will
ensure that the colours in your artwork are recorded
accurately.
White Balance
This image helps to
illustrate the impact that
white balance settings
can have upon the final
photograph.
The AWB, Sunlight and
Overcast settings all
produced acceptable and
quite pleasing results.
Using the Sunlight setting
seemed to be the most
accurate for me on this
occasion.
White Balance
• Luckily the camera has some options
that you can use/experiment with.
• AWB (auto white balance) is a good
place to start but be prepared to try
other settings until you achieve an
acceptable outcome.
• It’s also possible to create a custom
white balance. This is a more advanced
option.
Camera ISO
• This setting changes the sensitivity of the image sensor.
• Sometimes the camera is setup to do this automatically and the
setting changes depending on how bright the lighting is.
• You can change it for yourself however.
• Generally you will want to use an ISO in the 100 to 400 range for the
this type of work.
22
Camera Mode
• The camera ‘mode dial’ controls the camera’s
shutter speed and camera settings.
• The very best option is to use ‘M’- Manual mode
but this will then require you to set shutter speed
and aperture manually. It’s more complicated.
• If you wish to keep it simple, I would suggest that
you use ‘A’- Aperture Priority or ‘P’- Program
Mode.
• If you use Aperture Priority set the aperture to
about f8.
Wow!! That seems complicated
• OK!! So that all sounded very confusing and
complicated.
• Don’t panic!!
• You now have a few terms and a bit of knowledge, so
you’re equipped to do more research.
• The ‘internet’ and ‘youtube’ have plenty of sources for
information should you get stuck.
Post Production
• This may be as simple as taking your memory card to the camera
store and asking to have your prints made.
• Or you may decide to do a bit of post production work in Photoshop,
or other image editing software to remove the background before
heading off the have your prints made.
25
What The !!!
So if you’re not technically minded but want
to take photographs of your artwork.
To get started follow the steps on the next page.
It’s not going to be a perfect solution
but it will help you to get started.
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Last Resort Options
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Setup your artwork as explained. (even lighting)
Make sure that you’re using a plain background.
Use a tripod.
Arrange the camera so that it presents to the artwork squarely.
Turn off the Camera Flash. This is important
Set the camera up in auto everything.
Remember to fill the frame.
Take your photographs.
Cross your fingers.
Today’s Power Point
• You can access this power point from my
website.
www.finephotos.com.au
You will find it behind the menu titled ‘Links’.
Thank you
Next the workshop