Photographing Your Art
© by Carl
(CAKUart); all rights reserved
Photographing
your art successfully is important to ensure that your work is
presented well and appears visually exciting online as it does
offline.
However,
regardless of your skills in photography, nothing can replicate
the effect a piece of art has on us when we are physically
standing in front of it. But you can successfully provide great
pictures to enure it is interpreted well digitally online.
For best
results, use a tripod if you have access to one. If not, then
rest the camera on something that is going to keep it stable.
Tilt your
artwork towards the sun and ensure the camera is on the same
corresponding angle to the artwork so your photographs
end up straight.
The Best
Light For Photographing Artwork
Mother nature
provides the best light source for you when it comes to
photographing your art – the sun
You will
capture great shots if you use direct sunlight. If your art has
a lot of texture, I have a little tip that I use quite well to
bring out the 3D
effect in my work, by giving the texture a tinge of shadow.
Place your
artwork so the suns light in entering from the side and slightly
above your art to ensure you get a little shadow on your texture
- see diagram below.
Take
your photos at either; dawn or at dusk. You can make better use
of the direction of the light at these times of the day because
the sun is lower, as apposed to it being directly above around midday. Also, the light is redder in the early
morning and late afternoon/early evening so you'll get better
contrast and true colour.
One problem
you may encounter with photographing your art in direct sunlight, is
lens flare and high contrast in your pictures.
So
to fix this problem, simply move your art to a more shaded area.
Or better still; create your own shade like say an umbrella or a
big canvas.
Photographing
Your Art Without The Bowed Sides
No artist
likes to see their artwork looking stretched. The "bowed
sides" appearance in a photograph usually happens because
the shot has been taken on a bad angle and is not in focus.
So what I suggest
you try is to extend your camera lens all the way out to focus
as best as you can. Then provide a bit more distance between the
camera and the artwork. This will ultimately help to fix the
bowed sides look and make it easier for editing in Photoshop.
If you are not too
cluey when it comes to using Photoshop, you can learn to master
the basics with online tutorials.
Photographing
Your Art Indoors
If you
don’t have the benefit of using the sun and have to photograph
your art indoors, here are few tips.
- Block
out any excess "daylight" that may be coming
through a window. This "loose" light can reflect on your art.
- Try
to make sure that you photograph your art in a predominantly
white environment as coloured walls and ceilings can create
colour imbalances in your artwork on a photograph. You can
use black as a backdrop behind your artwork.
- If
you have the functionality to use your white balance setting on
your camera, set it to accommodate your light indoors.
Its a good idea to
take numerous shots of one piece. I quite often take up to ten
shots of one piece to ensure that I get the right one.
Try a few shots overexposed
and underexposed. Try some close-up and then some standing
further back. Also try very minor angle differences as this can
often enhance the light coming in on the painting.
Related Articles:
Image
Hosting
Now that you have great shots of your art, you may want to do
some reading in regards to how to go about hosting your images
on the internet for everyone to see.
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