10 Tips To Digitally Photograph Your Art To Sell Online
We all know how important it is to be online however, do you know how to properly photograph your art to sell online? Here is how:
Getting Prepared
1. Equipment
Which kind of camera are you going to use– DSLR, point-and-shoot? Using film as opposed to a digital camera is not advised, as over time it will fade, and colors can change based on humidity, temperature, and where the film is stored. If stored correctly, a digital image will last for centuries, and you can make as many copies as needed, as they will always look like the original.
As far as megapixels go, five is plenty for the purposes of photographing art, and since the artwork won’t be moving around as children and pets would, a point-and-shoot is sufficient.
Other equipment you will need includes a good memory card (the higher the class the better) with enough free space, and a tripod. Next to the camera, the tripod is probably the most important piece of equipment you will need. It ensures that the camera will not move at all while you take the picture, which is essential to having an image that is not blurry.
2. Consider Your Background
The background should be neutral– it should not distract the eye from the artwork, but it should provide good contrast. If the piece is small enough, it may be possible to photograph it while it’s laying on the floor or ground. If it’s larger, however, the best way to photograph it will probably be while it’s leaning up against a wall.
3. Lighting
Do not use the flash that’s built into your camera– it will almost always wash out the colors in the artwork and make it appear to be less vibrant in the photograph than it is in real life.
Direct sunlight (10am-4pm) will usually be the best light source. Place the piece so that the sunlight hits at an angle from the top, as opposed to straight-on. This will help capture the artwork’s texture and color most accurately.
Also consider the objects near the artwork you’re photographing, as their colors can reflect onto it. For example, shooting next to a big blue car could negate any warm tones in a piece.
Taking the Photo
4. Fill the Frame
On the camera’s LCD screen, make sure that there’s as little space around the edges of the piece showing as possible. A photo that takes up more space (and thus uses more memory) will have more detail, so the less you have to crop off, the better.
5. White Balance
Adjusting the white balance on your camera makes sure that what you see as white in real life is captured as such by your camera. Consult your camera’s user manual to find out how to adjust the white balance. Then adjust it a little and take a photo. Repeat this, comparing photos, until you get the most accurate result.
6. Exposure
Exposure is how much light the shutter lets through to the camera’s sensor. A long exposure will make the photograph appear lighter, while a shorter exposure will make it appear darker. Play around with this setting till you get the result you desire.
7. Tripod and Self-Timer
Using a tripod and the camera’s built-in self-timer means that any movement there is when your finger pushes the shutter button is gone by the time the picture is taken, so that the camera can take a better focused photo.
Editing the Photo
This is not the same as enhancing your artwork. When a digital image is created, some of the details are lost, and different lighting can cause the colors to appear differently than they are in real life.
8. Cropping
As mentioned above, less is more. However, this is not a step that should be skipped, as sometimes what we see through the LCD screen is not what’s captured by the camera’s sensor. All cameras are different.
9. Making Color Adjustments
Adjust the colors in your photo to more accurately represent how they appear in real life. There are many online tutorials that can help with this.
10. Sharpening the Photograph
Probably the most important image adjustment that you can make. Sharpening your photo will make it appear clearer and will restore any lost detail.
Art is no longer just about picking up the paintbrush or piece of charcoal or graphite– now it’s also important to be able to properly photograph your art. Having accurate photos of your work that can be shared on the internet will open up the world of selling your art online. The above tips should help get you started.
About Brittany O'Donnell
As the founder of Artistically Connected I am passionate about art and business. I enjoy working with artists at all stages of their craft and learning along the way.
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