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How to Photograph Your Artwork: Backgrounds
Alta Fjord, watercolor on paper, 18 x 24 inches, Valerie Atkisson
Featured Author:
Valerie Atkisson
Prior to starting ArtBistro, Valerie lived and worked as an artist in New York City for ten years. Her work has been shown at New York galleries and museums and been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times. Valerie taught art for eight years part-time at Grace Church School and most recently at Brigham Young University. She has collaborated on a number of commercial enterprises with composers, designers, writers, photographers, and dancers. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with her Master of Fine Arts in 1998. ArtBistro Portfolio
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Valerie Atkisson / ArtBistro
May 13, 2008
How to Photograph Artwork
Four times a week I look through your portfolios to choose work to go in the Featured Portfolio on the home page. This is one of the best parts of my job. I get to see what you are working on and often am very impressed with the caliber of work on ArtBistro. There is one main way that I think that the portfolios could be improved. That is the photography of artwork. In many cases, the medium of the work makes a big difference in the presentation. For example, work that is created on a digital platform is ideally suited for presentation on a computer screen. The same goes for video (even though it is a little small), and photography. However when it comes to artwork that you make on a different material and then transfer to a digital format, problems arise. The main problem that I come across is bad photography of paintings, drawings and sculpture. As a result, sometimes I have to select a piece that is less interesting and better photographed instead of one that is more interesting and poorly photographed.
To get your work featured go here and join the Featured Portfolio Group. Please follow instructions before joining the group.
Big picture
The whole purpose of photographing your work is to present it to others. They may not be able to see it in person so taking a photograph is the next best thing. You want the image to portray your artwork in the most accurate way that you can. If you don’t get good photography of your work, it is like making a precious thing then destroying it before you show people. The work itself may be wonderful but if your photography of it is bad, you are doing yourself a disservice. Your work is only as good as your photography of it. The opposite is true: if you have some work that is fine, but no masterpiece and you get good photography of it, the work will look more professional and impressive. I’m not talking about photo manipulation here, I’m just talking about common sense and applying good photography principles.
Note: If your two dimensional work is small enough you should consider scanning it rather than photographing it. Make sure the image is clean and the scan bed is dust free. If your image is not completely flat, you will have better luck photographing it.
Main Problems
Background choices
Uneven lighting
Warping of proportions
In this article we will discuss background choices
Background
Three Generations of Dawn’s, 2003, Oil on Panel, 24” x 42”, Valerie Atkisson
The background of a two dimensional piece should be black or white. You need to decide which will flatter your work better. If the work is on paper you can temporarily tape it to the wall, without the tape showing, to photograph it. Paintings should hang on the wall as flat against it as possible. Make sure that your wall is clean, and nail hole free. For three-dimensional work, the background should be a sloping gray paper that comes down from a roll above and sits underneath your work. This creates a gradation of gray behind the piece when photographing it. Work that is photographed on other surfaces looks less professional and may call attention to the surface rather than your piece. A big roll of photography paper is very expensive, one alternative could be gray or black cloth, but paper is the best choice. If you know any professional studio photographers they may have some big used pieces that are clean enough for you to use.
Raku Fired Vessel Balcones Clay, Don Christiansen
For large outdoor sculpture obviously the background will be where it is installed.
Unframed
All work should be photographed before it is framed, not after. Any frame is a distraction to the work. Also, if it is behind glass it is very difficult to get a good shot with no reflection.
Cropping
With Photoshop, now it is easier to crop your images. Some artist prefer to crop out the background so that it does not show at all. Others prefer to leave it in. While you are photographing the work however, you want to fill the frame as much as possible with the work itself.
TSmith
about 1 month ago
48 comments
Scanning art work isn't a bad alternative if you can't afford to get it professionally done, however, my experience has been that the proximity and intensity of the light source in scanners tend to really emphasize texture in art work, i.e. brush strokes or paper/canvas texture. This can be very distracting when viewing the work and is difficult or impossible to correct digitally.
When I have been really strapped or under time crunch, I generally shoot my own using a good digital camera, tripod and available light. Unless you have good lighting that you can control, I would recommend picking a spot where the light is bright and even, but never in direct sunlight. I don't like using a flash for the same reasons as above as well as for those pointed out by 3ddesignz.
3ddesignz
4 months ago
76 comments
As a photographer, I never use flash. I neither work with existing lighting or set-up artificial lights around my subject. I find that using flash creates unwanted glares or worse distorts and changes the color of my subjects. I find the tips in this article very useful. This article is a great starting point to create beautiful photographs of your artwork. Can't wait to see more...
Sillygigglesk
4 months ago
10 comments
When photographying art I sometimes change my flash or even crop on the spot with my telephoto zoom. Drawings are by far the hardest to photograph because I draw very lightly. Thank you for this article.
StormRiter
5 months ago
62 comments
Thanks! Very Useful Information!
decosinferno
5 months ago
40 comments
Invaluable advice--I attempted to photograph 3 of my large-scale oil paintings this weekend and it was a disaster. I absolutely agree with TSmith about proper lighting--I feel it is key to producing a great photograph of 2-D and 3-D work.
designrgirl
5 months ago
106 comments
I will definitely try the scanner next time. Great tips, and I'm looking forward to part 2.
vankale
5 months ago
208 comments
I actually found that since I am a 2D artist, I can use a large format scanner and get a really sharp and clear image. It seems to be the best way for me.
inspiration
5 months ago
2878 comments
Thanks, this is a wonderful tips , greatly appreciated .
sector
6 months ago
4 comments
great post! now i don't have to have my sister hold my paintings :)
visi
6 months ago
36 comments
thanks very useful help...
TSmith
6 months ago
48 comments
As an art director, graphic designer and painter, I've come to undertand that good photography has less to do with the camera than the use of proper lighting and the skills of a photographer. I have seen work shot with instant cameras that I find superior to things I've seen by professionals. Presentation should come second nature to an artist - use the same skills in presenting your work as you used to create it. However, photographing artwork, generally called "copystand" work, is primarily about lighting and focus. I think the next edition of this article will be the most important one.
Pennsington
6 months ago
314 comments
aloha. the information is quite uesful...mahalo!!!
AngelIncubus
6 months ago
18 comments
Thanks for posting this. It is hard to find anything good about how to photograph artwork. My problem is lack of wall space so that I have to use an easle that can be set perpendicular to the ground, but it had clamps. I think I'm just going to have to find some more wall.
OVAbeauty
6 months ago
30 comments
Thank you. This is very helpful, and I will keep these tips in mind.
Oracle_Seeker
6 months ago
86 comments
Thank you Valerie for this helpful segment. What you say is of course correct. I would add one stipulation. A true art patron should be wise enough to look for quality work, work that can stand the test of time, work that can change the world, work that has the potential to increase in value over time and finally work that they enjoy (just for the sake of enjoyment). The true patron, should be able to overlook poor photography to some degree. I worked 17 years for a premier greeting card company that has employed thousands of artists. One of their finest artists, delivered his portfolio in a brown paper sack due to his lack of financial resources and he went on to be extremely successful. Good presentation is important and one should strive to always improve presentation, but I hope that all of our young struggling artists out there who cannot afford quality photography will still put their work on the Bistro regardless. You are right of course in what you say, but this is not always possible for young artists who don't have strong financial backing. It is better to show your work than not.