Every bit artists, nosotros spend a ton of time perfecting our craft.

Then, afterwards hours of working on a painting, wearied and upward against a borderline, nosotros often neglect the near important part of the procedure: photographing the work. As well many of us are a lilliputian lost when information technology comes to the specifics and settle for a few sloppy shots earlier aircraft the artwork out.

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

We 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 photograph your work can mean the difference betwixt being accepted to a show, or winning the favors of an important customer or gallery director.

Nosotros put together a few guidelines to photographing your artwork and so you tin begin to photograph your artwork like a pro.

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

1. Hang your artwork on the wall

Nosotros regularly see artwork photographed leaned up against a wall and shot from a downward angle. Notice a neutral colored wall (white, black, gray) and hang your work at a elevation where the middle of your piece volition exist parallel to where your camera will be —either on a tripod or resting sturdily on a table or other surface.

2. Calorie-free your work properly

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

If the atmospheric condition isn't cooperating, or if you lot are upwardly against a tardily-night borderline, yous will need to set up a lighting kit. The good news is, yous don't have to spend a ton for a professional person setting if you lot aren't ready to invest in one.

All you will need is two lights at a minimum for 2-dimensional work. We have used lighting stands that you often come across in dorm rooms (the ones with three adjustable bulbs) or clamp lights. Place 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 now.

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

Low-cal HACK: If you don't accept 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 cream core tin can be set up to simulate a "raking light" event where the lights are pointed at the foam core and the whiteboard reflects the light back at the slice.

iii. Adjust your camera and settings

Once your artwork is secured to the wall, double cheque that the camera is set to the lens lines up with the heart of the painting. You desire to position your camera so that the frame is filled with nearly of the painting, with a bit of background that you tin crop out later. It is important for many juries to see the edges of the paintings to get a sense of scale.

The ISO and aperture of your camera are very important to get clear, crisp and brilliant images of your artwork. ISO references what moving picture speed used to measure. The higher the number, the more than sensitive the picture was to low-cal and the coarser the paradigm. In this case, since we want very crisp images, we want a low ISO. Studio shots volition more often than not be shot at ISO 100.

The f-finish of the aperture of your camera adjusts how much light is allow through the lens by making the opening bigger or smaller. The higher the number, the less light is beingness passed through. With a DSLR the ideal range for shooting artworks is between f-eight and f-11.

TIP: Set your photographic camera's timer to iv or v seconds so that pressing the shutter button doesn't create a shake in your image.

four. Edit your photos to perfection

There are enough of costless or cheap photo editing software alternatives out there that volition aid minimize whatever inconsistencies. While Photoshop still reigns king, Photoshop Elements or Gimp let basic functions such as color correction, cropping, and other minor adjustments. Lightroom as well offers a subscription-based editing program that professional photographers swear by.

There are, of course, many additional nuances and tricks that could exist added to this initial guide. Even so, if y'all are looking to improve your photographs and represent yourself professionally on your public profile page, this is a great starting place.