photographingartwork

Photographing your artwork
Session 1: Taking the photograph
*The artwork
With 2D artwork, decide whether to photograph just the image
or the framed image. For the framed option, remove the glass
before photography as reflections can be a problem.
With 3D artwork, use a plain background which contrasts with
the artwork. Try several viewpoints to find the best possible.
*The device
Use camera, smart phone or tablet.
Setting up the camera:
Use the highest possible resolution ... this can be reduced later in
a photo-editing app for putting your photographs on the internet.
You’ll need a high resolution photograph for prints or cards.
Set White Balance to Auto, so the camera copes with the quality
of light falling on the artwork. If you want to know more about
White Balance go to this website:
https://photographylife.com/what-is-white-balance-in-photography

Look through the camera’s menu and turn on Grid. This will help
to photograph the artwork level and without perspective effects.
Most cameras also have a "steady camera" option, which lessens
any chance of blurring.
If you use your camera on the Auto setting, the camera makes all
the decisions when you press the shutter button. Why not try the
A option ... Aperture Priority. You can control the aperture and
ISO setting, and the camera chooses the appropriate shutter
speed. The aperture is the size of the hole that opens up behind
the lens when the shutter button is pressed. Oddly enough, the
larger the aperture number the smaller the hole ... and the
smaller the aperture number the larger the hole. Larger aperture
holes let more light into the camera and the shutter speed will be
faster. Also, as aperture holes get larger, the depth of focus
becomes narrower. This is not a problem with 2D artwork but
with 3D artwork it might mean that not all your artwork is in
focus. If you want to know more about aperture go to:
https://photographylife.com/lens-aperture-chart

ISO value determines the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor. By
raising the ISO, you can make the shutter speed faster and reduce
the possibility of a blurry photograph. But be aware of increasing
the ISO too much, as the photograph will appear grainy. If you
want to know more about ISO, this website gives a clear
explanation:
https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography
The artwork should be well lit ... try to avoid using flash as the
lighting can be very harsh. The best option is to photograph
outside on a bright, overcast day, obviously avoiding shadows.
Don’t get too close to the artwork ... maybe using the zoom to
get the artwork to fill most of the camera screen.
Put a piece of white card behind the artwork, so it appears in
your photograph. This will help later, to adjust the White Balance
setting.
Ensure that the artwork is level on the screen and you are not
looking up or down at the artwork ... if you are, then the artwork
will appear skewed. To reduce the chances of blurring, use a
tripod, monopod (or a pole, such as a walking pole or
broomstick) or rely on the camera-steady setting. Half-press the
shutter button to focus ... then gently push the button all the way.
Use the image replay to check your photograph. Why not retake
the photograph several times, maybe adjusting the settings to get
the best effect.

*Transferring the photograph
If you have photographed your artwork on a standard camera,
you now have to transfer the file to your computer, smart phone
or tablet. There are 3 ways of doing this: cable, card reader or by
WiFi.
The cable links your camera to the computer, where a window
will appear allowing you to select photographs to be saved in a
folder. Tablets and smart phones might need a special connector.
The camera card containing the photographs can be removed and
inserted into a card reader linked to your computer or mobile
device. Most computers and android devices have their own card
reader slots. iPads and iPhones need a connector called Camera
Kit.
Most cameras bought recently will have WiFi. From the camera
menu select the WiFi transfer option. The camera’s handbook will
explain what to do. You will also need an app for your type of
camera ... the photographs will be transferred by WiFi into this
app. You can then select which photographs you want to save on
your computer or mobile device.

*Editing the photograph
Photographs can be significantly improved by using an editing app.
The photograph might not be a completely accurate capture of
your artwork. A good editing app is Snapseed ... and it’s free.
iPad and iPhone:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt=8
Android devices:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.niksoftware.snapseed
You can also download a version of Snapseed on your computer.
This website tells you how:
http://prodomainblog.com/android-apps/now-can-use-photoediting-app-snapseed-pc-mac-computers
With this app you can straighten, crop and get rid of perspective
effects. Also, the photograph can be "tuned" for Brightness,
Contrast, White Balance and so much more. A useful thing is that
you can specify what resolution is needed ... lower for adding to
the internet or higher for printing.

*Saving the photograph
Always remember to save your precious photographs in at
least two places ... on a backup hard drive or on cloud
storage such as that provided by Apple, Google or
Dropbox.
Session 2: Using the digital photograph
*Just storing the photograph
Some artists store photographs of their artwork as a
record, with no link to the internet at all. They can present
their work as a slideshow on computer or mobile device
or on a linked television screen.
*Sharing by email
Artwork photographs can be selectively shared with
friends by email. Bear in mind that some email accounts
will reject photograph attachments that are high resolution.
Use the Snapseed app or email app to reduce the
resolution.
*Sharing by social media
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are very good ways of
sharing your artwork photographs. It’s probably a good
idea to have a separate artworks account from your
personal one. Be certain that you go into the settings to
restrict who sees your postings.

A good thing about social media postings is that your
artwork will pop up in front of your friends. They don’t
have to go searching, as is the case with your website!
There are many Facebook groups where you can join and
post photographs of your artwork. Two are - Dorset
Artists and Wessex Artists:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsetart/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wessexartists/
*Sharing by hosted websites
If you want to display your artwork on the internet, but
don’t want the bother of creating your own website, their
are organisations which allow you to register and have a
gallery within their site. Probably the best is:
http://www.painters-online.co.uk

This is a free service, but you are limited to the number of
artworks posted each day. Here is a link to my gallery on
the site:
http://www.painters-online.co.uk/artist/dorseteye
Your gallery has its own URL which takes people straight
there.
*Sharing by your own website
Finally, you can have your own website. There are free
websites hosted by, for example, Weebly
https://www.weebly.com/uk
Or you can pay for your hosted website with your own
domain name ... but that is for another time!