This entry was originally posted on Sunday, April 8, 2012 

This week’s Sunday’s Secrets once again comes from Becky in Wisconsin. 

She asks “How do you photograph your artwork?”
 
Thank you Becky for the question.

A few years ago I invested in a good digital SLR camera. 

 It is one of the best investments I have made because I can now photograph my own work as soon as it is complete instead of relying on someone else.

 

When photographing artwork, it is best to photograph on an overcast day or have it in an area with indirect sunlight. It is also a good idea to photograph your paintings before you frame them. The glare from glass is difficult to work with. 

Since it rains so much here, I use my carport. I leave my painting on my board and place it up against a wall.  Then I put the camera on a tripod, turn the flash setting off, and snap a few photos. 

Once that is done, I use a photo editing program to straighten, crop, and adjust the color. My computer came with an easy-to-use photo editing program that I use for when I put images on my website. When I need to send an image of my painting into a show, I use Photoshop. I am able to adjust size and resolution better with Photoshop.

 If you don’t have Photoshop, Photoshop Elements is a great program for a lot less money.

 

*Update: I no longer live in Vancouver but still photograph outside as much as possible. I also use my phone more often since the cameras on the phones are now a better quality. I do photograph my artwork next to a white piece of watercolor paper. This piece of paper I will use as my white balance when I take the photograph into Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is now also on a subscription basis. It makes it more accessible to those of us that do not have a large chunk of money to spend on the program up front. But it does cost more in the long run. However, there are many phone apps out there that do the same thing for adjusting color based on the white balance and cropping that are much less expensive and accessible than Photoshop. 

Leslie Lambert

Author Leslie Lambert

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