Photographing Your Artwork

Taking photos of your artwork correctly is key. Your tutor needs to see your work as clear, in focus and with the correct colours as possible to be able to critique it for you. The guidance below should help you, however if you are still struggling, please do drop us a line at any time. 

Taking Photos with a Phone or Digital Camera 

Choose a place to take photos that gives you the best light possible. Ideally try not to use the flash feature. Adding extra light in the room is handy, so if you have access to a lamp (ideally with a daylight bulb) place this a few feet away from your work just to add some better placed directional light.

When taking photos make sure the artwork is either vertical and your camera is in line with the artwork when photographing - or flat on the floor to stand above to take the photos. Try not to take photos from an angle as this distorts the image.

You may find it beneficial to place a large piece of white cardboard behind your artwork so that the background isn't distracting. When photographing vertically, its always best to stand back from your artwork and zoom very slightly into the piece rather than getting up close to it, otherwise it can cause distortion.

Good lighting will help if you find your photos are blurry. The better quality your camera, the better the photos will be. Mobile phone and tablet photos are ok to use, as long as there is plenty of light in the room to help the lens. Use a tripod if you have access to one to keep the camera straight and steady. If you don't have a tripod or are photographing from above, a good tip is to use you camera strap (if its one that goes around your neck) move the camera away from you so there is tension on the strap. This will help you to keep steady. 

When you are looking through your viewfinder or on the screen on the back of your camera tablet or phone, try to look at the edges of the artwork and make sure that you fill the screen but making sure you can see the edge of your artwork. Also make sure that there are no thumbs or fingers in the way!

Whatever camera you have, try to make sure that it is set on one of the highest resolution settings. This way you will be sure that the camera is using the most amount of pixels possible. It's better to crop and resize your photos for email, uploading etc rather than starting off with a low resolution image and not being able to see the artwork as clear as you could have. 

We hope you find these tips helpful and if you require any further guidance, please email the office at any time.