Nine Steps For Getting The Best Artwork Photograph.

You’ve created your best painting yet, and now it is time to present it to the world. Whether you want to share your achievements with family and friends, send an image to a gallery, make a social media post, or create a fine art print, read on to discover ways of creating the perfect image of your artwork.

The first consideration for photographing a piece of art is lighting. I’m not a technical photographer, so I can’t advise about F-stops and apertures, but I’ve learned enough to be able to get what I need, which is a clear, in focus shot involving true colours of my painting. Lighting makes all the difference. There are varying issues for photographing watercolours, acrylics and oils, so the consideration of lighting is essential for portraying your work at its best. If you don’t have photography lights (and let’s face it most people won’t have), your best source is natural daylight. Don’t place your work in direct light though, as it will bleach everything out. Instead, put the painting in a shadow, near to the shadow edge, i.e. the shade underneath a window. This will usually give you a good light source that will return an ISO somewhere between 100 to 200. If the light is dim and your camera is reading ISO 400 and above, your image may come out grainy.

Shooting in North light requires a bigger light source, although the images can look blue.

Shooting the image in the shade beneath a lit window can provide enough light to give a clear, sharp image.

Try to ensure the photography area is neutral, as strong colours can reflect back into your shot and distort the hues in the image. Sometimes I shoot in North light as I have a big kitchen conservatory that is usually bright enough with plenty of lumens, but it can make the colours of the painting appear blue tinted. Shooting in the sunlit shadows yields a clearer light, but this will be warmer in an afternoon as well as later in the season, especially through autumn when the sun is lower and the light more golden. Experiment with what you have available to find your best option.

Shooting in North light requires a bigger light source, although the images can look blue.

The next, most stable lighting is photography lights. I would always recommend using a pair of lamps, as one lamp won’t be enough and is likely to create shade at one side of your image. I use a pair of studio lights with daylight bulbs. Some lights are dimmable and have adjustable temperatures to get the colours exactly how you want them. Don’t use spotlights, ceiling lights, or any kind of bulb that is less than 5700K (daylight). Finding the right level of light with the most appropriate bulbs can take some time through trial and error.

Using my two studio lights to provide balanced lighting.

For a sharp image, I’d always recommend using a tripod with a phone holder attachment.

One issue to watch for when photographing work is cast shadow. We don’t always notice shadows, but if you’re stood against the light source you might inadvertently cast a shadow onto your painting. Similarly if there are brush pots and other items on the desk, check they aren’t caught in the light and casting shade onto your shot. If you're shooting under a lit window, make sure your artwork is fully in the shade and not affected by stray light which can cause flares across the image.

The image here was looking good in the camera screen but a spot of emerging sunlight has caused a flare over on the right.

The type of camera you use can make quite a difference. Phone cameras are fine for most scenarios such as sharing with friends, on social media, or even putting an image on a website. Their point and shoot facility is really convenient, but make sure you try to shoot as parallel to your painting as possible. Hand held can sometimes be frustrating, especially if your hands are a bit shaky. For a sharp image, I’d always recommend using a tripod with a phone holder attachment. Try to refrain from zooming in, unless your phone has two or three lenses (take a look at the back of your camera!). You’ll see some numbers on the camera screen such as 1,2,3,10. The set numbers represent your set lenses. Zoomed in images that are in-between these numbers, such as 2.5, will involve digital zoom. Digital zoom replicates pixels, which alters how your photograph will look, and consequently. this may distort how the artwork is represented. When you have your image lined up, touch the screen at a point between the dark and light values of your painting and this will set the exposure for both (i-Phone). Sometimes a small slider will pop up allowing you to adjust the light manually (Samsung).

Using a tripod can make all the difference between a blurry image and a sharp one. When I touch the screen a small yellow slider appears (Samsung) and this allows me to adjust the light levels of the image.

After touching the screen the yellow slider appears

the sun symbol is used to adjust the light levels

Editing can feel like cheating sometimes, but it’s just a way of refining the image, depending on what is needed.

It goes without saying, the better the camera, the better the shot. If you want high resolution images for fine art prints, then I would fully recommend using a DSLR camera. For print quality images it is best to shoot in RAW file at the highest quality. With this kind of camera you can set the painting square in the lens without distortion or parallax (curved sides) and when using a tripod, it is best to use the shutter on a timer to eliminate the possibility of camera shake.

DSLR camera for high resolution RAW file images.

The type of artwork you are shooting will determine how you set up your photography. Watercolours and pastels can be photographed flat down and for that I use an overhead set up. It is possible nowadays to buy a simple monopod that clamps to a table with an extension arm that works great for easy overhead photography. Acrylics and oils are a different game altogether as their surfaces are shiny. For this, it helps to know a little bit about light reflection. The light source that strikes the surface will reflect off at the exact same angle and if your camera is in that zone, it will show in the picture. There’s nothing worse than spending time setting up and taking a shot only to discover later that your darks have washed out due to shine back. Make sure you angle the painting to reflect light out of your camera zone. It’s easier said than done and can be quite frustrating, but by moving around with the camera, you will notice when the shine from the surface disappears.

The most basic edit can be done on phones, tablets, and personal computers.

Editing can feel like cheating sometimes, but it’s just a way of refining the image, depending on what is needed. The most basic edit can be done on phones, tablets, and personal computers. Cropping is often as far as you might need to go, but sometimes it might be necessary to adjust the contrast or colour levels. If the light has affected your image, then adjusting the temperature of the photo can remedy that. If your photo is intended for fine art prints you will need to use RAW editing, which is best done in photoshop or Affinity software. RAW files give you more options for making finer, non-destructive tweaks. You will also need to obtain the print profiles for your media and use a soft proofing setup to adjust the colours that the printer cannot print.

Finally, depending on your painting style, placing images on the web or social media opens you up to potential commercial theft. If your work is decorative or graphic (imagine it as a design on t-shirts, cushions, lampshades etc) then you should see yourself as particularly vulnerable to this type of practise. Images can be easily lifted from a screen and used by a third party for their own commercial gain. This is happening all the time to artists all over the world. At one time, placing low resolution images online meant when they were enlarged, the image would be too poor quality to use. Now AI can fix that, which kind of negates the effort of reducing file sizes. Applying watermarks is no longer a secure retainment of your copyright either, as AI can remove them and in any case, they are distracting for the viewer or potential customer. On some website builders you may be able to use a right click protection app, but this won’t cover placing images on social media, nor will it protect against someone taking screen shots. One workaround that some artists use is to photograph the artwork at an angle or with something small obscuring part of the painting. A better quality square on image can be retained for interested customers or galleries. Depending on your view or popularity status, image theft may or may not be an issue for you.

To summarise

• Find the best light source that works for you.

• Set your camera on a tripod at an angle or overhead. Choose the one that works for your media and watch for shadows and light flares.

• Use a good quality camera where possible.

• Don’t discount using an editing program to fine tune your results.

• For creating fine art prints you will need a DSLR camera and photoshop or Affinity software.

• Think about ways of securing your copyright when posting images of commercial appeal.

Paul Talbot-Greaves RI, Artist, Author, Tutor

Paul Talbot-Greaves is a member of the Royal Institute Of Painters In Watercolours, and has been painting and writing for 30 years. He writes many articles for The Artist magazine (UK), has four practical art books published and has contributed to various others. He is represented by numerous galleries based around the North of England. He can be found on Instagram and Facebook where he regularly posts up to date pieces and inspirational stories.