How to Photograph Artwork - Art to Remember Skip to main content

Blog

How to Photograph Artwork

April 20, 2020
Share this article

Uploading digital copies of your artist’s artwork to your free online gallery is a great way to save it and share it with family and friends. The easiest way to get a digital copy of the artwork is by photographing it with your mobile phone. Taking a good picture of the artwork is very important. We put together helpful tips so you can photograph your artwork like a pro.

Click here to learn more about the gallery. 

We’ll show you easy steps on how to light your work properly, avoid shadows, get the proper angles, stage your photos, prevent glare, and a few editing tricks that you will find helpful. These “hacks” to photograph your artwork will ensure it’ll look the best whether you’re just digitally storing the artwork or ordering products!

Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important elements for photographing your artwork. Photograph your artwork in natural daylight. Placing your artwork on the floor by an open door or an open window, which will give good illumination (even if it’s rainy outside!) A lot of times when we photograph from indoors, under artificial lighting, the artwork can appear to have a warm tone. Using natural daylight creates a bright, almost fluorescent photo that is more true to the color of the original artwork.

To prevent glare, do not use the flash setting on your phone/camera. With good lighting, you will not need the flash anyway. To prevent shadows, do not stand in front of your source of light and the artwork. For example, place your art on the floor near a window. Do not stand in front of the window to take your photo.

Perspective

To get the best perspective and to not distort the artwork, you will want to make sure the angle of your art and the angle of your phone are the same. Stand over your artwork and take a photo from directly above it. Make sure your artwork is straight and even.

If you’re shooting from an iPhone, there’s a built-in grid that can help make sure you’re aligned. To turn this setting on, go to Settings > Camera > Grid – make sure it is on.  If you’re using an Android, you can use a 3rd party camera app (like camera360) to get grid lines to help you.

Background matters

When photographing your artwork, lay your artwork flat and try to only photograph the artwork itself. You can crop the image if necessary, either with your phone’s editing software or with our built-in editing tool within the gallery.

If you’ve already uploaded art and would like to make changes, you can edit any image after uploading it. Go to your gallery, select the image, and click “Edit Image”.

You can upload as much art as you’d like and it’s completely free! I hope this post has helped you make the most out of our online art gallery by turning your photos into digital copies that you can enjoy without all the clutter. Share the art with your family and friends, or shop over 50 keepsakes with your customized artwork. Don’t forget to create an account to get started!

Categories: News and Updates

Ready to get started?

If you’re ready to dive right in, or if you’d just like to get more information on our fundraising programs, send us a message! Someone from our team will be in touch shortly.

Address(Required)