Photographing+Artwork+

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You!will!need!to!photograph!your!artwork!in!order!to!share!it!with!other!individual!who!are!
participating!in!this!course.!!Taking!good!photographs!of!your!artwork!is!important!so!other!
people!can!understand!what!you!have!made.!!This!guide!is!intended!to!help!you!identify!and!fix!
some!of!the!most!common!problems!with!photographing!your!artwork.!!It!is!not!difficult!to!take!
good!pictures!of!your!artwork!if!you!are!careful!and!attentive!to!what!you!are!doing.!!Most!
common!problems!are!the!same!for!photographing!both!two!and!three>dimensional!work.!
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Above!you!will!see!a!sample!diagram!of!a!lighting!setup!that!will!serve!you!well!for!most!
situations.!!Two!lights!are!angled!at!45!degree!angles!to!the!artwork,!with!the!camera!between!
the!lights.!!This!setup!will!give!you!a!fairly!even!light!on!the!artwork.!!If!you!are!a!photographing!
a!sculpture!or!other!three>dimensional!artwork!and!feel!like!that!setup!is!not!giving!you!enough!
of!a!sense!of!the!volume!of!your!object!you!can!try!the!setup!on!the!right,!replacing!one!of!the!
light!sources!with!a!white!piece!of!paper!or!foam!core!to!reflect!light!into!the!shadows!cast!by!
the!remaining!light.!!An!example!of!a!good!photograph!of!a!piece!of!two>dimensional!artwork!is!
shown!below.!
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Troubleshooting+photographs+of+art+
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Is!the!artwork!evenly!lit?!!If!not,!adjust!the!position!of!your!light!or!artwork!so!that!
shadows!aren’t!cast!on!it.!!Avoid!using!your!flash,!as!this!often!causes!glare.!!Good!
sources!of!light!include!photographing!outside!on!a!cloudy!day,!in!a!fully!shaded!area!on!
a!sunny!day,!or!indoors!with!lamps!that!are!not!too!close!and!are!not!at!a!harsh!angle!to!
the!artwork.!
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Does!your!artwork!appear!the!right!color?!!If!not,!you!will!need!to!adjust!white!balance.!!
Check!your!camera!manual!for!how!to!do!that.!!You!will!need!to!adjust!your!white!
balance!if!your!artwork!appears!too!yellow,!blue,!or!green.!!If!only!one!part!of!your!
artwork!appears!to!be!the!wrong!color,!check!to!make!sure!that!you!aren’t!getting!stray!
light!from!another!light!source.!!!You!can!see!an!example!of!mixed!light!sources!in!the!
leftmost!image!in!the!section!about!even!lighting!above.!!Different!sources!of!light!(light!
bulbs,!daylight,!fluorescent!lights)!are!different!colors,!and!mixing!them!may!cause!color!
problems.!!You!need!to!evenly!light!your!artwork!with!one!kind!of!light.!
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Is!your!artwork!too!dark!or!too!light?!!You!will!want!the!photograph!to!be!in!an!
appropriate!range!to!see!detail.!!Most!cameras!have!a!control!called!exposure!
compensation!to!correct!for!problems!with!exposure.!!Check!your!camera!manual!for!
how!to!use!this!function!if!you!have!problems!with!the!image!being!too!dark!or!light.!
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Can!you!see!the!whole!artwork?!Is!the!camera!square!to!the!artwork?!!If!you!are!
photographing!a!two!dimensional!artwork,!be!sure!that!you!are!including!the!whole!
artwork!in!the!frame.!!Choose!a!background!that!is!not!distracting!(another!piece!of!
paper,!a!piece!of!cardboard,!non>patterned!carpet,!or!something!like!that).!!Avoid!
patterned!or!distracting!backgrounds.!!If!you!have!an!artwork!that!is!made!of!black!wire!
or!something!like!that,!you!will!want!to!photograph!it!in!front!of!something!light!that!is!
not!distracting.!!!Do!not!photograph!your!two!dimensional!artwork!from!the!side!or!
from!another!oblique!angle.!!You!need!to!accurately!represent!what!is!in!front!of!you!so!
others!can!see!it!clearly.!
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Is!the!artwork!in!focus?!!Try!zooming!in!to!a!small!section!of!your!image!on!your!camera!
or!computer!and!make!sure!it!is!in!focus.!!!Artwork!can!appear!blurry!either!from!the!
camera!not!focusing!properly!or!from!movement!during!the!picture!taking!process.!!
Generally,!blur!from!movement!will!look!smeared!(like!the!image!on!the!right!above).!!
Blur!from!the!lens!focusing!incorrectly!will!just!look!blurry!(like!the!image!on!the!left!
above).!!If!you!have!blur!from!movement,!use!a!tripod,!stabilize!the!camera!against!a!
steady!surface,!or!use!a!brighter!source!of!light!to!reduce!blur.!
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