Photographing Art

Photographing art: Why, when, and by Whom?

Having high-quality images of your art isn't a luxury, convenience or simply a good idea. It is absolutely mandatory to be a successful visual artist today. Your portfolio can be used in so many ways to promote your work that it makes sense to have very good images to display. Whether you use a virtual portfolio on digital storage media or tried and true prints on photo paper, this is how your art will be shown to the vast majority of people who'll see what you do. Applying for entry into art competitions, gallery shows, festivals, art publications, local news interviews and so on. In short, any time someone wants to see what you do and you won't be sending them original pieces, you will need high quality photographs.

I hope you are convinced by now that photographing art is mandatory. The next question to be answered is when to photograph your work. This isn't a minor point, and it applies primarily to two dimensional works. Photograph before you frame. Framing may compliment the art and it is quite important, but not yet! A frame can be a distraction from the art it surrounds, and at this point the emphasis needs to be on the art itself. Works mounted under glass can be quite difficult to photograph. Deeply recessed or highly ornate frames can be difficult due to shadows and depth-of-field problems. There are rare occasions when a single piece can be acceptably photographed framed, but it isn't a great idea. Even if this is done I'd still have a second version of the work with the frame cropped away digitally. Understand that I believe two-dimensional art benefits greatly from appropriate framing. It's important to note, however, that a beautiful work can look great in many different frame styles, and you don't want this to be a distraction from the appreciation of your art.

The final question we'll address here is: Who will do the photography? This one shouldn't take a whole lot of thought. If you want great results, use a professional. Unless you are very accomplished in photographing art with digital photography, studio lighting, image capture and manipulation applications, data storage; understand how, when, and why to use RAW, TIFF, and JPEG formats, and all of the details necessary, let a professional help you. They'll do a much better job in far less time than you would. High quality imaging is complicated and time consuming to those who haven't done much of it, but it can make all the difference in how your work is perceived.

Nothing says "amateur" more clearly than badly done images of your work. I have seen photos of paintings that were propped-up in a lawn chair in the back yard, or photos that were so distorted and warped-looking you'd swear they were taken in some kind of a fun-house. Photographing art with a flash bouncing off glass obscures the entire painting. This kind of effort is completely worthless and won't be taken seriously be anyone. If you are an accomplished photographer that's great. If you know just what you're doing it'll be fine. If you don't really know how to photograph your work to make it really look its best, get help. There are many photographers who can either do the work for you in their studio, or direct you to someone who can.

Photographing art and having great images of your work at your finger tips is a must today. Whether it's posted on your website, stored online, kept in a binder, or where ever you keep it, your image portfolio will be key to your success in art.

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