Photographing Artwork

An important part of art marketing is having quality images of one's artwork.  What I am learning as I delve deeper into the subject of self promotion, is that art experts overwhelmingingly agree that too many artists are submitting substandard photographs of their artwork.  There is no leeway on this point.  With so many artists' applications to weed through, the ones with poor photographs are quickly removed from consideration.  They are not considered good candidates for an exhibit on many levels.  We as artists are repeatedly and strongly urged to get this right.   The photos below are of a work in progress taken with an HP digital camera:

 

                                                                                                   

"Be Mine"

Oil on Canvas

30x40"
(work in progress)

These two photos were taken minutes apart with only an adjustment of 3 settings.

I began photographing my work before the digital age worked on my technique until excellent slides were produced.  Many of the do's and don'ts have not changed since then, though I was having difficulty producing representative photos of artwork with my current digital camera.  With a 35mm, I felt I had much more control over the settings.  Until recently I thought I may need to upgrade my digital camera, an HP 5.1 MP R707 with a 24x zoom.  As it turns out, I needed to adjust some settings I did not realize existed.    Thursday I will post the details of how the better likeness was obtained.

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