How to Take and Edit Photos of Your Paintings

Good quality photos of your paintings are essential. Perhaps you want to sell your paintings, show your portfolio or record your progress. In each case a photo should carry this off to best effect.

A photo for the internet should meet the following basic requirements:

1. The photo must be clear without any blurring.
2. Colors should be accurate.
3. The format of the photo should be suitable for internet usage such as a jpeg or png.
4. The file size must be small enough to allow fast loading. But large enough to allow for a larger image to open up when the thumbnail image is clicked.
5. Name the image file with a description for SEO purposes.

A consistent procedure will allow for consistent results. Everyone has their favorite approach, but I can give you my own version. I don't say this is the best way, but it is simple and gives good results.

Equipment:

1. Camera: Most modern digital cameras will do. Even a smartphone camera with a high pixel rate may be enough. I use a Canon DSLR which is overkill for this, but it is also my video camera so it earns its keep.
2. A tripod is essential
3. Software. Basic editing software. I prefer using Picmonkey, as you will see, for quick work.
4. Lighting: No doubt about it. Natural light is best. Whether indoors by a window or outside under a shade of some sort. Two things to point out.

Good Lighting is Critical. Let us look at this in more detail.

1. Keep direct sunlight off the painting
2. If outdoors, place the painting under some sort of shade cloth or awning to diffuse the light. 
3. Also be aware of strong sunlight reflected onto the painting. A window or wall behind the photographer may cause flare on the painting too. This is especially so for a varnished painting.

My favorite set-up is to lean the painting against something in an upright position. This is on top of a patio table under an awning outdoors, large enough to keep direct sunlight off the painting. 

Time of day is also important. The best times are early morning and later in the afternoon. The light is softer and warmer. Avoid the harsh light during the middle of the day.

Also cool overcast light is not particularly flattering. I want to avoid photoshopping the image too much so choose soft warm sunlight conditions.

Then place the camera on a tripod and lower the camera so that it is facing the painting front on. Not looking down at an angle. The latter approach will distort the image. You want it square to make cropping easier.

Make sure the image is in focus. "It will do" is not good enough. Aim for perfect focus. Check the image preview before you pack up your kit. Nothing ticks me off more than discovering out of focus pics after I have packed up.

Editing:

I prefer to copy the image in jpeg format via a memory card reader to the computer. Save the original image in a computer folder dedicated for original images only. Save the final image in another folder. 

I prefer the original file to be large. Usually around 2mb. This makes it possible to print an A4 print or even an A3 print. Perhaps I can make a poster or sell a print later on. Also cropping for details in slideshows and so on may be required another time. Keep your options open.

Organised folders become important once the number of images grows. It also makes the entire process go quicker. Finding the photo also is easier. Be organised from the start. Oh, and remember to have a backup. Store images on Dropbox and Google drive for free. Bigger folders will need an external drive.

Software. There are many options, but I seem to have bad luck with imaging software. It is either too complicated or crashes after a while. Besides which I am not trying to create fancy effects. The photo must look like the painting. Basic editing features will suffice. After much trial and error I have settled for the paid version of Picmonkey online.

Editing Basics:

1. Cropping the image. Do not include a frame either real or virtual. Just the painting. If you want to show it framed then take another photo and have them both on your website. Framed and unframed.
2. Adjust brightness, saturation, white balance and temperature. But only so far as is required to match the actual painting. This is critical. Look at the painting and compare to your computer image. It must be as close as possible. Do not misrepresent the painting. Yes some colors, such as blue, may vary. Computer monitor settings also influence the image. But variations should be reasonable, not be significant. 
3. Save: Once the image is satisfactory save it with a descriptive title. For example: East Beach Sunrise Port Alfred.jpeg. Not some sort of default number. This makes the file easier to find and for Google to read.
4. Size: Save the file in an appropriate size. Something around 200Kb is fine for computers and mobile devices.
5. Folders: Save the file to a specific folder such as Website Gallery. A sub-folder like Seascapes 2018 also helps.

The photo should now be ready for uploading to your website gallery. A few tips:

1. A thumbnail image helps you fit many images in a small amount of space. This allows viewers to glance over a number of paintings quickly. They can then select a picture, click on it, and see a larger image. Use this type of feature if you can. Most websites should offer this basic functionality.
2. But before you finish make sure the image is optimised for SEO (search engine optimisation) purposes. This means that it is described in a way that search engines can read the description. IMG14002, for example, is meaningless to a search engine. Plus the search engine cannot see your image so a meaningful description is essential.

Visual Content Marketing Guide
I cover this aspect is detail in my book, The Art of Content Marketing. SEO can be  bit daunting at first, but maybe your website caters for image description without any specialist knowledge? In my case I can add a description in a handy "text box". A description like East Beach Port Alfred oil painting by Malcolm Dewey is better for SEO. 

It helps that you have saved the file with a full description. Plus a caption under the image on your website also helps with SEO.

Social Sharing:
Once uploaded remember to make the image shareable on Pinterest and other media channels. Add a pin it button or use a service like Add This. This service generates a pin-it button when you scroll-over the image. 

Of course you should pin the image to your Pinterest board and share it to your own social media. By the way let's meet on Pinterest too -  join me on Pinterest here.

Last but not least. Backup your images. Cloud based services such as Dropbox make this easier, but you will probably need a paid version once your size limits are exceeded. Still it is a bargain! Also use an external backup drive that automatically runs once a day. Something like a 3 terabyte drive to backup your documents. Better safe than sorry.

Phew! Quite a job after all, but necessary. Images are such an important part of our lives as artists, entrepreneurs and marketers. Do your best with images and they will pay you back.

For more on your visual content try my book on visual content marketing.

There are also a few excellent courses on taking better photographs like this one from photographer Bernie Raff. Have a go!

Photography - Become a Better Photographer - Part I

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My basic approach to taking photos of my art:

How to Take and Edit Photos of Your Paintings from Malcolm Dewey on Vimeo.

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How to Use References

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