There are some basic settings you must change on your camera before taking photos of your artwork.
When I first got my digital camera, I searched everywhere online for proper settings for photographing my paintings.
I found many sites with great tips, but no specific settings.
This is why I am sharing them with you today.
This is the setup that has worked for me for photographing art.
These settings are for the Canon Digital SLR cameras. Many other camera brands have the same.
Camera settings often need to be adjusted to get a proper photograph, but this is a good starting point.
You may feel the need to adjust them according to your situation.
Photographing Art for The Web – My Digital SLR Camera Settings
- Attach your camera to a tripod, and adjust it accordingly.
- Turn the flash OFF
This is so there will be no glare on your photograph from the flash.
- Set the ISO to no higher than 200
- AV mode
Choose this so that the camera will automatically focus on the artwork.
- Aperture to F 5.6
You may feel the need to increase this number if all the image is not in focus. The higher the number, the more all of your artwork will be in focus.
- Change white balance according to the lighting you are using.
If you are shooting outdoors, then set your white balance to “daylight”. If taking pictures inside, choose either fluorescent or tungsten.
- Drive mode set to self-timer 10 sec
This is essential so that there will not be any blurriness in the image of your artwork. When you press the button to take a picture, a repeating beep will sound, and will get faster as the camera gets closer to taking the photo. Stay very still and away from the tripod to ensure the image doesn’t turn out blurry.
Some closing tips:
- Take lots of photographs.
- Try different distances from the artwork.
- Find a setting that works for you, and take a note of it for future photography sessions.
Digital Cameras for Art Photography
  |   |   |
| Canon EOS Rebel T3 | Nikon D90 DX | Canon EOS Rebel T3i |
After you look at them on your computer, simply pick out the best one that matches the quality of your artwork.
If you are interested in the setup for photographing art for the web, please kindly take a look at this:
Very interesting and helpful information.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad I could help!
Thanks for your tips. I bought a newer version of the Canon Rebel(t3i), upgraded from my older 6mp, and taking photos of my art has improved dramatically! I used to take so many shots to get one good one, and the light levels had to be very high, but this new one is amazing. I'm so glad I bit the bullet and bought one...specifically to photograph my art. The camera store said it was my lens that probably needed upgrading first , but I chose the camera upgrade instead (used the lens that came with the new camera)and it worked. Mia Lane
ReplyDelete@Mia Lane
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the upgrade, and I think you made a very good choice. This will not only save you much time, but improve the quality of your photos dramatically.
I have a Canon Rebel XS myself.. with 2 lenses ... 75-300mm and 18-55mm.. got it all new for a very good deal
Hello, I have the same camera, with 18-55 mm lens and I'm shutting paintings, kinda nervous, thoug... this should be my first gig involving paintings never shoot them before and I have to do like 60 to 70 paintings for a very Important collection of a well known painter in my country, this settings have been really help full, that about of set the self-timer to 10 secs to avoid any blurring is really a cool tip, I was wondering, though? what kind of shutter speed should I use,I'm shutting out doors and is gonna be full cloudy days here, I can tell, light that I love to work with but what should be the proper exposure time, thanks in advance.
DeleteI was recently asked to photograph some scultpures for an art dealer in Miami, Fl. This is not my field and i don't even know where to begin with rates. There are only 2 small peices (one of them hangs on a wall). The photos will be taken at the art dealer's location so i will travel (not far) with my photo and lighting equipment. I would guess from start to finish with set up it should take no more than 2-3 hours. Could anyone offer some advice on setting an appropriate rate, beyone reaching out to local photographers for their rates...this avenue lead me to many dead ends. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi this is such valuable information. I really need to get a lot of my very textured acrylic and oil paintings photographed. would a Canon 600D be a good choice?
ReplyDeleteThanks bloom...The Canon600D is a great choice!
ReplyDeleteHello, I have the same camera a Canon Rebel XS, with 18-55 mm lens and I'm shutting paintings, kinda nervous, though... this should be my first gig involving paintings never shoot them before and I have to do like 60 to 70 paintings for a very Important collection of a well known painter in my country, this settings have been really help full, that about of set the self-timer to 10 secs to avoid any blurring is really a cool tip, I was wondering, though? what kind of shutter speed should I use,I'm shutting out doors and is gonna be full of cloudy days here, I can tell, light that I love to work with, but what should be the proper exposure time, thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteHi there =) there is a +/- dial also... what should this be set on?
ReplyDeleteIf you find that you have a great interest in photography and want to take your skills to another level, then a Digital SLR camera can work for you. optics1.eu
ReplyDeleteThank you for the article. I learned a lot of interesting things. As for the tripod, I am a professional chaser and often turn to a source. I have never bothered to use a hunting tripod for photography purposes, then mega is convenient. I advise every hunter here, it is also economical. You can hunt and take pictures - the whole art.
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