Looking for photographing information...

[Former_Member]

Hello - I am new to Etsy and am looking forward to opening a shop. But right now I'm stuck and could use advice/information. I would like to know how to photograph original paintings/drawings to be reproduced and sold as prints. It is important to me to sell high quality images. I'm not sure if I need to take my work to a professional photographer, or if this is something I can manage on my own. My paintings vary in size, but many of them are too large to scan on a home printer. Also, if it matters, they are often heavily textured.
I did find plenty of great photography info on Etsy, but I haven't found information on the technical part of how to take photos of original art in order to produce and sell the prints. Many artists featured in Etsy are reproducing their work on quality paper or canvas, and the images look very professional.

Any advice or information is appreciated! Thank you everyone - Kathryn

[MurrayBolesta]

A few very general tips follow but depend entirely upon the equipment you have available for this -

1) Set camera to highest resolution possible
2) Carefully choose a lighting source to allow "even" lighting: no hot spots. This will require diffusing of light or using 4 multiple similar light sources placed on both sides of artwork and the level of each corner of artwork
3) Lighting source should be single i.e. not a combination of artificial and natural light
4) Set camera white balance setting to the source you're using
5) Set camera at height of artwork, must be at perfect parallel to eliminate lens distortion; use tripod
6) After picture is taken, develop a process to compare the colors of the final image with the original artwork using the same light source if possible
7) Cropping of digital image will depend upon framing of artwork and the area surrounding frame

[Former_Member]

Do you have a preference for a camera? a DSLR or Cannon Rebel XSI or other? Should it have a certain number of megapixels? (rookie questions - sorry)

When you mention lighting, besides natural light do you have another suggestion? One artist mentioned Tungsten lighting. And, do you have a source for the lights? I don't know what to look at when purchasing lighting equipment.

I don't have any equipment yet, but I have been researching. This is why I asked if I should be contacting a professional photographer. I want to make sure I am making an investment in the right tools to get the results needed.

Thank you for your reply - KRJ

PS: Beautiful photos, especially like the Airplane and Cactus Huggers