Could use some tips on photography

Navgator wrote

on 21 Sep 2009 11:09 AM

I'm very discouraged by the way my painting photos turn out.  The colors are frequently washed out or distorted even though I don't use flash.  Then, when I upload them and reduce them in size (100 kb max) they lose definition.  I see other people's paintings which are sharp and clear, so it must be me.  Any advice would be welcome.

• natural or incandescent light?
• shoot from a distance using zoom, or close up?
• What settings, other than 'normal'?
• How best to light the painting?

I am using an Olympus 8MP digital camera.

Jon Lucas

j.b2 wrote

on 23 Sep 2009 5:48 PM

The Olympus 8MP digital camera should work just fine.

Here's how I shoot photos of paintings.

Shoot them in the studio under north light. What I do is place the painting on my French easel with a black mat board behind the painting. The light source is off to the side at less than 45 degrees. To reduce the glare I angle the top of the painting at slightly over 90 degrees to the floor. I place the camera on a tripod about 3 feet from the painting and use the zoom to frame it as best I can. The camera is at or slightly above the center of the painting to reduce glare.

All of the following is in the auto setting. I then turn off the flash. After everything looks good I take a photo. Then I shoot one a stop under, two stops under, then three stops under. On my Nikon it's labled -.3, -.7, -1. That way I can choose the correct lighting for each painting. Your manule should tell you how to do this.

After down loading them I import them to photo shop and crop them. That's all I do.

Good Luck!!!

Navgator wrote

on 23 Sep 2009 9:24 PM

Thanks, that's very helpful.  A further question though:  the photos weigh in at about 3.5 MB.  In order to bring them down to 100 kb or so I have to convert the format, which I do with the program Olympus supplied with the camera.  The result is a definite loss of definition.  Is there a better way to do this?  Would Photoshop do it better?

j.b2 wrote

on 24 Sep 2009 5:38 AM

With my Nikon I download them into the piture project software that came with the camera. This stores them on the hard-drive of the computer & they are big files, 2 - 3 mb. Then from that same software I export them as jeg files to a file where I store photos. The software allows me to export them in about 7 different sizes. Generally I select large pc screen, 1024 x 768. This re-sizes them to about 200kb or so. Next I upload a photo in to photoshop to 1st crop it & resize it as needed. They always are crisp.

Olympus software should work in the same manner..

I haven't gone directly from 3mb camera software to the photoshop program but you could try it. You have nothing to lose but a little time. I store my photos as 200kb jegs so I can pull them up quickly to send out or post. Good luck and keep us posted...

Navgator wrote

on 24 Sep 2009 12:01 PM

Thanks again.  I have a much clearer idea of how to proceed now.

Robin11 wrote

on 7 Oct 2009 10:26 AM

Thanks from me, too.  I can't get a decent photo of my work to save my life.  I'll try these tips

Tom Perry wrote

on 16 Oct 2010 1:12 PM

I'd like to add one more useful hint.  Back off from your art  leaving a generous border around it then use your favorite program to crop.  this will get rid of the barreling distortion.

In my case I have only a 1.6MP camera so I back off, pan in and then snap the picture for the same result.

There are several very good software programs available for adjusting your photo.  Some free, some cost.  I usually use an older program called Paint Shop Pro By JASC.  I believe it has been sold to Corel.  I also use a program called GIMP 2.  GIMP can do almost anything. :)  gimp is a free download.  GIMP also has a steep learning curve so download the help file while your at it.

download here:

http://www.gimp.org/

Gnu Image Manipulation Program.

KatPaints wrote

on 14 Feb 2011 5:05 PM

I noticed the exact same wording of this original post elsewhere by a poster with a different username so I am bumping it to the top. Maybe photography is still an issue. I've noticed several new posts that use small imagery.