How to take photos of Paintings with your Digital Camera?

If you are an artist you will photograph your painting for selling it with a good price. If you are collector of painting collection, you will require photograph of painting for insuring it. Both of the parts discussed above require good photography skills. If you are trying a hand on this, at first the job will be a headache, but with experience you will master this job. The article discussed below will provide you with tips which will be useful for getting good photographs of your painting.

Image.1 Soft outcome of an Digital Camera (source)

Prerequisite

• At first you have to collect all the required things together so that your mind will not be diverted in finding the required things when you need them.
• Get the required camera as per your requirement.
• Collect all the paintings together at one place.
• If the painting contains frames clean the frames so that they don’t have any dust on them.
• Check the batteries of cameras.
• Clear up the memory card so that you have sufficient space.
• Set up cables for the camera for connecting it to the computer.

Choosing the Camera and the Film

• Choosing the camera is not a job of great deal, just a camera of 35mm point shoot will also do.
• If there is requirement for showing your work in public with help of slide show, then you will require a photo film. Using Fuji Velvia is a good option according to me.
• If you are experienced user of point shoot camera then the results you get will be more good then a SLR camera.
• For stability of camera tripod is must. Getting a sturdy tripod is better option then a clumsy one.
• If you have used a photo film for the snaps, then develop the films from Kodak. Kodak films will reveal each and every color in your painting. 

Image.2 Photograph Using Polarized Filters(source)

Starting with the actual work 

1. Revelation of each an every color used in painting that too with good quality, is the deciding factor for the quality of painting.
2. The frames of painting many a time contains glass frames. So if you use the internal flash of camera the out come will be you will not see the painting but just the flash. So turn off the camera flash.
3. Use of external flash with white filter is a good option, as the light from the filter will not be reflected by the glass and the painting will be well lit too. Use of polarized filter for the lens is also a good option for removing the glare in the glass.
4. The whole painting must only be the content of the photograph and there should be no any background in the photo.
5. Even if the photograph of yours is of the best quality, then too it requires some digital fixing. So you must be aware of different photo editing software’s, so you can deal with the minor defects in the photographs.

So in all the discussion above is of just of some guidelines which are helpful to you for getting good photographs of your painting.