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| Guide
to shooting great photos of your art work & Saving
for the Web |
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| Introduction | What
Makes Us Different | Our
Winning Circle |
Who Can
Participate? | Kinds
of Artwork | What
Do We Provide? | What
is Expected of Artists? | About
Arttowngifts.com | How
We Charge? |
Artist
Referral Program |
Steps
to Apply | Artist Participating
Agreement | Artist
- FAQ | Taking
Product Photos | Apply
Today |
|
| Learn
how to shoot and prepare your product photos
for selling on the internet |
Providing an
outstanding
product photo
is the most important task you
can do
to improve your sales as an artist. |
| When
selling work online the customer does not have
the benefit of handling the piece, therefore
it is really the photography that sells the piece.
With this in mind it is important to have quality
images. Ideally you would hire a professional
product photographer to shoot photos of your
work of art. After all, you have spent a great
deal of time creating the art, you want to display
it in the best possible light. If you can't justify
hiring a professional photographer, then you
can take your own product photos if you keep
a few things in mind when taking your photos. |
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| step 1. The equipment |
|
Don't
worry about file size |
Use
a Digital Camera If
possible, use a digital camera
since it will eliminate the need to convert
the photo to a digital file which can reduce
the quality of photograph.
35 MM Instructions: If
you must use a 35mm, use film at 400 speed or
better including 250 or 100. You will also need
to have your photos converted to digital files.
You can have this done when you take the film
in for developing. Make sure the developer knows
that you want high resolution digital files.
Sometimes they reduce file size on the assumption
that is what you want. They should give you a
CD of your photo files.
You will use this CD to access your photo
files and transmit them to us with your application
and later through our Artist's Dashboard. (See
more instructions below.) You can also have your
photos scanned to convert them into digital files.
Many copy centers such as Kinkos or Mail Boxes
Etc. can do the scanning for you.
Select the Highest Resolution Set
your camera to the highest quality or resolution.
Select an Appropriate
Setting/Background If
possible shoot your photos
outside using
natural light. That
way you can avoid using a flash which will often
distort art. Almost any outside day light will
do. Slightly overcast days (without being too
dark) can produce very good results when taking
pictures outdoors, as the light is naturally
well balanced and not too intense. If
direct sunlight produces black shadows that
have no detail, use white cards positioned just
out of frame to bounce light into dark areas.
Shooting Indoors - Using artificial light:
If you must shoot indoors take some time to
set up artificial lighting. If you do not
have access to photography lights, you may want
to purchase a couple of common halogen lights
available at most hardware stores. (Incandescent
and fluorescent lights cause unwanted color
changes.)
When placing the lights, imagine that
the lights are attached at the opposite ends
of a rod held level with your object. Place
one light slightly in back of your subject on
one side and the other slightly in front on
the other side. Have both lights facing the
subject. You may also use white poster boards
to help reflect additional light onto the subject.
If you must use a straight-on camera flash,
cover it with a tissue. Experiment.
Dealing with Glare:
Move lights around. Try placing them at less than 22
1/2 degrees from the subject, never 45 degrees.
Keep
your background simple:
Remember we
are only interested in the product.
A non-distracting background is essential.
Use a building wall, or purchase matte board
and craft a backdrop for your work. Don't use
pure white, as it tends to create too much contrast
in your photo. Place the art object against
a background of contrasting color. Ideally,
light objects should be photographed against a dark
or black background. Do not use texture or patterned
back drops. If you use a cloth backdrop, avoid
wrinkles and buckles.
Hide the
things you use to prop up the art. The only thing
in your photo should be the product item as
it is to be sold. So if you are selling an item
without a frame, photograph it without the frame.
Sculpture can be placed on a table in front
of background paper, foamcore, or darkness.
Hang paintings on something vertical and secure.
Pin works on paper to a vertical corkboard or
piece of homosote. Try to position your artwork securely on a flat surface such that you can photograph it straight on (at right angles). Take the time to do this right
and you will be surprised at the professional
results you can obtain.
Use a Tripod to keep the camera still Lots
of camera stores rent their lights and
tripods. If you do not have a tripod, find something
on which to set your camera on. |
|
Don't worry about the file
size. We would prefer a high quality digital
photo that we compress for optimizing the download
time. The smallest side should be at least 575
pixels. We prefer 2,000 pixels. This is so that
the largest image of your product is not an enlargement.
It is better to start out large and compress
than to start small and enlarge. |
| Take Lots of Photos |
Take multiple
photos of every product. Shoot from different
angles. Frame the product within the camera view
finder several different ways. If you have a
camera with manual exposure controls, take shots
of each piece with slightly under and slightly
over exposed settings in addition to shooting
at the correct exposure. This will give you a
variety of results to choose from. Then you can
select the best photos to upload to us.
Also
in some cases you will want to shoot from various
angles to provide the customer with a complete
view of your work of art. |
| Don't Use a Wide
Angle Lens |
| Avoid using lenses
such as a wide angle that might distort your
art work. |
| Scan instead
of photographing |
| If your art work
will fit and lie flat in a scanner, you can scan
it instead of taking a photograph. You would
just send us the output file as if it were a
photo file. |
| Shoot without
Frames |
| Unless you are
selling the work with a frame, always shoot your
product photos without a frame. |
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| Shooting
the photograph - Technique |
|
Get close up! |
- Move close
- Keep the product in the center of the frame
- Fill
your viewfinder with the entire subject leaving
a little space around the work to make sure
you capture the entire subject. We will do
the necessary cropping.
- When photographing
paintings, check that the edges of the paintings
are straight (parallel) with the sides and
the top/bottom edges of the viewfinder. If
they are not straight then your camera is
not positioned squarely in front of the piece,
or your artwork needs to be tilted up or
down.
- Make sure that the camera is parallel and
level to your piece of art. Use a level
to make sure the front of the lens, the side
of the camera and the top of the camera are
all level.
- Focus your camera as carefully as possible.
Out of focus images are more difficult to
correct than exposure problems.
Many of today's smaller automatic focus cameras
cannot focus at a close distance. Check the
manual or instructions for your camera to
see what the minimum focal distance is.
|
|
Buyers want to see detail,
so really make your item take up the whole frame.
Consider taking a close-up of a section of the
item in addition to the entire object in order
to give buyers a better idea of the item's actual
condition. |
| One Product at
a Time |
| Only display one
item at a time in the photos. |
| |
| Digital image
specifications |
| Please submit your
images using the following guidelines: |
-
Platform: Windows XP, NT or 98
- Pixel Dimension: 2000 pixels (at the
image's longest dimension) 575 pixels is
the minimum size we can post to the site
- Resolution:
300 pixels per inch
- Mode: RGB Color
- File Format: PNG,
TIFF, PICT, JPEG, GIF
- No watermark please
- Use our online application form
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| |
| Identifying your
Photos |
| Save
your photo files using the following naming convention: |
The
Initial Photo: First
Initial+Last Name+ Product ID or
Product
Submission # |
| Examples: JSmith1, JSmith
2, JSmith3 |
| Same
Product, Additional Photos: Add
a, b, c, etc following the number |
| Examples: JSmith1a, JSmith1b, JSmith1c |
| |
| Saving
your photos |
Save
your edited picture as one of the file types
listed in the specifications above.
Here's
how (in most programs):
1.
Choose Save As from the File menu.
2.
Name your file using the style indicated above
.
3.
Select a file type from the Save
as Type drop-down list.
(See options above)
4.
Remember where you stored the files |
| |
| Transmit your Photo
from the Application Form |
| Proceed
to the Application
Form and complete each field of the form
until you come to the product photo section.
In the Photo upload field click, browse and
then navigate to the file where you stored the
photos. Click the product photo file you wish
to upload. Now when you submit the application
form, your photo will be automatically transmitted
to us with your application. Repeat the process
for additional photos. |
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| Photo Releases |
| Once
you have been accepted and are uploading product
photos to display on the site, you will need
to obtain a photo release from any individuals
in your photos. You also need a release when
you use a private building such as a business
in your photo. For your convenience you can find
a copy of each release type here. |
Individual
Photo Release Property
Photo Release
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Make Arttowngifts work for you,
apply to become a participating artist today! |
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