What Camera to Use?
You will find a number of good resources regarding what camera you should use to photograph your artwork. Here are just a few we found.
NOTE: We do not endorse any particular solution.
- The Easy Guide to Photographing Artwork (Best Settings & Tips)
- How To Photograph Your Artwork (A 7 Steps Beginner’s Guide)
- Choosing a Digital Camera
- 10+ Best Cameras for Photographing Artwork in 2023 (February)
- 8 Best Cameras for Photographing Artwork in 2023
- Best Camera for Photographing Your Artwork (Buying Guide)
Older model point and shoot cameras also work well.
Gayle Faucette Wisbon uses a Canon EOS Rebel T5 18px camera. Her work looks great on her site, so it's hard to argue with success.
Another favorite camera is the Canon PowerShot D10. It is just a little thing, but great images, is waterproof and makes videos, if you were to use it for fun.
You should be able to get a decent camera for $200-400. Canon, and Olympus are great. Nikon is one of the best as well.
Some artists can create dynamic photographs of their art using their mobile phone. These images were taken with an iPhone, iOS 10.3.
To reiterate a point made in this article, How to Photograph Paintings, Ansen Seale writes:
Another surprise to most artists is the fact that the camera is probably the least important of all the elements leading to successful photos. Any camera, film or digital, can do a decent job of capturing the essence of your work, but incorrect settings will always lead to disaster. The more you know about your camera, the better your pictures will be, so read the manual!
The automatic settings on your camera will probably be OK if your work has many colors and a good range of dark and light areas filling the frame.
But if your work has strongly predominant hues, you will have better results with your camera on manual.
Photographing Your Art
More important than the camera you use, is technique.
Use a tripod to make sure your image is sharp. Work where there is no glare on your piece. If there's glass over your painting, remove it for the photography session.
For more about photographing your work, see this FAQ:
Tips on Photographing Your Artwork
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