You've spent weeks — maybe months — creating a piece you're proud of. The last thing you want is for a blurry photo to be the reason a juror passes you over. The good news: you don't need a professional studio or expensive equipment to take great photos of your work. You just need a few basics and a little patience.
Lighting Is Everything
The single biggest difference between a good artwork photo and a bad one is lighting. Natural daylight on an overcast day is your best friend — it's soft, even, and free. If you're shooting indoors, set up near a large window. Avoid direct sunlight, which creates harsh shadows and hot spots that wash out detail.
If natural light isn't an option, two simple clip-on LED panels placed at 45-degree angles on either side of your work will get you surprisingly far. The goal is even illumination with no harsh shadows.
Backgrounds: Keep It Simple
A clean, neutral background keeps the focus on your work. A plain white or light gray backdrop works for most pieces. For darker work, a medium gray can provide better contrast. You can buy a roll of seamless backdrop paper for under $20, or use a large piece of matte poster board in a pinch.
Avoid busy backgrounds, patterned tablecloths, or shooting your work on your kitchen counter with the coffee maker in frame. Jurors want to see your art, not your breakfast setup.
Camera Settings and Angles
If you're using a phone camera — which is totally fine for most applications — make sure to:
- Clean the lens (seriously, this alone fixes half of all blurry photos)
- Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera
- Tap to focus on the center of your piece
- Hold steady or prop the phone against something solid
- Turn off the flash — it creates glare and uneven lighting
For two-dimensional work, shoot straight on so the piece fills the frame without distortion. For three-dimensional work (sculpture, ceramics, jewelry), shoot at eye level and consider including a second angle to show depth.
Color Accuracy Matters
Jurors may fall in love with your piece on screen and then feel misled when they see it in person if the colors are way off. White balance is the culprit. If your photo has a yellowish or bluish tint, adjust the white balance in your phone's camera settings or use a free editing app to correct it afterward.
A quick trick: include a white sheet of paper in one test shot. If the paper looks white on screen, your white balance is close enough. Remove the paper for the final shot.
Cropping and File Size
Most shows specify image dimensions and file size limits in their prospectus. Read those requirements before you start shooting — it's much easier to frame your shot correctly than to crop a bad photo into a good one later.
Leave a small margin around your work when framing the shot. You can always crop tighter, but you can't add back what you cut off.
The Detail Shot
Many shows ask for a detail shot in addition to full views. This is your chance to show texture, brushwork, joinery, or whatever makes your process special. Get close, keep it sharp, and pick the area of your piece that best represents your craftsmanship.
Great photos won't make mediocre work look amazing — but bad photos absolutely can make amazing work look mediocre. Take the time to get this right. Your art deserves it.