How Do I Avoid Glare When Photographing My Artwork?

Q: How Do I Avoid Glare When Photographing My Artwork?

A: Photographing your finished high gloss ArtResin pieces can be challenging due to glare and reflection. So we called upon our friend Geoff George, who is a professional photographer, to show us just how to do it.

1. Work in a controlled environment:
Taking a shot with both studio lights and ambient lighting ( daylight or from lamps/ceiling lights ) can cause glare and uneven lighting. Close curtains and blinds and adjust room lights as necessary in order to control all the light hitting your piece.

2. Set up your lighting:
To get an equal, even wash of light, set up two identical lights on either side of your artwork at 45 degree angles. Use the brightest lights you can and ensure both lights are the same in order to provide even amounts and even colour. Never use your camera's flash or light your work from the same angle as the camera or else you'll end up with a hot spots in your work.

3. Set up your artwork:
Whether you hang your artwork, lean it on a wall, or lay it on the floor, it's important that the camera is positioned at a perfectly parallel angle and that the lens is centred to the middle to avoid making your piece look distorted. Using a tripod locks the camera in and offers the most control.

4. Adjust your lights and your artwork for reflections:
Examine the way your artwork looks through the lens, identifying any unwanted sources of light and finding a way to minimize them. You may need to adjust the positioning of your lights or adjust your artwork

5. Take a few test shots:
Once you're happy with what you see, you're ready to shoot!

To learn all the tips and tricks, check out our blog, How To Photograph Your Resin Art Like A Pro

ArtResin: Made For Artists, By Artists

[markmark]

Turning it at an angle and matching the camera worked perfectly for me! Thanks!!!

[MarioGarcia-ju]

You always make learning feel so accessible!

[lisacupp]

Ah! Use matching lights!! 🙄 and a whole host of other fabulous tips, thank you!! I’m new and not good at this, , so your video is a huge help! Thank you Geoff George and Art Resin!

[iancarlson-wm]

The pencil test to check distribution is brilliant!

[jarvis]

Great. Watched about eight tutorials. This is by far the most useful and compact. Thanks.

[philipandrews]

A grey card would make the white balance portion way easier

[eRobb]

The pencil against the wall thing was brilliant 👌👌

[deesdavi]

Amazing Geoff!
I'm used to having my headshots done as an actress but taking pics of my paintings is totally different! Lol I appreciate the help!

[BlackCat_]

Very good tips! I have solved my problems so far by just taking photos outside and using my handheld camera just moving around the piece taking several different photos and then choosing the best one (or two etc.) My neighbors might wonder about my sanity though that I am outside so much taking multiple pictures of random things. :p - Heidi

[DFish]

Great presentation from someone who's actually competent!

[ccsworldaustralia]

Thank you, it is very challenging for me, love Art Resin, and yes, reflections are a problem. Also i use my mobile for everything, wish i did have a good camera...cheers

[dilliboirubirosa]

Don’t use a ball head, use a geared head. Don’t guess white balance, use a Colorchecker Passport and custom color profiles. Don’t use cheap zooms, use excellent prime lenses.

[marinasilluminations]

Thanks so much. That was great. You made it look easy.

[artdimple]

it's helpful.. thank u so much for sharing this info....

[karengray]

Good info, but could you please do a video when using iPhone or iPad and not having a lighting system. Thanks

[jackiemcdonaldmansfield]

That's great but I haven't got a lighting studio 😩😩

[BrettRaney]

Brilliant Tutorial! I'm just wondering the make and model of the lights you're using in this video? Thanks so much Art Resin!

[arnolfini]

45 degree lighting can cause some problems with old master paintings .A black background is better than white as it reduces flare .

[mrz]

Hi, I agree that is the best setup and much better than direct lighting through umbrella or soft-boxes from 45 degree sides+ clamshell from top and bottom. In my dark studio I tried this setup same as you but the light is not bouncing equally to the artwork (specially if it’s in large size) because strobe is circle shape and hitting the center of white flat. Then I tried shooting in large shade of sunny day- afternoon and the result was very good, clear and sharp with well accurate colours and all details; BUT not rich dynamic range as much as shooting in studio with LED. Natural light in this way makes the artwork some kind of pale! After that I decided to avoid stone flash and use continues LED light. If set from 4 sides, still the center of artwork is not illuminating as sides equally again! Finally, I had to manage my lighting setup by Flexible continuous LED with a unique design. How? With making a LED-wall in parallel of the artwork. In this way I can be sure that my artwork is illuminating by the lighting-wall corner to corner equally. That’s it. What do you think?

[christopherfarrell-artist]

This is a problem for my larger paintings on aluminium and can be resolved, for me it takes a bit more effort. I normally take photographs of the same painting upright and upside down as my glare is usually on the top part of the painting. I then composite the best parts together in photoshop, which is easy if conditions are kept constant. You just flip the art and mask out the that you can adjust curves and colour ( if needed ).

For glossy paintings, or handling any artworks, it is really important to wear cotton or archive gloves to avoid those greasy finger prints. They WILL show on the surface of paintings, this could be a factor to prevent a sale.