Help me out PLEASE!

[hunnybunny]

I don't know exactly where to post this.how do i go about taking a professional looking picture of a piece of art?

[Flake]

If you have a big enough scanner, use that.

If you need to take a photo, the steps at the end of this are a good starting point.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45901

If you can't do this, either find a photographer mate with good gear or employ a pro.

[HotDamnMan]

If I could add a few things to that.

If you don't have access to photo lamps/umbrellas, try to take your picture outside in open shade. Sunny day, but not directly in the sun. Hopefully you'll have a white balance setting on your camera and know how to set it.

Have your artwork on an easel and the camera on a tripod. Be sure the lens is perpendicular to the artwork. This will cut down on distortion.

Take the pictures at the highest resolution and best picture quality available on your camera.

See if your camera will save the pictures in a format other than jpg. Every time you re-save a jpg it looses some of its quality.

I'd be happy to answer an questions.

[Grief]

vroom vroom search feature
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110691
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99564

[Not Pink]

here's what I do:
1. get outside or a room with fluorescent lights (office lights, the cool swirly bulbs, etc.)
2. lie down the piece on the floor
3.take a picture of it pointing straight down (remember, if it's really big, you can always take more than one and put them together, don't sacrifice skewing it so you can stand on your tip-toes for one picture)
4. upload the picture to your computer and run it on photoshop
5. choose Image from the file bar, in the drop down menu go one buy one and use the auto color, auto contrast, and auto tone in that order. you can use them more than one time, and in any order, I just find this is the best way. doing it multiple times does sometimes help, but the more you do it, the less noticeable the change is.
6. do some touch up. select certain areas with the magic wand and repeat step five, also use the tools in Image>adjustments. they really help.
7. Profit.

tips:
-I might be wasting my keyboard to type this but, the better the camera, the better the picture.
-DO NOT use incandescent lights. they are yellow and will ruin it.
-the more pictures you have of smaller areas, the higher the resolution the pic is. yes you can get that 16x20 in one pic, but take it in 4, stack em together, and you have one image 4 times larger than what you were going to do.
-oh, and of course, watch out for glare.

this isn't giant-ass expensive art-scanner quality, but it's pretty good, and gets the job done for a simple portfolio or presentation.

[Grief]

here's what I do:
1. get outside or a room with fluorescent lights (office lights, the cool swirly bulbs, etc.)
3.take a picture of it pointing straight down


weather, shadows, etc, ignore 'em.

tips:
-the better the camera, the better the picture.

here's a fake story:
a painter and a photographer both have art exhibits that open across from one another. the artists meet and browse the works with each other. after looking upon the photographs the painter says to the photographer, "my these images are excellent! i'd bet that you use only the most expensive camera to create such exquisite pictures!" the photographer remains silent but accepts the praise. they walk ascross the street to look at the painter's work. after an hour of careful study and appreciation the photographer says to the painter "and my oh my, what lovely painting you have! you must use only the most expensive brushes to create such paintings!"


-DO NOT use incandescent lights. they are yellow and will ruin it.


ill tag in wikipedia for this one.
Film photography
Film sometimes appears to exaggerate the color of the light, since it does not adapt to lighting color as our visual perception does. An object that appears to the eye to be white may turn out to look very blue or orange in a photograph. The color balance may need to be corrected while shooting or while printing to achieve a neutral color print.

Film is made for specific light sources (most commonly daylight film and tungsten film), and used properly, will create a neutral color print. Matching the sensitivity of the film to the color temperature of the light source is one way to balance color. If tungsten film is used indoors with incandescent lamps, the yellowish-orange light of the tungsten [incandescent] bulbs will appear as white (3200 K) in the photograph.

Filters on a camera lens, or color gels over the light source(s) may also be used to correct color balance. When shooting with a bluish light (high color temperature) source such as on an overcast day, in the shade, in window light or if using tungsten film with white or blue light, a yellowish-orange filter will correct this. For shooting with daylight film (calibrated to 5600 K) under warmer (low color temperature) light sources such as sunsets, candle light or tungsten lighting, a bluish (e.g. #80A) filter may be used.

If there is more than one light source with varied color temperatures, one way to balance the color is to use daylight film and place color-correcting gel filters over each light source.

Photographers sometimes use color temperature meters. Color temperature meters are usually designed to read only two regions along the visible spectrum (red and blue); more expensive ones read three regions (red, green, and blue). However, they are ineffective with sources such as fluorescent or discharge lamps, whose light varies in color and may be harder to correct for. Because it is often greenish, a magenta filter may correct it. More sophisticated colorimetry tools can be used where such meters are lacking.

[hunnybunny]

thanks everyone...you've all been very helpful.i'll come back to you if i have any more questions.