Photographing Your Art
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When it comes to printing your artwork it is extremely important to start out with a high resolution digital image of the best quality possible.
As we have mentioned before, this can be achieved by scanning or by taking a digital photograph. For many artists nowadays, photographing their work themselves has become an attractive option for several reasons. Firstly, they may well already have a good quality digital camera and maybe an interest in photography; secondly it makes sense to produce their own images as it will represent at least some cost saving in the printing process.
However, it can be both a blessing and a curse for various reasons too, because taking a good photograph, like many things in life, does require some practice and a basic understanding of digital photography. Once mastered however, it can be very rewarding and learning to photograph your art will hopefully lead to greater and understanding of your equipment and the principles of photography and, in turn, perhaps give you another artistic outlet as well as a lot of enjoyment from taking better photographs on of all kinds of different subjects.
Image By Effie Yang
This is just a brief outline of what you will need to know and understand in order to produce a digital image of sufficiently high standard for a printer to be able to produce a reproduction of good quality which is, after all, what you want as an artist.
In terms of equipment you are going to need a DSLR camera and currently these are available from a few hundred dollars all the way up to several thousands. You won’t need to buy at the high end however, most modern entry level DSLR’s from the big names like Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony etc. are usually perfectly sufficient due to modern technology and the fairly high resolutions (megapixels) at which they can capture images. Ideally you should also have a suitable tripod to ensure a nice steady camera when photographing your paintings.
If you are new to digital photography, there will be a lot to learn. Most modern cameras can be used on fully automatic settings just like a point and shoot digital camera but when taking pictures of your art, you really will need to understand a little more about some of the settings and options if you are going to get the best results.
There are thousands of books on the subject of digital photography, many available online in digital format as well as physical publications, but a good place to start is often the manual that is provided with the camera itself as these usually contain not only instructions but often some useful basic photography tips.
You can download a short free report on how to shoot quality digital pictures from the website “Learn Digital Photography Now”
When shooting your artwork it is best to do it in natural daylight, ensuring that there is no glare from lighting or the sun reflecting off of the surface as this will ruin your results. You will also need to pay particular attention to things like the white balance, and of course focus. Preferably you should shoot in RAW format – different cameras have different capabilities, some can shoot both RAW and high quality JPEG simultaneously so you need to understand what you want and how to make your camera behave accordingly.
Shooting in RAW produces much larger file sizes and preserves far greater detail in each image. For printing purposes, RAW files are much easier to work with and as they are uncompressed there is no loss of image quality. You may find that you will be unable to view the resulting images on your PC as it requires specific image editing software. Some camera manufacturers include a version in their camera software and some do not. If you have a camera capable of taking RAW/JPEG together, you may prefer this as you will always be able to look at the JPEG on your computer even if you can’t see the RAW image.
Additionally, make sure that you are taking the photo at 90 degrees to the flat surface of your Painting – if it is tilting away from or towards the camera, it will make cropping the final image much more difficult and you may end up losing significant areas of the painting. Of course, the image needs to be horizontal as well, with no sloping right or left. Try to fill the frame as much as possible with the painting itself – the background is of no interest as far as printing goes and the larger the image of the work, the better.
These are very basic guidelines but if you follow them you should end up with a very acceptable basis from which to print your work. If you ask a professional to do it for you it is going to cost you every time, so the investment in a DSLR for a few hundred dollars will pay for itself in fairly short order if you are intending to make prints of your art on a fairly regular basis.
Effectively you are already making money with your camera! With this in mind, I thought I would finish this post by expanding a little more on this interesting topic.
If you move your thinking a little further, you could also find yourself doing the work for others once you have become proficient, perhaps making a small charge for your time and work. Owning a DSLR might well awaken a whole new artistic streak in you, adding photography to your love of creating beautiful pictures. There are many ways your investment can start paying you over time – if you become even reasonably good at taking photographs, there are countless opportunities for you to turn that ability into new streams of income as many amateur photographers have found out for themselves.
I have included a glossary below of several sites that can help you realize additional income from good quality digital photographs – if you have the camera and a computer with an internet connection there is no reason why you cannot eventually start earning some extra money with your new found skills. This is not exclusive to artists of course, anyone can apply these methods as a means of generating income with their camera. They are not listed in any particular order and we do not vouch for one over another but all have been established for some time and without exception offer solid money back guarantees should you be in any way dissatisfied, so we feel comfortable in listing them here.
Many will include information on microstock photography – you can learn more about microstock at one of the leading online sites, called Shutterstock or you can try this list of some of the other stock photography sites. For a more detailed guide on stock photography try Going Digital by Larry Stepanowicz
Resources for Digital Photographers Wishing To Earn Money From Their Work
Free Report – How To Make Money With Digital Photography
DigiCam Cash – Earn Money With Digital Cameras
Camera Career – Freelance Photography
Profitable Photography – Starting A Photography Business
Camera Dollars – A Homebased Internet Photography System
Get Paid To Draw – Selling Drawings, Designs & Photographs Online
Cayman Artist John Broad Joins With Arteccentrix
We are pleased to announce that Cayman artist John Broad has agreed to work with us and you can now find a selection of his wonderful art on the site. We hope to expand the availability of John’s work in the near future and will hopefully be adding some of his original works too.
John has worked as an artist for most of his life and his work has become highly collectible, so the chance to own a high quality giclee of his artwork is an exciting development. John’s work epitomizes life in the Caribbean and in the Cayman Islands using bright and bold colors and movement.
Here you can view some of John’s artwork that we currently have available as prints in a full range of sizes and formats. Please check our giclee price listings for all sizes.
You can view prints of all our participating artists via the links in the right hand menu.
If you live on the island, remember that we will deliver your order free of charge and if you are overseas, we can ship anywhere in the world. We hope you enjoy the art of John Broad and that you will check back often for updates to his gallery of prints and originals. For all enquiries including commissioned pieces please use our contact form and let us know your requirements.
Giclee Printing Price Lists
At present you can order 12×9 giclee prints on paper directly through the website on the various artist galleries. Below you will find a list of base prices in both CI and US dollars for the most common types of prints that we sell.
Please note that these prices do not include shipping. If you live on Grand Cayman we can deliver island wide and make no extra charge.
If you would like to order a print from us, please use the contact form to let us know your requirements. Should you wish to purchase something in an alternative or non standard size you can also use our contact form and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
The above prices include stretching and all giclee prints are gallery wrapped.
Please deduct $10 per print for orders of unstretched canvas.
The prices quoted above are for orders of single prints. Orders of five to nine prints will be discounted by 5% and for orders of ten or more prints a 10% discount is applicable.
Prices DO NOT include shipping which will vary for international orders. We offer free delivery for customers on Grand Cayman.
These are our standard sizes for paper giclee prints, matted and mounted ready for framing. Prices Do Not include shipping for international orders. Delivery throughout Grand Cayman is free of charge. Orders of 10 or more prints may qualify for a 5% discount. For unmatted prints prices reduce by $5 per print.
Win An Original Painting By Nickola McCoy
Good news! A prize draw for all customers.
As part of the launch of the Arteccentrix website and the giclee printing business, we have decided to do something very special for all of our current and future customers.
Everybody who has already bought a print or buys one over the course of the next couple of months will be entered into a prize draw to win an original Painting by Nickola McCoy. All print purchases will qualify. At present it has not been decided which painting will be the prize, but, rest assured it will be a genuine original and will be shipped directly to the winner, or delivered if the winner is local, with absolutely no charges or conditions.
The potential value of the painting could be several thousands of dollars, but we hope that the chance to own an original is more important than its monetary value.
The draw is going to take place just prior to Christmas so someone is going to receive a superb surprise for the festive season. If you have ordered a print already, rest assured your name will be entered into the draw. There is no limit on what you spend, all customers will automatically qualify for a chance to win.
We will update you with more details on the chosen prize painting when we can as well as the end date for qualifying orders.
We’re really excited about giving someone the chance to enjoy an original piece of Nickola’s work as a thank you and we hope you will be excited too.
Hot Gossip Limited Edition Giclee Print
Nickola McCoy-Snell is offering a second limited edition giclee print this month and as with Lassie’s Sanctuary it will be a limited run of 1000, signed by the artist.
The print is produced on acid free archival quality textured fine art paper and measures 16″ x 4″. Each print will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Arteccentrix which will also be signed by the artist.
In order to keep down costs and to enable customers to display the print according to their own preferences and tastes the prints are not matted or mounted. There is a one inch white border on three sides and a one and a half inch border on the bottom to allow for the artist’s signature to be prominently placed.
Hot Gossip is a rare foray into realism for Mrs McCoy-Snell and features two Cayman Parrots, the national bird of the islands, sitting on a single branch. The Painting is fairly minimalist and the effect of the solid and very plain pale blue background is to make the two main characters of the painting “pop” and draw the viewer’s attention directly to them. The birds themselves are quite finely detailed and offer a glimpse into another talent of this multi-faceted artist, probably best known for her abstract work.
For lovers of Mrs McCoy Snell’s art, this is a great and affordable way to own a rarely seen piece of her work.
The original painting is an acrylic on canvas and has been exhibited very briefly only once before. It is also available for sale. Please use our contact form for information about the original artwork if you would like to know more.
To secure your print of Hot Gossip online for just $30 plus shipping , click on the “Add To Cart” button below and your cart contents will display in the right hand sidebar where you can complete your order.
All customers Get Entry Into Our Free Prize Draw To Win A Nickola McCoy Original Painting
(If you are on island please contact Nickola before ordering online).
Artist Nickola McCoy-Snell Limited Edition Print – Lassie’s Sanctuary
The Painting “Lassie’s Sanctuary” has just been released as a signed, limited edition (1000) print by artist Nickola McCoy-Snell.
The prints, measuring 12″ x 9″ come on high quality archival textured fine art paper and are unframed and unmounted. All prints will be hand signed by the artist. They will be numbered and will include a certificate of authenticity also signed by Nickola.
The decision to offer these prints unframed was taken to allow purchasers to mount or frame them according to their own preferences and as a result they are very reasonably priced and affordable for everyone who would like to own their own copy of this famous painting by Grand Cayman’s highly respected and most prominent female artist.
This is a great opportunity to acquire a beautiful and rare print of this famous local landmark, the home of the late “Miss Lassie” , artist and poet, who lived in this traditional Cayman dwelling until her death. Now considered a national monument, the property, situated along the coast road south of George Town, is undergoing complete restoration in order to preserve this slice of Caymanian culture and heritage.
The original painting, an acrylic on canvas, resides in the Cayman Islands National Museum for current and future generations to enjoy.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any other questions you may have and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Order Your Signed Limited Edition Of “Lassie’s Sanctuary” Today For Just $30.00 plus shipping. (If you are on island please contact Nickola before ordering online)
Free Prize Draw Entry For All Customers – Win A Nickola McCoy Original Painting
