How To Get the Best Photos of 2D Art A Step-By-Step Guide for Taking Great Pictures
People are surprised when I tell them photographing 2D art can be more of a challenge than photographing 3D crafts.
Although I have written about this and other issues you encounter when using a standalone camera versus an iPhone, more people than ever before are using new, updated iPhones. So, I thought it was time to update my guide for photographing 2D art with iPhones (and cameras).
There are three key issues when photographing 2D art. The first is squaring up the art so it does not look like your dog sat on it. The second is dealing with lighting, and the third is getting color accuracy. With these in mind, here are a few techniques to help you improve your photos.
Squaring Up
Most 2D art — paintings, tapestry, patchwork quilts, etc. — is square or rectangular shaped and has right angle corners. The trick to photographing this 2D art is learning how to keep those right angles “right” and avoiding that the art will have a trapezoid shape. This “keystone” effect occurs when the imaging device, camera, or iPhone is not parallel to the art by even the slightest amount.
Thus, the first step to squaring up is to arrange your phone and artwork so they are as parallel to each other vertically as possible. Holding a phone steady can be a truly Herculean feat — especially when you are trying to keep the phone parallel to the art.
If you have a lot of 2D art to photograph, consider getting a tripod and an iPhone adapter bracket. The tripod not only holds the imaging device in place and stable, but it allows you to take multiple images with the same framing.
