Taking photos of my paintings

[Katie Black]

Hi, I have bought a Sony Cyber-shot with 16.1 megapixels and a zoom lens 5x, in order to take photos of large paintings (4ft x 4Ft) and be able to upload them for print reproduction in various sizes.

My question is this:-

On the menu items for "shooting" there is a long list of options (some I have missed out because they are obviously not relevant, such as burst settings which selects a single image mode or burst mode, and underwater modes.
The main ones are as follows:-


Scene Selection-select pre-set settings to match various scene conditions
Easy Mode -Shoot still images using minimal functions
Shooting
Direction -Set the direction to pan the camera when shooting sweep
panorama images
Image size/
panorama image
size -Select the image size for still images,panoramic images or
movie files
Focus -Select the focus method
Metering mode -Select the metering mode that sets which part of the
subject to measure to determine the exposure
Scene recog. -Set to automatically detect shooting conditions in
intelligent auto mode
DRO -Set DRO function to correct the brightness and contrast
and improve the image quality

Which setting do you believe I should use bearing in mind I need the pixels to be as high as possible for them to be uploaded onto a POD site and to be reproduced from small to very large prints?

Also when I take the photo, I have been using the zoom facility on the camera to try to make sure the whole screen is full of my painting and focused as best as possible, is this the right approach?

I have noticed the closer I stand to the painting the higher the pixels are when I upload the picture, however this results in part of the picture being cut off and if I stand too far away I get too much of whats around the painting in, wall etc. Is there a way to focus in on the painting without any of the background showing and at a high level of pixelation?

I would be very gratefull if someone could be kind enough to help me with these questions...as I am a bit stuck...

[BOHEMIANTINKER]

Here is a helpful article...
http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring...gPaintings.asp

[Katie Black]

Thank you.

[Infrared]

Hi Katie,

I just replied to another post about shooting art.

*Set the Image size to the highest setting. Also, look to see if there is a color space setting -- it will give a choice of Adobe RGB (1998) or sRGB. You want to select Adobe RGB for printing or sRGB for web.

*The White Balance setting is important for true color. If shoting inside, set it for the type of bulbs - incandescent, florescent, etc. If outside, set for sunlight, or cloudy.

*Back up several feet from the art and zoom in to fill the frame. Never shoot with the zoom at wide-angle or the subject will distort. About half-way should be best.

*Daylight is best for true color, better than inside. Avoid full sun though and watch for dappled or cast shadows.

Let me know if you need any more info.

~James

[debsn2paintn]

Also if you can photograph your art before it's varnished that's good too! The shine will cause LOTS of problems. I actually find it best to shoot inside with my camera on a tripod (slow shutter speed) because there is less glare than outside.

[ankaka]

I think you have to read the manual again.