Photograph artwork with something better than my phone

[AKrillLick]

I’ve been photographing artwork on my phone and it has been fine up until now.

However, the limitations of using a phone’s camera have really become apparent with my latest painting — so much so that I don’t want to send the photo to anyone when it is so far removed from what the painting actually looks like.

Bearing in mind I am an amateur and this is just a hobby (so I am keen to keep the cost down) do I have any realistic options to significantly improve the quality of my photos without spending a lot on a camera and accessories? I am wondering if I can pick something worthwhile up second-hand on eBay.

I am not hoping to take professional photos but just wondered if I could spend a modest amount (say less than £200, I am in the UK) and get something used that would do the job. I would only need the camera for photographing artwork and nothing else. So, even if it’s old it doesn’t matter since I would likely only use it once per month — and I do not need to be able to take photos of anything else.

While I have little experience in photography I work in the creative tech industry and have licenses for Photoshop, Lightroom, etc so am familiar with working with images and am pretty good with tech in general.

When Googling, one that came up a few times as a budget camera was the Sony DSC-HX50 Digital Camera — and I can get one pre-owned by in good condition on eBay for a fair price.

Or would the increase in quality not be worth it? I see that DSLRs seem to be the gold standard for photography. Should I be trying to get a second-hand one of them instead — or are they too complex/expensive for an amateur?

Thanks.

[Yorky Administrator Ormskirk]

A cheap point and shoot camera and a tripod set up would suffice. Lighting is important.

Doug

We must leave our mark on this world

[Anonymous]

Get one that you can shoot Raw and set manually. White balance is important and perhaps a polarizer. See if you can find a second hand camera at a photo store. You may be able to get 30 day warranty and perhaps some help.

[John humber]

I used to photograph my artwork (paintings and drawings) with my iPad and whilst the quality was ok for the web, the biggest difficulty I found was the very short focal length made in very hard to get things straight. A fair amount of work in Photoshop was needed to correct this. I now have a 20megapixel DSC and it’s much easier to get good images. However if you will only use it as infrequently as you say, Yorky is probably right and your limited cash would be best spent on a point/shoot, a tripod and on a good lighting setup.

You don’t say exactly what it was that was lacking in the pictures—colour, fine detail? Nor do you say what the end purpose of the pics will be; are you expecting them to be framed for example?

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

www.instagram.com/john_humber_artist
www.instagram.com/john_petty_letterform

[AKrillLick]

Thanks everyone.

You don’t say exactly what it was that was lacking in the pictures—colour, fine detail? Nor do you say what the end purpose of the pics will be; are you expecting them to be framed for example?

You are right, I did not really say. It is just to send to other people, such as family members, to view. Most people will not see the art in real life and I felt that my phone wasn’t really showing the paintings in their best light.

I now have a 20megapixel DSC and it’s much easier to get good images.

So, this is a Sony point-and-click? I looked at point-and-click cameras but wasn’t sure if they were really much better than my phone. It seems they have better zoom and things like stabilisation but I don’t really need those things. Having said that, I did not look at too many.

I guess to help me start looking: can you get point-and-clicks that are noticeably better than, say, a recent iPhone? If so, can you recommend any/what should I be looking for in the specs?

Thanks!

[John humber]

I used to do a lot of photography, but that was way, way back when you had to mess with chemicals. My camera is the Sony DSC H400 (which I think has by now been replaced with a later model). It’s Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) not a point-and-click (although DSLRs do have auto programmes that will do most everything for you).

The image resolution is 20.1 mega pixels which is more than a phone camera. A budget-price point-and-click would produce images of more than adequate quality if you are printing on a desktop inkjet.

You said you are familiar with Photoshop so I would probably suggest that you establish the best resolution for your printer and prepare the images accordingly to get the best results.

If you are certain that you will not want any more than to do what you say then it would be pointless to spend a lot of cash on a camera with lots of programme-functions that you are just not going to use.

As regards is a point-click better than your phone, what’s the resolution (megapixels) of your phone? They are much higher now than they were when I was using mine to photograph artwork and I still use an old iPhone5. If the camera is no greater than the phone then no it won’t be better, unless you count the convenience of using a camera as an advantage, which I would (being able to attach it to a tripod for example), but that’s me.

I sympathise; it can be a confusing business and although I had experience of film-photography/cameras, I had no experience of digital. I chose to go for the DSLR rather than a point-click simply because I thought I might at some point need the better quality (but so far I haven’t).

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

www.instagram.com/john_humber_artist
www.instagram.com/john_petty_letterform

[AKrillLick]

Thank you very much for your reply, this is very useful.

At this stage I am not printing these out but rather just sending them to friends and family by email, WhatsApp, etc. Hwoever, I am sure that any camera that takes decent pictures will have high-resolutions option anyway and the option to print at 300 DPI should I ever want to is nice. It’s more than although the resolution on my phone is fine, the picture quality just isn’t that great.

Thank you for sharing what camera you are using. This is great as it gives me a reference point. I can see that I can buy one pre-owned on eBay for £125.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-H400-20-1MP-Digital-Camera-Black/293635919047

It is also useful that you said these cameras have automatic functions for people like me.

I notice this camera is dubbed as a “DSLR-like” camera on Wiki. So, I am assuming such cameras are better than point-and-click though more affordable than one from a professional range.

Either way, if a camera like this can take better shots then my phone then you have helped me massively since this is within my budget. Just to be sure, would I need a separate lens? What do you use for lighting?

Thank you!

[John humber]

That’s the one. I’ve found that using auto function produces excellent results for photographing my artwork. There are settings for daylight, tungsten and others I can’t even remember now, but I found that switching it to ‘A’ and letting the camera decide gave me the best results in the majority of circumstances. Lighting makes a big difference and saves a lot of Photoshop time. I take most of the photos in my studio space which is illuminated by a daylight fluorescent tube. I can position the easel directly under this to get an even light over the work.

The ‘recommended’ is two lights placed either side, to illuminate at a flat-ish angle to minimise reflection from shiny surfaces. Alternatively photograph outside—in shade not in direct sunlight—which is what I do for certain things. If the works are not too big, put them on the ground and stand over them. If they are big you’ll need to set them up vertically somehow.

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

www.instagram.com/john_humber_artist
www.instagram.com/john_petty_letterform

[AKrillLick]

Great, thank you!

All my works are generally A4 to A3 size so not very big. I do not have a studio though, nor daylight tubes so assume I am somewhat at the mercy of the weather without any additional lighting.

Is the camera on its own enough or do I need a separate lens?

Thanks!

[John humber]

The lens is not interchangeable. But don’t worry, the standard lens is perfectly fine.

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

www.instagram.com/john_humber_artist
www.instagram.com/john_petty_letterform

[AKrillLick]

That’s great, thanks for all your help.

I notice there is the H300, which looks similar but doesn’t have as powerful a zoom. Given that I don’t really need that I think I will opt for that one as I can get one very cheaply on eBay.

With lighting are there any options for those without studios? I.e. some mobile lighting.

Thanks again!

[Grance Lee]

I wonder if still life shooting is more difficult.

Wholesale fashion handbags

[Author]

Posts