Photographing artwork for reproduction
Good reproduction is mostly about flat, even lighting and accurate colour — then a clean high-resolution export.
Lighting and setup
- Light the artwork with two matched lights at roughly 45° on each side, equal distance and power, to avoid hotspots and glare.
- Keep the camera square and centred to the artwork (use a tripod) so the piece isn't distorted or keystoned.
- Avoid mixed light sources (don't combine window light with lamps) — inconsistent colour temperature makes correction harder.
- For glossy or glazed work, angle lights to kill reflections, or photograph unframed.
Camera settings
- Shoot RAW for maximum editing latitude.
- Use a low ISO, a mid aperture (around f/8) for sharpness, and manual white balance — ideally photograph a grey/colour reference card in the same light to set white balance accurately later.
- Fill the frame with the artwork to keep maximum resolution.
Exporting for upload
- Edit and crop, then export at 300 PPI at your intended print size, 8-bit, in Adobe RGB (1998) (or the paper profile if soft-proofed), with the colour profile embedded.
- Save as a high-quality JPEG (quality 12) or flattened TIFF. Uploads accept JPEG, PNG and TIFF up to 200 MB per file.
When to order a test print
Colour-critical reproductions benefit hugely from a small test print on your chosen paper before ordering at full size — it confirms colour, contrast and detail.