How to photograph artwork for online sales
Online, the photograph is the artwork. A collector decides whether to keep reading in the first second, on the strength of one image, before they have read a single word about medium or provenance. A great work shot badly looks like a poster; a modest work shot well looks like something worth owning. The good news: you do not need a studio, and you do not need to be a photographer. You need to get a few things right and do them the same way every time.
You probably have enough gear
A recent phone camera is genuinely good enough for most works on paper and canvas. What matters far more than the camera is light, color, and consistency. If you photograph a lot of work, a tripod and two soft light sources pay for themselves quickly — but start with what you have and a window.
Light it flat and even
The enemy is glare and uneven light. Aim for soft, even illumination across the whole surface:
- Diffused daylight from a large window, with the work parallel to it, is excellent and free. Avoid direct sun.
- If you use lamps, place two lights at 45 degrees on either side, the same distance and brightness, so highlights don't pool on one side.
- For glazed or glossy works, watch for reflections — of you, the window, the lights. Angle the work slightly, or photograph unframed when you can.
Shoot it square and true
Mount or lean the work flat and shoot straight on, lens centered on the middle of the piece, so the edges stay parallel and the work isn't keystoned into a trapezoid. Fill the frame but leave a margin. Then deal with color: set a correct white balance (a neutral grey card helps) so the whites are white and the colors are the real colors. A photo that misrepresents the color isn't just unflattering — it generates returns and erodes trust.
Capture what collectors check
One hero image sells the work; the supporting images close the sale. Include:
- The full work, true to color and proportion.
- A detail shot showing texture, brushwork, or print grain.
- The signature and any edition number or stamp.
- The framed piece if it's framed, and the back if there's relevant labeling, an edition mark, or condition to show.
These answer the silent questions a serious buyer is already asking, and their absence reads as something hidden.
Be consistent across the whole catalog
A catalog where every work is shot the same way — same background, same lighting, same framing — looks like a real gallery; a mix of styles looks like a collection of forwarded photos. Pick a neutral background (clean white or soft grey), a consistent setup, and a simple editing pass that corrects color without "enhancing" it into something the buyer won't receive. Consistency is what makes a catalog feel trustworthy at a glance.
Then use the same image everywhere
Once you've shot a work properly, that image should follow it to every channel — Artsy, MercadoLibre, eBay, your own site — at the right size for each, without re-uploading and re-cropping by hand each time. In Percalo the image lives on the work and flows to wherever it's published, downloaded and de-duplicated automatically, so the photograph you got right once is the photograph collectors see everywhere.
Get the picture right and the rest of the listing has a chance. Get it wrong and nothing below it gets read.