Companies that photograph paintings

MikeDerby

Does anyone have suggestions for companies that photograph or scan paintings, then color match and remove glare?  I would like to look into it and none of the search engines helped me.

PaulB

I go to a photographer. He has a large wall-mounted 'scanner', which is a camera mount with [x,y] movement. He has studio lights that are large and diffuse. He takes multiple photographs and stitches them together.

He also makes Giclee prints on a large expensive-looking printer that can make 36" prints or something like that. The photograph gets processed and I don't know what happens there.  But then a series of small test prints are made as the color gets corrected, and compared to the original.  Like this.



So I think what you need is a photographer that prints.  This guy scans paintings for a large local museum.

MikeDerby

Thanks @paulb .  I will look into that

dlail

@MikeDerby 
I have worked with Rocky at doteditions before. Does exceptional work. 
Located in Asheville, NC 
https://www.doteditions.com/

gar3thjon3s

@MikeDerby not sure where you're based, but this place:

https://www.point101.com/services

is advertised in Artist and Illustrator magazine. I've never used them but their prices seem quite reasonable. They offer large scanning and also photography by the looks of it. They are based in London.

MikeDerby

Thank you @dlail  and @gar3thjon3s
I will try the one in Asheville.  London is a tad far.

HondoRW

@MikeDerby this is exactly the question I had. Great information from Paul and @gar3thjon3s and @dlail. I can never get satisfactory photos of my paintings from my iPhone or pocket Canon and I don’t want to invest a lot of money in camera equipment. Thanks for posting. Does anyone know a ballpark $ amount for this service?

PaulB

HondoRW said:

Does anyone know a ballpark $ amount for this service?

The photography and proofing I showed above cost $450. If I recall, @JessicaArt gets hers done for way less.

dlail

@HondoRW It has been a few years but Dot Editions was very reasonable. In 2015 I had 6 pieces shot one of which was huge and it cost $325. $52 a capture and large format was $75.

Not sure what the rates are today.

https://www.doteditions.com/services

HondoRW

Great @dlail and @PaulB. Thanks for the info. I don’t feel like I’m good enough to go to a gallery yet or have a website, but if I ever get there I’d like to have quality photos to present. Thanks again. 

PaulB

I think you're right. When a piece is accepted into a show, it's a good opportunity to photograph it with varnish, without frame.

If it sells, you will have wanted to have already taken a photograph, because you may never see it again.  If it does not sell, you'll need to de-frame it and photograph it, so it's easier to just do it before.

I also don't think you need to go wild on the photography like I did. I wanted to see the process and get an actual print in my hands. Now I know how expensive it is, and what I would need to charge for a print so as to not lose money.

I did this three times, and now I photograph them all myself. The professional route is definitely better, but not necessarily what you need.

JessicaArt

I recently found someone who captures images if my work for $24 a pop! No matter the size! So that's a nice brainer for me...even if I dont intend to print it's nice to have the file.