Art Association and Gallery

Photocopy Instructions


Preparing Images of Your Work for KAA Publicity
(Work you actually plan to exhibit!!!!)

(Where the word camera is used, the same techniques also apply to cell phones in most cases)

1. For any artwork that is to be framed behind glass…photograph your work before it is framed.


2. Unless you have a professional studio lighting set-up, always photograph your work outdoors using natural light.  You will get the best color balance mid-day on a sunny day OR    on a cloudy day out in the open.   Never use “Broken” light that is a mix of sun and shade.


3. Prop your artwork up on a chair, easel or on a table top facing the light coming from the sky.

4. Use a camera tripod, or another chair to prop your camera on so that it has a steady rest. Hand held shots are rarely sharp enough.

5Most important: Set you digital camera on its highest resolution setting for .jpg file format. Also set the ISO speed on 100 if you can to avoid digital grain. Consult the camera manual.

6. Make sure the image looks LEVEL in your viewfinder. Get close to your subject so there is very little excess background, but don’t over-crop either.

7. Take at least 3 shots. If you know how to set your camera to take 3 “Bracketed” exposures, you will for sure have one perfect exposure. Check your camera manual.

8. If you are photographing things that have a lot of shine, such as metal, stone, or glass, a polarizing filter on you camera lens will reduce glare if the angle is set correctly in relationship to the sun.

9.  Pick your best .jpg image to submit via attached e-mail. Please only send one image in at a time, as many internet service providers have pretty limited file sizes. Be sure to include your full name, the title of your submitted work, and the media it was created in the text part of your e-mail.

10. We will take resizing your image over from there. We use .jpg file format at 300 dots per inch for commercially printed posters, 200 dots per inch for newspaper photos, and 72 dots per inch for web postings.

11. Email your pictures as attached files (not embebbed) to Fran Dearborn at her e-mail address: dearfran3@hotmail.com

12. Always include the title of the work, your full name, and the media the work was created with at the bottom of the text you send with your emailed photos.