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Quality Images for Juried Applications, Scanning?

Posted by Lisa Marie Crisman on January 23, 2010 at 10:10pm in Jurying for Art Fairs & Craft Shows
I've read a lot and understand the importance of having good quality images for jurying.  I think all of these discussions talk about photographing your art work.  What about scanning your images?  Wouldn't a scanned image be as good if not better quality than a photograph?  I would appreciate any and all opinions.
Thanks,
Lisa Crisman
www.LeftEarArt.com

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Tags: art, images, photographing, scanning
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Replies

  • Karin Neuvirth January 25, 2010 at 12:48pm
    Hi Lisa, I have had several of my images scanned for Jurying - I paint in acrylics on fairly large canvas that is 1 1/2" thick - so I have to take them to a company that has a drum scanner. It costs me about 50.00 per image, but they always turn out great.
  • Lisa Marie Crisman January 24, 2010 at 8:53pm
    Thanks Larry, I will.

    Lisa Crisman
    www.LeftEarArt.com
  • Larry Berman January 24, 2010 at 11:31am
    Pricing for jury slide photography ranges from $50 per shot to up to $180 per hour. But other factors need to be considered. Does the photographer actually know what jury slides are? In the position I'm in where I've worked with thousands of artists, I can tell you that there are only a handful of photographers through out the country that understand, though you will find a lot of photographers that claim they can photograph art. I actually have an artist driving five hours to my house today for me to photograph their work because the local photographer they hired did a terrible job and they have a pending deadline in the next week.

    If you contact me off list, I'll go over what you need to do your own photography.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Lisa Marie Crisman January 24, 2010 at 10:59am
    Larry thank you so much for your input. There's always much to learn about this business. Would it be inappropriate of me to ask what a fair price would be to have someone photograph my art?
    Thanks for your help, you're a great asset to this website, and the art world!

    Lisa Crisman
    www.LeftEarArt.com
  • Larry Berman January 24, 2010 at 6:36am
    Resolution is also an issue. Never use the default settings of the scanner, Always use the professional mode. Scan at a minimum of 300PPI if the original is 8x10 or larger. Scan at 600PPI if the original is smaller than 8x10. For example, an 8x10 scanned at 300PPI gives you 3,000 pixels long dimension to work with. A 4x6 scanned at 600PPI gives you 3.600 pixels long dimension to work with. Save the scan as a TIF for editing, not a JPEG which degrades with each subsequent save.

    If you're scanning paintings that have depth like mounted on board or anything of substance, take the top off the scanner and scan with the room lights off or cover it with something lightproof.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Larry Berman January 24, 2010 at 6:12am
    Maybe. Depends on whether you need side lighting to bring out detail in the painting and make it look real. If your work has detail and you don't want it to appear flat, photographing it is better because you can control the lighting by creating shadows across the surface. Scanners create flat lighting because the light source comes from only one direction. Here's an example of lighting diagrams for photographing flat art and how to position the lights to show detail:
    http://www.bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/lighting-diagr...

    I have an Epson scanner that has a 12x17 surface for scanning oversize art. I've scanned small paintings, etchings and 11x14 photographs from photographers who needed digital files to match their work. Then I view the original under a Solux light and can match the color on my monitor. But for some work, I've gotten more natural looking results by photographing the work.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Lisa Marie Crisman January 24, 2010 at 12:20am
    Yes, I paint mostly 11 x 14 's at this time. So you think the quality of a scanned 2d work would be comparable to a photograph of the same work?
    Lisa Crisman
    www.LeftEarArt.com

    Larry Berman said:
    A scan of what?

    If you're actually scanning objects, the lighting would be extremely flat because it's coming from only one direction. And then there's the background. A white background can be distracting in a jury room because your eyes automatically are drawn to the brightest past of an image, or brightest image in a grouping.

    If you're scanning 2D work, it's possible, but the bed of the scanner would have to be large enough to accommodate the art.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Diane Wright January 24, 2010 at 12:05am
    sorry this ended up on the wrong thread
  • Larry Berman January 23, 2010 at 10:19pm
    A scan of what?

    If you're actually scanning objects, the lighting would be extremely flat because it's coming from only one direction. And then there's the background. A white background can be distracting in a jury room because your eyes automatically are drawn to the brightest past of an image, or brightest image in a grouping.

    If you're scanning 2D work, it's possible, but the bed of the scanner would have to be large enough to accommodate the art.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
This reply was deleted.