Artwork

Many times photographers are asked to photograph artwork such as paintings, ceramic sculptures, and other small objects that need close-up techniques. Rarely will you be photographing artwork to be creative. You are trying to capture the creativity of the artist in the photograph and let the artwork speak for itself.

Objects that have dimension, such as small sculptures, can be photographed in the same ways that you would photograph toys or rocks and minerals. All of the hints and tips provided in those sections in this chapter will help you with that type of artwork. In addition, you may find some of the ideas in the eBay section helpful as well. You have to decide how important shadows are to portraying dimensional artwork—sometimes they are but sometimes they are distractions. It all depends on the artwork itself.