Fixing Distorted Photographs of Paintings

 

Giclee printing is a digital printing method so the quality of the resulting print depends on the quality of the image being provided to print. This is because giclee printing is utilizing similar technology you would probably use to print a photograph at home. This is one reason so many photo labs now have adopted these very large printers to produce photo enlargements for their clients. But when it comes to making an art reproduction the goal is for the printing to not look like a photo. Instead we want the end result to look like a reproduction of that artwork. Of course it starts with a good capture of the artwork. If it is not going to be scanned, you only need a decent digital camera, good even lighting and some editing software for a little color correction. When the artwork is properly composed within the frame of the photograph, it can mean the difference between a high quality reproduction versus something looking like a mere photo copy.

 

When a giclee print fails to appear as an art reproduction it is usually a result of a problem with the image. If you think lighting is the biggest culprit you are right. But lighting is not the only problem that can prevent you from getting a good print. Did you know after lighting the problem we see the most is background details that the artist might not have wanted to be visible in the reproduction? This could be part of the frame a painting is contained in, some of the ground if the photo is taken from above the artwork, or even the wall it hangs from.

 

In this video we discus what to do when you have a poorly composed image with background elements you do not want to be included. Using an example 12×9 painting, we show you how even with a poorly composed photograph, we can eliminate the details outside of the painting.