Fine Art Photography Lighting Setup

Natural light can be a beautiful way to photograph your work as long as it is indirect.

Fine art photography lighting setup.

The standard lighting setup for photographing flat art uses two identical lights. You could create similar images using any large window on a bright overcast day. Butterfly lighting creates a shadow under the chin nose and around the cheeks. And doing this affects the final image more than anything.

These two lights need to match in wattage or output and be the same distance from the centre of the artwork. Place one light on each side of your camera aiming at the center of the artwork at opposing 45 degree angles. Place a background onto your shooting table first i selected a faux wooden finish and then set your camera up on a tripod looking directly down at the table use a spirit level here if you have one. If you are shooting your work indoors do so in a room with plenty of windows and natural light.

Watch the full tutorial here. When the subject is turned at an angle it can create more dramatic shadows under the cheekbones. Around about early afternoon it has the most perfect light for shooting really natural looking fine art images. Putting the light in front of the subject usually produces a flat image with little or no depth or contour.

This lighting method provides an even wash of shadow less light. Today our devoted team of design and development specialists continually explore new concepts challenging the status quo to bring to market. You can position them at 45 to each side in front of the painting. Mount your camera on a tripod 5 feet away and position the camera so that the sensor plane is parallel with the artwork and aimed directly at the center of the work.

Some artists also enjoy photographing their work outdoors when it is cloudy or overcast as indirect sunlight provides the best lighting. Light your work properly.