Make sure your photography helps you get selected for an art exhibition!

One of the things the Royal Academy of Arts does extremely well is to provide model instructions on "how to" for its call for entries for the Summer Exhibition (see yesterday's blog post Call for Entries: The RA Summer Exhibition 2026)

One aspect of that relates to the information they now provide for all those who MUST present a digital image of their artwork - which is 

• how an artwork is judged in the first round
• how it appears for sale on the online exhibition on the RA website

If you aspire to being one of those 4,000 artworks which makes it through the first screen sift of digital images then:

• as well as producing a good artwork
• you also MUST produce a good digital image of it!

So this is by way of a reminder of what people need to know.

Various art societies having open exhibitions would do well to take a look!

How to Photograph your Work - by the Royal Academy of Arts 

See How to Photograph Your Work - from the RA website

There is also a video to view - AFTER you have registered on the RA website to submit an artwork.

Key Points included are highlighted below. I've reworded some to make them clearer! 

Plus reordered them into what's really important to know first!

You can also consult relevant pages in the Image Management for Artists section of my Art Business Info for Artists website

• How to photograph art - for Artists - this provides a lot more practical detail and tips than found in this blog post
• How to scan artwork to create a digital image of your art

What you are aiming to produce

An image which is 

• accurate and representative of the artwork being submitted
• has good natural colour - not distorted by lighting used or by the colour of its surroundings when photographed
• very clear and sharp where detail can be seen clearly (I've judged - and judges enlarge some images to look at the technique and the detail!)

File size of your submitted image for the Summer Exhibition:

• should not exceed 5MB. 
• must be in one of the following formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, TIF
• use free online tools to resize images for you

Scan your work

This is possible IF

•  your artwork is small
• it is two dimensional and has no pronounced surface texture

You need to use a high resolution scanner to get the best results.

How to photograph your artwork

Key Essentials include:

• eliminate all colour from your surroundings - you need to have a completely plain neutral background around the artwork
• you need even soft colour across the artwork
• no shadows
• no reflections (ie ALWAYS photograph before you frame - or remove from the frame to photograph)
• no hotspots from lighting in the room
• no distortion from the bulbs used - ordinary lightbulbs tend to provide blue or orange tints 

TIP: If photographing at home I highly recommend you review - in advance - which room and what time of day provides good even light and can be changed easily to provide the context required for photography. Do not leave photography until the last minute! See the Case Study on my website page.

• ensure you can photograph without distortion e.g.
• hang on the wall
• place on the ground
• eliminate distortion - make sure the camera is parallel to the wall (or level above the art if using the floor)
• edges of the artwork are parallel to the edges of the viewfinder (use the grid overlay to help you eliminate distortion)
• centre of the artwork is at the centre of the frame
• eliminate all camera shake and take the photo using
• a tripod
• and/or a timer 
• and/or a remote or cable release
• ALWAYS check that the lens is clean

It's advisable to take several images and NOT to dismantle the set up until you have checked what you've produced - and KNOW you have a good quality image.

Edit the image to present it correctly

• Transfer your digital image from your camera or scanner to your computer
• Use photo editing software such as Google Photos (Windows) and Photos (Mac)
• You MUST :
• get it aligned properly to eliminate any distortion
• crop out the background so you are just left with the image of the artwork (minus frame)

BOTTOM LINE: You MUST ensure the image is a true representation of your artwork. That means 

• don't use editing software to make it look better than it is 
• otherwise you waste money transporting an image which will get chucked out at the next stage