How to Photograph Your Art for Print

A phone photo is fine for small posters, like 8 by 10 or 12 by 16.

Bigger posters need more detail than a phone can give.

If you want a giant poster, use a real camera on a tripod, or a scanner.

Set your phone on a tripod. Or lean it against something steady.

Hold the camera straight in front of the art. Do not tilt it.

Turn on two lamps, one on each side. That way there is no shine on the art.

Fill the whole picture with your art. Do not cut off the edges.

A camera on a tripod, pointed straight at the art, gives you a much sharper picture.

This is how you make big posters that still look good.

A flatbed scanner makes the sharpest picture of all.

But only small pieces fit on it.

Good means it will look sharp.

Too soft means the print will look blurry up close.

Trims the edges means the poster shape cuts off part of your picture.

Print-only means the artist isn't advertising the original — just the print.

A phone will never make a six-foot poster look sharp.

If you want one that big, use a camera or a scanner.

Or accept that it will look soft.

We let soft prints go through on purpose.

Sometimes blurry is fine. A foggy photo. An abstract painting. A soft dreamy scene.

The blur can even be part of the mood.

But that is your call to make, not ours.

Zoom in on the busiest part of your picture. If it looks like mush, the poster will too.

Look at it and decide: does the softness hurt it, or does it fit?