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September 26th
OAL Tonight!
Where art, artists, and art friends meet
Fun, Food, Art, and more
Where: OAL's X Space, 400 W. Rich St.
When: Wednesday, September 26, 7 - 8:30 PM
What: 1) Announcements; 2) this month's program; 3) a pause for refreshments and conversation.
September's program:
Come learn about “Wavy Canvas” – a fascinating base for the painters among us. These curved canvases are the first commercial products of their kind. They’re made of a lightweight material, wrapped 360 degrees in cotton duck canvas, and can be mounted either concave or convex. Lighter than standard canvas, each unit comers primed and ready to paint. You can see examples here.
At the OAL tonight gathering we will be drawing 5 lucky winners* who will take home a free wavy canvas valued at $74. The model is the WC1 and is 24”x32”x2’, weighing 7.8 lbs. Those selected to receive a canvas will be invited to participate in a show (to be set at a future date) featuring works created on the canvas. Wavy Canvas may even feature recipients’ work in their promotional materials. Also, during the meeting, a spokesperson will give a description of the process behind creating these durable, lightweight, and very unique canvases. He will also address approaches to painting on the surface as he has painted on over 20 of the curved canvases.
*Must be present at the meeting to win.
News:
· The OAL 2018 Fall Juried Exhibition will be at the Fort Hayes Shot Tower Gallery, through October 12th. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re in for a treat. The Gallery is open Monday – Friday, during school hours, or by appointment.
· Come out for the opening reception for HYPOTHESES: Art inspired by the many worlds of Science at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, Friday, September 28th, 6 – 9 pm. Also check out the events during the run of the exhibition - https://www.culturalartscenteronline.org/hypotheses
From last month:
In August, Angela Washington gave an information-filled presentation about photographing your art and creating professional quality images for portfolios, entries into juried competitions, and for posting on-line. Below is information she has shared with us:
Question 1. How to photograph gold or silver leaf? I use gold leafing on clay board.
When photographing gold leaf or anything reflective and metallic, it is important to have a catch light somewhere off at an angle to capture the reflection of light in a dynamic way.
Question 2. How to photograph textural surfaces?
This idea is all about angles. When trying to show off a textural surface use this formula ( From the Light source direction, say a single window, to the subject and then to your camera, you want the angle to be between 90 degrees and 180 degrees. With a surface that requires more light on the non lit side you can always use a reflector or a white board to bounce light back onto your subject.
Question 3. Image size and resolution (72 or 300 dpi?) What's appropriate for entries vs. websites?
72dpi is fine for social media and websites but 300dpi is best for printing and physical print products. Always save two versions of your images, you can always make them a smaller file later. Look on submission forms for the appropriate file sizes. If you upload a lot of large file sized images that are too big for your site, check out stompsoftware.com and get yourself BlogStomp, this program is a phenomenal time saver and you can even change the frame around the image and/or include a logo on your image really easy.
Question 4. What type of camera or device should I use? - Tripod or hand-held ?
This very much depends on what you need the photos for. If you are someone who takes all of the images for your social media and loves to be able to manipulate the photos or someone who also has an interest in photography, then I would say getting a decent digital camera is a good idea, but truly, a great smartphone camera can get you pretty far with editing apps. A bigger camera (at least the cropped sensor digital cameras aren't much better than a phone camera in my opinion. If you are serious about a camera, head to Midwest photo or World of Photography to look at used lenses and also ask all your camera questions, they are very knowledgeable and able to help your specific needs. Also, youtube is a great resource for product reviews.
Question 5. How do I light an artwork to avoid glare, light spots, or shadows?
This has to do with size of the light source you are using, the larger the light like, say a window, or a light with a white umbrella in front of it is going to be softer or diffused. Think of clouds in the sky and how everything looks soft with no harsh shadows. Subsequently, the smaller the light like a flashlight or a flash will have a hot spot or a bright spot in the middle. If you are stuck using a small light, try shining the light onto a larger white surface that will bounce the light back onto your subject.
Surfaces that have a reflective or wet quality to them, you will want to position far enough away from the light source to better show details and have less bright spots. Even putting a sheer white curtain in between the light and your subject will help dramatically.
If you are having trouble with shadows, try positioning a white poster board like a reflector to bounce light back onto your unwanted shadows. Do this by putting the board on the opposite side of your subject from the light so the light will hit it and then reflect some of it back onto your object.
Question 6. What’s the best way to square up a 2-D image?
If you have photoshop, use your perspective crop tool If you do not have this tool or adobe, I also use a Doc Scan app on my phone and it works great too, but is for smaller files.
Question 7. When I photograph jewelry, what types of background should I use?
This really depends on what kinds of jewelry you are making and what the photos are being used for (portfolio/ competition/ Instagram etc) If you like the reflective quality get a small piece of white or black acrylic from a plastic store or online. If you want non-reflective, foam craft sheets, or a large natural stone tile from the hardware store works great. If you want a lit undersurface you can get small light boxes on amazon. The possibilities are endless depending on the desired look. Again, check out videos on YouTube for further questions.
Question 8. How to I photograph ceramics to enhance the appearance of the glaze without glare?
For ceramics, this goes back to the shiny surface example answered in the above question about avoiding glare and hotspots in your images. They key is diffused/soft light from a larger source. Also, underexposing (or intentionally taking a medium darkness photo and then turning up the white highlighter in an editing program to enhance it in post.
If you are trying to shape a glare in a round object, you want a tube-shaped light most likely and no other lights on in the room so you can highlight that in addition to a larger light source.
Backdrops - this depends on your subject and style but it’s not a bad idea to invest in one or two 25$ small paper roll backdrop in a lighter and darker color from the camera stores in order to have a seamless background. You can also buy cloth backdrops but keep in mind any little crease will show up and may be a distraction.
Question 9. How do I choose a perspective (camera angle) for a 3-D piece?
I would say there is no one way that is always right so take a few for options to show off the piece. More is never bad and you can compare them later and choose. Always get a straight on shot and a detail shot if applicable.
Question 10. What’s the best way to set up large pieces, e.g., furniture, sculptures?
If you are setting up a large piece you will have to either get a large paper roll backdrop (if wider than 3ft otherwise get the smaller size roll) from the camera store and set it up on two tripods behind it, or photograph it outside if possible with a solid color wall in the background.
Question 11. What’s the best way to photograph installation pieces both indoors and outdoors?
The key here, because you will most likely have no control over light, is to make sure there is only one type of light on your piece (aka just natural window light or just artificial light of one type) If you end up with two tones of light on your piece it won't look as nice. You will never be able to edit out the two tones colors. Natural light has a blue cast; fluorescent has a green tone; incandescent has an orange cast and so on. If you have the ability to shoot all in natural light outside or window light, I recommend waiting till the morning or evening when the light is more diffused and soft to photograph your piece. If you are inside with a window and aren't able to turn off the indoor lighting, wait until nighttime so it won't interfere with your indoor lighting.
KEY FACTORS IN PHOTOS/LIGHT
Control your LIGHTSOURCE and make sure there is ONLY ONE
make sure there is only one type of light on your piece (aka just natural window light or just artificial light of one type) If you end up with two tones of light on your piece it won't look as nice. You will never be able to edit out the two tones colors since they are opposites. Natural light has a blue cast/ Fluorescent has a green/ incandescent has an orange cast and so on. If you have the ability to shoot all in natural light outside or window light, I recommend waiting till the morning or evening when the light is more diffused and soft to photograph your piece. If you are inside with a window and aren't able to turn off the indoor lighting, wait until nighttime so it won't interfere with your indoor lighting.
Lightsource should be 90-180 degrees from you to the object to the light
This idea is all about angles. When trying to show off a textural surface use this formula ( From the Light source direction, say a single window, to the subject and then to your camera, you want the angle to be between 90 degrees and 180 degrees. With a surface that requires more light on the non lit side you can always use a reflector or a white board to bounce light back onto your subject.
Using Reflectors to fill in shadows and bring more light to detail
You can use a white poster board or any white surface like a reflector to bounce light back onto your unwanted shadows. Do this by putting the board on the opposite side of your subject from the light so the light will hit it and then reflect some of it back onto your object.
Phone/Easy computer editing
No matter the phone or app, you most likely will have some similar sliders and adjustments you can make: Brightness-Highlights-Shadows-Saturation-Cast/Warmth or Coolness/Temperature-Sharpness/Detail All of these are tools to make your image look better.
GREAT RESOURCES
-Phlean is a channel on youtube for all your tutorial needs.
-Creative Live is a great resource for all things creative and business.
-BlogStomp Software for converting your files into smaller web size images and putting your logo on images on your computer or laptop.You can also make collages of images with this program. It is a one time purchase.
-YouTube- when in doubt, I always go here to search what I need.
INSTAGRAM | @angelafortinstudio
FACEBOOK | www.facebook.com/afsphotos
Perspective crop using Photoshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyDGSXb4B48
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