Fellow Artists I need some advice.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

I work in oil and chalk pastel, do some pencil and charcoal. What do you all recommend as a way to reproduce these images, both as a print and to use as a way to send to galleries etc?
I know a digital camera is an option. How about scanning the image into my PC? How about making copies on a high falutin' copy machine?
Any ideas? I recently showed my work for the first time and got some good feedback so I am now 'coming out' of the artist closet, so to speak! :)

[mopinko]

1. if you are serious

get good slides. do not waste your time and money, or anyone else's with crap slides. find a professional who knows how to shoot artwork. half assed slides scream crap from a block away.
if you shoot digitally, do it at a very high res. it takes at least 8M but preferably 30-40M to get a good slide from a digital file.
more and more galleries will take digital entries to group shows, but slides are still expected.
expect to spend at least a few hunderd bucks to get a decent portfolio together.
good luck.

[FloridaPat]

2. Artists prints are usually glicee prints.

If you do a search on Google etc you can find a lot of places that do them

[cleofus1]

3. check this out buddy...

over the long run the best way is to learn todo it youself...

http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/shootingPaintings.asp

[mopinko]

4. NNNOOOOO!!!!

this is some BAD advise. slides should show work UNFRAMED! always!
you are right about doing it yourself, sort of. i did finally buy a good film scanner and learn photoshop myself out of frustration with other peoples work and prices. only you can get the color right. and the price of scans is just nuts.
i get my work shot by someone who knows his stuff, has the right lights, and shoots 4 x 5 transparencies for me.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

5. Thanks...

I am realizing a good deal of the peripheral work ought be done by me as opposed to a 'vendor'. :)

[cleofus1]

6. if you read the article

it does not tell you to frame your artwork...if just mentions a hint for photographing those that are already framed...

some people create their supports specifically for the piece...and it is in fact part of the presentation...

[cleofus1]

7. as a matter of fact

if you go to the link that says...how to photograph your painting it says....

"Five Tips
The main things to keep in mind when shooting with slides are:
Use a Black Background
Use Fuji Velvia
Use Bright Overcast Light
Remove the Frame
Beware of Parallax and Skewed Lines"

just a heads up...

[mopinko]

8. i confess i didn't read every word.

but unless he warns you somewhere there that it is not accepted custom, he is giving bad advice. i didn't see such a warning, so i can say it wasn't prominent enough. it is acceptable if the frame is really part of the work. but it has to be more that just an interesting frame, it has to really, really be an integral part of the piece. and fwiw, i have seen a lot of that, and have almost never seen it done well.

[cleofus1]

9. true...

i have a few Friends that make their own supports and make their own frames too...well maybe two all together....

they are masters now and i still think they photo their stuff frameless...

but it is a possibility...

someone get the miter saw!

[mopinko]

11. it really has to be more than a frame, tho

even the coolest frame is still not integral to the work. it is one of those cranky art rules. they may be stupid, but "they" make the rules, and you break them at your peril.
it is just good practice to shoot your work before you frame it. even if you have no intention of submitting it to anyone, you should document everything you do if you are serious about a career.

[cleofus1]

13. gosh you are a spicey little meat ball....

OK i do agree with you...here's my pal's work and your right he does not include the frame

[mopinko]

15. don't mean to be a crank

i think a lot of this crap is crap. but i have also juried a group show, and see how it works. when you have to slog through 300 slides, there are things that are annoying and distracting. and other things that really help a juror see your work in the best possible light. if you don't know this stuff, you can really shoot yourself in the foot, and for no good reason. and there is no way to know them, if you have no one to tell you.
it is often said that it is more important to have good slides than good work. i think this is true.

[2Design]

14. what type of scanner do you use? How much did it cost?

What do you scan at? what other tips do you have on scanning?

[mopinko]

16. an epson 2450

it was about $350 when i bought it a couple of years ago. it is made to scan film. i usually scan at very high res, then knock it down in photoshop as needed. i would recommend that you get some practice at color correction, because there is almost always some skew in the photographic process somewhere. it's also nice to be able to clone out that schmutz that always seems to gets on there.
if your work is more than about 18 x 24 or so, i urge you to get it shot on 4 x 6 transparency. in fact, if you are really serious, i would recommend it anyway, for posterity.
slides from digital are expensive, but, to me, worth it for the color control. get as many copies as you can afford, because the first one is expensive, but after that the price drops. i would rather have copies that never see the light of day than to pay that initial charge more than once. unless your work is small and simple, a detail shot will always help. this is another benefit of scanning yourself, as you can choose the detail based on how it looks on the film, and scan that small area at the necessary res.

[expatriot]

10. What dimensions are your work?

Most of my illustrations are on 9 x 12 or 11 x 14 so I can scan them into my scanner (well not the whole 11 x 14). Does Kinkos or Copyworks have larger format scanners? If you have a flat media (like pencil and charcoal and pastels) maybe that would be the best option. I don't know.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

12. So far,

the largest the local print shops etc can scan is llx17. There are places to scan larger pieces but they wnat an outrageous amount of money for a 3 minute scan!