Photographing Your Artwork with Your Phone Camera: Setting Up Your Camera and Choosing Your Shooting Mode

This is the second in a continuing series of articles on using your phone camera to photograph your artwork. You can find the first article here:

Now that you have Lightroom Mobile (LrM) on your phone, it's time to get the camera set up before you shoot your first piece. Open LrM, tap the camera icon, and you're in. A few things to know right away: the X in the upper left corner exits the camera without taking a photo, and any setting that's currently active will be highlighted in yellow so you can always see what's on at a glance.

Settings

There are a handful of settings worth configuring before your first shoot — and the good news is you really only need to set these once.

Aspect Ratio — You'll notice that 4:3 is the default, since that's the native aspect ratio of the iPhone. Any other ratio you choose simply crops the image to that shape, which means you're working with less of your original capture. For artwork photography, 4:3 gives you the most to work with.

Timer — This one is easy to overlook, but it matters more than you'd think. Even when your phone is on a tripod, the act of tapping the shutter button can introduce a tiny vibration. Setting a timer delays the shutter just long enough for the camera to settle, giving you a sharper image.

Grid — Turn this on. The grid overlay helps you see immediately whether your camera is square to the artwork. If the edges of your piece aren't running parallel to the grid lines, you need to adjust your position before you shoot.

Highlight Clipping — Also called Zebra Stripes. When this is on, any areas of your image that are so overexposed they've lost all detail will flash on your screen. For artwork photography this is particularly useful — if you're shooting something with bright whites or very light colors and you see those areas flashing, back off your exposure before you shoot.

Settings (the gear icon) — For artwork photography, the only setting worth your attention is Max Screen Brightness — handy if you're having a hard time seeing the screen clearly while you shoot.

Auto Mode vs. Pro Mode

Once your settings are dialed in, you'll need to choose between two shooting modes: Auto and Pro. You'll see the option at the bottom of the camera screen.

Auto Mode is the simpler of the two. You choose your lens — Telephoto (T), Wide (W), or Ultra Wide (UW) — tap the screen to set your exposure point, and tap and hold to lock it. You can also tap to set focus, though there's no indicator showing exactly what's in focus, which is one of Auto mode's real limitations. It's also worth knowing that Auto mode only shoots JPG files, and gives you no control over shutter speed. That said, if you're shooting on a tripod the shutter speed limitation is largely a non-issue.

One more thing to avoid in Auto mode: the Special Effects option. It's not desirable for artwork photography — effects alter your image in ways that compromise color accuracy, which is the opposite of what you're after.

Pro Mode is where LrM really comes into its own for artwork photography. It gives you complete control over all settings — white balance, shutter speed, ISO, file format, and more. We'll go deep on each of those controls in Article 3, but for now just know that Pro mode is where you'll eventually want to work for the most accurate, highest-quality results.

Next up: Article 3 — Exposure, color (aka white balance), file types, and how to share and export your images.

Virginia Brodie is an Eldorado photographer who photographs artwork for artists and enjoys creating abstract images. A longtime Adobe Certified Instructor, she also offers classes on photographing artwork. She can be reached at vartworkphoto@gmail.com.