Photography tips for Artwork Submissions...

Hello friends!
This week is a busy one here in the United States of America, with our Independence Day being celebrated this Wednesday!   I wanted to start the week off with a big THANK YOU to all who serve and have served in our Armed Forces, as well as the many families who love and miss them!! Our His Little Ones military-loving characters (shown above colored!) are above to salute you!!

We are still in search of our new Design Team members and want to thank those of you who love our stamps and want to be part of our team.  One thing that is a big deal when being on a design team, is the quality of the lighting and clarity in the photos you take of your artwork.  So I wanted to take a moment and share some things you can try to take a better photo with ANY camera!
ARTWORK: 
*check it for straight cuts, strong stamping of images and words,  and great coloring (if there is coloring).  No matter how great a photograph you take, you will not be able to disguise uneven cuts or messy coloring or inking mishaps on stamps.
LIGHTING:
*the main reason we would refuse an applicant due to photography is usually that the lighting of your artwork is either too dark OR you've got it in direct sunlight and it washes out the image. 
TRY THIS INSTEAD:
*I love taking photos outside, but never in direct sunlight, always in the shade. 
*Look at your photo on your digital camera after you take it. ALWAYS!!!  You can delete photos until you get the best lighting.... If it's too bright, move your artwork to another place in the shade or wait until dusk to try again.
INSIDE:
*near a window is good if you can't set up lighting or a lighted box on your artwork, but....again, you probably don't want the sun shining directly on it. 
YOUR PHOTO:
*The card (or artwork) should take up almost all of your shot.  You can take other photos of pieces you want to emphasize, but the card should be the majority of what we see. 
*It should be clear (if it's blurry, delete)

Kary does an excellent job of this on our design team:
Notice how her card is the only thing in this photo...and it stands out because it's so well lit:

She wanted to show a close up of the stamp we highlighted so she took a very CLEAR photo of her beautiful work.

Here's one from Jamie, notice how the card is lit and how it fills the photo:

and another example by Gaby,

I hope this has been helpful to you in your own photographing of your artwork for your blogs.
Have a great day and we'll be back soon with more artwork!!
Blessings,
Antoinette
www.inspiredstamps.com