Fine Art Documentation and Portfolio Documentation


Accurate Colour

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of art documentation and portfolio documentation is accurate colour. How do we ensure accurate colour?

Good Light

You need to start with good light. We use lights that produce the entire spectrum of visible light. If you don’t start by shining every colour on your artwork, you can’t reflect every possible colour.

Calibrated

We use a colour target with known colours. We take a picture of the target in the same lighting conditions as the artwork. That way we can calibrate the colours in the final digital image to be as similar as possible to the colours in your artwork.

Top Gear

Our cameras have one of the best sensors available  for dynamic range and colour depth. We also use some of the best lenses available with the least distortion and artifacts.


Reflection Control

We use a unique lighting setup that allows us to carefully control reflections.

 

 

Under Glass

In most cases we can photograph your artwork after it has been framed. Our special reflection control system allows us to make the reflections on glass just disappear.

Varnish and Resin

Taking pictures of work that has glossy varnish or resin can be very challenging. Reflections can be distracting as well as wash out or change colours in your artwork. We can totally eliminate reflections from glossy work.


Convenience

We know you’re busy. We can work on location and with your schedule.

On Location

We’re available to come to you, whether it’s in your studio, gallery, home or other location.

Flexible

We’re professional photographers and we can document your work in a way that is convenient for you. We offer a full range of shoots to cover all your needs: portfolio, installation view, and even event photography at openings.

We are experienced at shooting many media including painting, photography, sculpture, video and performance. If it’s creative we document it.

Real-time Preview

While we’re shooting your work you can preview the shots as we take them so that you can be sure we’re getting the shot you need, the way you like.


Reasonable Prices

We have affordable packages that make it easy to document your artwork.

Contact us for more information [wpml_mailto email=”[email protected]”][email protected][/wpml_mailto]

Art Specialists

 We specialize in documenting artwork. While there are many talented photographers available,  documenting artwork presents a unique set of challenges that we have experience solving.

We are artists

 We are artists and fine art photographers. We are your people. We understand the unique constraints that artists work under. 

Examples

A big thank you to all the incredible artists who have kindly allowed us to show their artwork as examples of our documentation work. I encourage everybody to look at their websites and explore their work further. Naturally, all work displayed here is copyright to the artists unless they explicitly say it’s not, and should not be re-used without their permission.

 

Kevin Flood (www.floodart.com)

Kevin Flood’s encaustic work is a perfect example of the benefits of Bell’s reflection control system. With our system we are able to eliminate unwanted light glare off the highly reflective surface, but are able to dial in strategic reflection where needed to show the texture of his work.

 

 

 

 

Joseph Staples/Office Supplies Incorporated (www.officesuppliesincorporated.com)

Joseph Staple’s installation at Malaspina Printmakers is an good example of Bell’s versatility. Here we captured the details of his printing screens, the thin reflection of his metal cuts on lithographic plates, the arrangement of his work, and the way his video installation interacted with the shape of the gallery.

 

 

 

Zoe Hodgson (www.zoehodgson.ca)

Zoe Hodgson’s paintings give us an example of what we can do with work that is already installed in a work environment. Here we brought our reflection control lighting system to the location, and eliminated unwanted glare but captured the texture of even the most delicate brush strokes.

 

 

 

 

Gregg Steffensen (www.greggsteffensen.tumblr.com)

Gregg Steffensen’s transfers make for a good demonstration of Bell’s lighting control system in action. Here we are able to capture the multiple translucent layers on his glossy coated wood panels and get detail in the blacks of his smaller pieces without any unwanted glare.

 

 

 

 

Jeff Hallbauer

Jeff Hallbauer’s vibrant and colourful work shows how Bell’s exacting colour calibration practices consistently get the best results.