Written by: Georgia Tooke
Edited by: Shae Myles
With thanks to: Christian McGinty, Cassia Powell, and James Feeley
How to Document Your Work
This guide covers:
➡ General tips
➡ How to utilise tools like cameras, tripods, lighting, scanners, file storage, and editing software
➡ Resources (money, space, equipment, rentals, studio space)
➡ ”How To” examples of documenting installations, paintings, and sculptures
Introduction
Documenting your work is one of the most important things you can do for your career, and is often the most overlooked. Now more than ever, good documentation matters because there’s an even greater push for viewing work digitally. While you might have the most amazing work irl, if all you have to show for it is a crappy pic of it, then you are doing a great disservice to your work and to your future art opportunities. Whether you’re showing your work to a curator, funding body, or magazine editor, this is your only chance to show your work as accurately as possible to someone who might never get to see it in person. With all that in mind here are some of our tips for documenting work!!
Note: this is a brief overview of documentation and while we will try to cover as much as possible, every work is unique and might require additional treatment!
Part One: General Tips for Documenting Your Work
This is a brief overview (if ur not gonna read anything else, read this section!!)
1. Use a neutral background (white, grey, gallery wall, no patterns, no wrinkles or anything distracting)
2. Use the best camera possible. If you own a good camera - amazing! Otherwise, borrow one from the school (if you’re still in school), ask your friend if you can borrow theirs or lend one from a local camera rental shop. While iPhone cameras are getting better and better, they should be used as a last resort for taking proper professional documentation of your work. (more on this in the Equipment section)
3. Shoot RAW images - this is way better for editing, you want to have AS MUCH information as possible in your photos (pixels). You want the highest possible quality when you’re initially taking the photo because you can always reduce the image quality/size later on, but you can’t really increase it in post.
4. LIGHTING! Whether you’re using studio lighting or relying on natural light, try to make sure the work is as evenly lit as possible. No glares or harsh shadows, and reflections should be avoided. If you’re using natural light, pick a day that’s bright and overcast, the direct sunlight is often too harsh and can distort the colours in work. If you’re using studio lights, there will be a more detailed description in the Equipment section.
5. Your documentation shouldn’t leave the viewer with any questions (ex. wth am I looking at here?? What material is this? Is this a photograph or video still? Is this finished? Where does the work start and end? What size is it? Where is the work?). Sometimes these questions can’t exactly be answered in just a photo, so if any of those are left unanswered, make sure to include any additional important info in either the file name or image list* if you are submitting to something. The format should include: Title, date created, all necessary specs (e.g. duration, size, medium).
* Image List Format (Example):
The Performer, 2019, 5:46, 66” x 36” x 14”, HD vertical video on a monitor set in a MDF structure with red velvet curtains
Watch from 2:46 to 5:46 (end)
Images:
1. The Performer Installation1 - GTooke.png 2. The Performer Installation2 - GTooke.png 3. The Performer Installation3 - GTooke.png
6. Lastly, think of documenting your work is an investment in your career. So much of your professional development in this industry is putting your work in front of the right people and the majority of the time that will be digitally.
Part Two: Equipment
A) Camera
Ok so first some camera basics (i feel like i lowkey have to relearn this every time i take a photo)
Shutter Speed (1/X) - How quickly the shutter is going to close. The faster the shutter speed the more in focus/sharper the shot will be and the slower the shutter speed the more out of focus/blurry the shot will be.
Aperture (f-stops) - Determines how much light is being let in and controls the depth of field. The larger the aperture (lower f number & more light is being let in) the subject will be more in focus and the background will be out of focus. You’ll wanna use a faster shutter speed to not overexpose the shot. The smaller the aperture (higher f number & less light is being let in) the subject and the background will be in focus. You’ll wanna use a slower shutter speed to allow more light in.
ISO - This is basically “fake light;” it’s the sensitivity to the image sensor. Higher ISO means more light. However, more ISO = noisy photo (defos don’t want that!!) so use ISO sparingly! We want to rely on as much real light as possible.
Once you've got those 3 elements sorted out, it’s all about balancing them to create a good photo! Most cameras have a “exposure control” bar (see camera image) that you can check while adjusting those 3 controls. You ideally want the lil triangle to be at 0 when shooting.
B) Tripod
This is a must!!!! Never underestimate how much better a tripod can make your documentation. I got my first lil tripod from a thrift store for $10 and my second one I was given as a hand-me-down from my brother. A decent tripod that’ll do the trick isn’t hard to find. That being said, Shae and I have done our fair share of makeshift tripods: like taping our phones to chairs & desks or balancing a camera on a stool.
C) Lighting
1. Studio Lighting
OK so this is what I was taught in school for lighting (not only work but also if I was filming something in the grey room)
The Key Light is the primary light, positioned slightly at an angle to illuminate the subject
The Fill/Side Light will fill in the shadows created by the key light to the light is even across the subject (this will usually be positioned a bit lower and perpendicular to the key light)
The Hair/Back Light will illuminate the space behind the subject to that it will stand out from the background. This will give a nice glow/light halo around the subject
*** Ignore this last light if you are shooting a work on a wall.
2. Natural Lighting
The best thing about studio lighting is the level of control you have over it. However, you can still have a bit of control over natural light so long as you know what you’re looking for. Pick a bright overcast day to shoot your work, this will allow for the most even lighting possible (check out the Resources section for photo examples!)
D) Scanner
There are a lot of scanners on the market, but investing in one made by a reputable brand is always a good idea. Much like a camera, scanners can vary in quality from image processing to the glass they use which can affect the final product. Depending on what you are wanting to do with the scanner (digitalise analogue work, document sketchbooks etc.) should determine the price you would want to pay. You won’t need a super spenny scanner unless you want to get the best quality possible for reprinting purposes.
Scanning in rough drawings and importing them into Photoshop or Illustrator is the easiest way to create clean digital work if you don’t have an iPad or similar tablet. Using a scanner to create elements like text is a great way to create mixed media work, and can be utilised, for example, by combining it with your own photography, which can be seen in James Feeley’s work.
E) File Storage
1. External Hard Drives
Ok while we’re talking about investing in your career, this is another SUPER worthwhile investment to make. Buying an external hard drive is (if you work at all with anything digital: photos, videos, digital extended media) an absolute necessity. And if you’re like me or Shae (or actually most art ppl I know) you’ve unfortunately lost all your work due to some technical issue. This is why having a backup of your backups is also really important. For me, I own two external hard drives. One is for all my projects that I use and open frequently and the other hard drive I bring out every month to back up everything from the first hard drive as well as all the files on my laptop.
I recommend getting one that's 2TB - you can get these now at most tech stores for less than $100. Again, an initial investment but again, this is your CAREER!! A career worth investing in!
2. Google Drive / iDrive
This is also an option for file storage!
iDrive is what our bestie Christian (who has literally 1000s of files) uses and he says that it’s a cheap service (you can get a student plan! Or its relatively inexpensive even if you’re not a student - ex. $7.95 for 5TB of storage / $79 a year). It auto uploads any new files daily if you add anything to certain folders on your laptop
F) Editing
So Photoshop is the go-to for photo editing so if you have access to it at school or you pay for your own subscription - perf! Here are some alternatives that might be worth looking into if you don’t have access to Photoshop: GIMP, Pixlr Editor, Krita, Photo Pos Pro.
When it comes to editing your photos, it’s a matter of playing around with settings until you’e happy with how the final photo looks:
White balance, temperature, tint, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, vibrance, saturation, curves, levels etc are all areas that you can adjust to make your photo look better in post.
Something to keep in mind while you’re editing your documentation though is to try and make it look as close to how it looked irl. Don’t be too heavy handed in the editing.
I’m not gonna sit here and teach you Photoshop (not because I don’t want to, but because I barely know how to use it myself lmao) but what I can do is share one of my go-to editing tips when editing a video installation shot (but I’m sure you can use this tip on other types of documentation).
Part Two: Resources
These are some suggestions on how to document your work based on what resources you have access to:
If you have lots of $$$… Lucky you!! Hire someone else to document ur work lmao
If you’re in school:
Rent out a critique room for an afternoon (Bonus points!!! If you can convince one of your art school besties that they should also document their work, you can tackle this project together, which makes things way easier, quicker and more enjoyable)
Rent a good camera, tripod and lighting kit from the equipment cage
When editing, use the school computers during the hours when they have assistants there! They are there to help you figure out Photoshop and other programs and can help you learn some good editing techniques
Basically this is a golden time to take advantage of every resource that’s available to use!!!
If you have an exhibition:
If you’re in school repeat above steps
If you're not in school: This is a great opportunity to go the extra mile and get some good documentation of your work in a gallery - this will look great on your website as well as if you’re submitting to another show or funding body later on.
For this special occasion, I would suggest renting some equipment from a local camera/digital media shop in town. Here’s a lil list of some in Victoria, Canada (where I am) and some in Glasgow, Scotland (where Shae is):
Victoria:
https://cinevic.ca/equipment/
https://digitalcinemarentals.com/
https://flux-media-gallery.squarespace.com/equipment
Glasgow:
https://procamtake2.com
https://www.mediadoghire.com
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/about-us/store-finder/glasgow/
***Try googling “camera rental near me” and you should find some in your city!
If you’re in your studio/home (and/or ur broke as shit like us…)
TOP TIPS ALERT!!!! Below are are some examples on how to document installations, large paintings and small sculptures.
Part Three: Step by Step Tutorials
How to document installations
1. When taking your initial documentation of the video installation, set up your tripod and focus your camera on just the video - so the rest of the shot will likely be really dark. Then after that without moving anything, change your camera settings so the background is in focus and lit up (when you do this the video will likely be overexposed).
2. Then once you’re in Photoshop (or whatever editing program you’re using), layer those two images on top of each other - video (1) one on the bottom and background (2) one on top
3. Next take your Quick Selection Tool and remove the video from (2) (pls see accompanying images bc otherwise this might not make any sense).
4. Now you’ll be left with a clear installation shot of both the background and the video.
How to document large paintings
With Cassia Powell’s permission, I’m spilling their documentation secrets on how they document their large paintings:
Step 1: Hold the painting outside in even natural light.
Step 2: Crop out the background in Photoshop and make any additional adjustments (fixing brightness/contrast, saturation/vibrance, levels - anything you need to tweak to make the work look as close to it does irl).
Step 3: Cassia goes the extra mile and edits in a fake gallery wall behind the painting (and adds a very light drop shadow to the painting to make it feel like it’s in a gallery space). By doing this, it feels like the photo has been taken in a professional gallery setting which in turn helps us envision their work more accurately.
How to document small sculptures
This is how I recently did some (very) makeshift documentation of some paint cupcakes I made this summer:
I set up my white backdrop, which happened to be a nice curved chair. I stacked it on top of another chair and angled it towards the window to try and get that nice even natural light. Below are before and after editing. I used a similar process to how I edit my installation shots (see above!!!) So that way I can edit the background and subject separately.
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We really hope this has been helpful - if you have any questions regarding the info included here, or if you need some help, remember you can always email us at jigglenjuice@gmail.com or send us a DM on Instagram!
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Remember these are some tips to get you started, and that we’re both learning and growing with you! If you think we missed anything in this guide, just let us know!
Lots n lots of luv,
Shae and Georgia xo