Art Documentation Guides

Art documentation covers more ground than most people expect: an annual shooting calendar built around deadlines, what open calls actually require, how ceramics and glazed surfaces fight the light, what a catalogue raisonné demands over decades of work. These guides work through the specific problems that come up before, during, and after a documentation shoot.

Start with the guide closest to your situation: comparing two quotes that came in far apart, or figuring out what a proper before-and-after condition record needs. Each one answers a single question directly instead of covering documentation in general.

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What a Legacy Foundation Needs From Ongoing Documentation Commissioning Documentation When a Collection Has Multiple Owners November Auction Season: Documenting New Acquisitions Documenting Donated Artwork Before the Year-End Tax Deadline What a Print Publisher Needs Before an Edition Runs What to Document Before an Office Art Collection Moves What Changes When a Gallery Documents an Artist's Estate What a Museum's DAM System Expects From Documentation Files Should Documentation Happen Before or After an Appraisal? Where Documentation Sits in a Nonprofit Gallery's Annual Budget The Artist, the Gallery, and the Buyer Want Different Files What a Museum Wants Documented Before Accepting a Gift Auditing a Collection's Documentation History Before Redoing It What a Fine-Art Shipper Wants Confirmed on File Before a Piece Moves An Artist's Annual Documentation Calendar, Built Around Deadlines Art Photography & Digitization: Preserving and Showcasing Your Artwork Online Artwork Documentation for Open Calls: What Matters? Building a Catalogue Raisonné: Documenting Decades of Work Ceramics Documentation: Glaze, Form, and the Glare Problem Why Two Art Documentation Quotes Can Look So Different What a Proper Before-and-After Condition Record Requires Corporate Art Program Documentation vs. a Gallery Collection Digitizing Sketchbooks Without Destroying the Binding Diptychs and Multi-Panel Work: Parts, Whole, or Both? Do You Need Detail Shots of Your Artwork? How to Document Your Art Collection for Insurance, Archives, and Legacy Documenting a Piece Before or After It's Framed How a Documentation Day Works When There's No Return Visit What Actually Changes About Documentation During Gallery Week What Happens to Your Documentation Files When You Leave a Gallery What Happens to Documentation When a Collection Manager Changes Roles When a Documentation Shoot Should Also Capture Merch and Print Files Documenting a Body of Work Before It Ships to a Fair What Changes When You Document an Art Collection at Home Documenting a Commission Before It Leaves the Studio How to Document a Long Project in Stages, Not Just at the End What to Document Before a Piece Leaves on Approval Documenting a Site-Specific Installation Before It Comes Down Documenting an Art Collection for Insurance and Estate Purposes Documenting an Edition So 3/25 and 18/25 Still Match Documenting Art in a Small Gallery Before a Big Show Documenting Artwork for a Grant or Nonprofit Report Documenting Artwork in a Long-Term Storage Facility What a Collector Should Document Before Consigning to a New Dealer Documenting Outdoor Public Art and Murals in NYC Documenting Oversized Work That Doesn't Fit the Setup Documenting Sound Art and Work You Can't Photograph A Moving Work Still Has to Fit a Form Built for Objects Documenting Work Made From Materials That Won't Last Gallery-Commissioned Documentation vs. Artist-Supplied Files How Often Should a Collection's Documentation Be Refreshed? How to Archive Your Artwork for the Long Run — Files, Metadata & Backups How to Credit Photography of Your Artwork How to Photograph Framed Artwork Without Fighting the Glass How to Photograph Sculpture When Light Changes Its Shape How to Prepare Your Artwork for Digital Scanning and Reproduction Installation Views vs. Artwork Documentation: What Each One Shows Lighting Techniques for Capturing Texture in Paintings and Sculptures Best Practices for Documenting Mixed Media Art in NYC What to Document Before a Work Moves to a Partner Gallery Should You Photograph Artwork in Natural Light or Studio Light? How NYC Galleries Use Photography to Drive Online Sales and Engagement Phone Photos vs. Professional Documentation: What Differs Photographing Artist Books and Zines as Bound Objects Photographing Jewelry and Small Objects: The Macro Problem Photographing Mirror, Resin, and Metallic Surfaces When the Artwork Is the Light Source: Photographing Neon Photographing Screen-Based and Video Art in a Gallery Photographing Textiles and Fiber Art: Why Flat Light Fails Photographing Works on Paper Without Flattening What Makes Them Paper The Role of Photography in Curating a Museum Exhibition Online What a Registrar's Loan Package Needs From a Documentation Shoot What to Look For Before You Approve Documentation Files Scanning vs Photographing Works on Paper: When Each Wins A Standing Documentation Vendor or a New One Each Job A Visual Comparison: Standard vs Museum-Grade Art Digitization What a Studio Move Should Document Before the Walls Come Down What a University Art Collection Needs From Documentation What an Interior Designer Needs From Art Documentation What Color Calibration Actually Does During an Artwork Shoot What Does "Insurance-Grade" Art Photography Actually Mean? What Files Should You Ask For After Your Artwork Is Documented? One Shoot, Two Clients: What Galleries Need vs What Artists Need What Makes Artwork Look Wrong Online? What Resolution Does Your Artwork Actually Need? What to Ask Before You Book an Art Documentation Photographer What to Put on Your Artist Website Before Gallery Outreach What to Send a Gallery Before They Ask Twice When Should a Collector First Commission Documentation? What a Gallery Loses When a Sale Stalls on Images That Aren't Ready When Is New Work Actually Ready to Document? Who Backs Up Documentation Files After Delivery? Who Books the Photographer Before Conservation: Owner or Conservator? Why Documentation Dates Matter as a Body of Work Evolves Working With an Art Advisor on Documentation