How to photograph a drawing

A phone photo is all you need. The better the photo, the more closely the made-real picture follows every line they drew.

A drawing of a purple cat photographed flat from above in even daylight, the whole sheet in view — **Good.** Flat, from above, even daylight, the whole sheet in view.

The same drawing photographed at a steep angle in dim yellow light with a flash glare and a corner cut off — **Hard to use.** A steep angle, dim yellow light, flash glare and a corner cut off. (An illustration made from the good photo.)

Five quick tips

1Lay it flat. On a table or the floor, smoothed out. Weigh the corners down if it curls.
2Use daylight. Near a window, with the light falling evenly. Turn the flash off: it makes a shiny white patch.
3Shoot from straight above. Hold the phone level over the middle of the drawing, so the sheet looks rectangular, not like a slope.
4Get the whole sheet in. Leave a little table around the edges. We find the paper, straighten it and crop it for you.
5Keep your shadow off it. Stand with the light to one side, not behind you.

After you upload, you see the cleaned-up drawing before anything is made. If our crop cut something off, choose “Use the whole photo”, or take another picture.

Upload their drawing