I have asked this question before, but asking this again, 2026 edition.

Since then, I have been venturing to painting on canvas, and I have a scanner. (Currently, the motherboard in my computer is busted, and I couldn't turn it on properly; hopefully I can fix it.)
Thing is, I can scan paintings from paper or canvas boards that are A4 or smaller, and I can stitch 9x12" paintings and unstretched canvas paintings that are around A3 size.

But sometimes, I'm tempted to photograph my paintings that are 12x16" or A3 and larger to save computer and cloud space. Let alone that I have to photograph them before I varnish them. I'm not sure if DIY light diffusers and matte varnish can remove glare in photos.
Would my large paintings be accepted here if I photograph them, or should I get a larger (more expensive) scanner and bear the hundreds of megabytes of pixels?

IIRC the rule of thumb is that photographs of drawings and paintings are accepted if you cannot see that it's a photograph. Photograph it from straight ahead, crop out any background, and adjust it digitally to remove signs of possible shadows and to ensure that the digital file looks the way the painting is intended to look like.

Also I recommend checking local libraries, because some bigger libraries have huge-ass industrial scanners for visitors to use.

As long as it's a high-quality photo, you'll be alright. Direct quote:

↑ Quality standards:

[...]

• All submissions need to be presented in a legible / readable format.
• The chosen medium (image, video, flash) needs to be of a high quality.
• Traditional media needs to be either scanned in properly or photographed with impeccable lighting and contrast.

I'd say if it's a decent camera & you have good, consistent lighting across the image (no shadows, clearly lit with a white light, relatively neutral warmth), that should be fine.

aacafah said:
If [..] you have good, consistent lighting across the image (no shadows, clearly lit with a white light, relatively neutral warmth), that should be fine.

'No shadows' (before post-processing) seems impossible so far for me (for drawings, even with a matte medium, I either get glare + tonal blowout or I get shadows of about -3% brightness[1]. This is with a proper diffuser). May be easier for paintings though, since they are usually 'really' flat (stretched), as opposed to paper, which typically is not-quite-flat in proportion to its thinness.

Warmth should usually be cleanly correctable in post-processing with a Color Temperature filter, if the color cast is not too extreme.

[1] FWIW I fix these with Airbrush tool (Mode: Divide, and sometimes Multiply if there are unwanted highlights) and a 97%-grey color. Those parameters probably work best in software where these modes are applied with linear-light mixing; I've heard that eg. Photoshop is not in that category.

aacafah said:
As long as it's a high-quality photo, you'll be alright. Direct quote:
I'd say if it's a decent camera & you have good, consistent lighting across the image (no shadows, clearly lit with a white light, relatively neutral warmth), that should be fine.

Photographing my painting on daylight in a well-lit room, preferably a balcony or porch, is the surest.

savageorange said:
'No shadows' (before post-processing) seems impossible so far for me (for drawings, even with a matte medium, I either get glare + tonal blowout or I get shadows of about -3% brightness[1]. This is with a proper diffuser). May be easier for paintings though, since they are usually 'really' flat (stretched), as opposed to paper, which typically is not-quite-flat in proportion to its thinness.

I have heard of those special anti-glare lenses used by photographers, called CPL. I have yet to find one fit for phones and tablets.

There's also this portable wand scanner named iScan, whose scan width is only limited to A4. Not sure if its cheap price, 900dp scan, and A4 scan width, can compromise the other portable scanners from Canon or Epson.

Firstly, you might want to do it in direct sunlight. No form of indoor lighting has perfect color rendering.

I know there are things like CamScanner that will adjust things photographed at an angle that I use for documents all the time, but I'm not really sure if the quality that produces is good enough for the site.

lendrimujina said:
Firstly, you might want to do it in direct sunlight. No form of indoor lighting has perfect color rendering.

That would work for acrylics with lightfast pigments.

lendrimujina said:
I know there are things like CamScanner that will adjust things photographed at an angle that I use for documents all the time, but I'm not really sure if the quality that produces is good enough for the site.

I would hope there'd be another equally great scanning app where an entire country won't snoop on your smut art. Or at least if they do, they'd respect your non-harmful lifestyle. Maybe that's just me.