[thecatspajamas]

Scott,
If it's any consolation, I have had the same problem with very large pieces (posters, prints, etc). I took care of the glare problem by using a table where they can lay out flat with lighting coming at an angle via typical photography lighting umbrellas rather than overhead lights, and actually mounting a camera overhead (from the rafter in my garage) so that it captured the entire area of the table top. Even so, I still have the problem of distortion/curving at the edges of the frame that you mentioned. I use a Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital Elph (which looks really funny when mounted on a tripod b/c it's so tiny).

I wound up buying a scanner with a bed large enough to handle 11"x14" prints and photos, and if I have anything larger, either doing it in sections as others have suggested, or it's still just sitting on the back burner indefinitely if it's anything important.

My completely lay, non-photographer-based assessment is that it has something to do with the curvature of the lens, and there are probably specialized (or larger?) lenses that account / correct for this, but I'm completely talking out of my rear here because I really have no idea. So I'm interested to hear what ideas others have as well.

Perhaps Graig has some idea from the photographer he uses to get those nice digital images of his paintings?