Printing Can Make You a Better Photographer
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Hello folks. A couple of days ago, my good friend Fernando Santos did a brilliant presentation on KelbyOne CommunityLIVE! on his discoveries since he started printing at home.
One of his comments was that he could see how printing himself would help him become a better photographer. A couple of viewers wanted to know how so.
As a long time photographic printer, I have known for a long time how this works and thought to share this with you.
When we make a print, which is as has been discussed, more than simply hitting the print key and seeing what happens, we are investing time and energy into our work. Whether the level of effort is simply just enough to get a decent looking print, or whether one spends one’s time in soft proofing and building files specifically for a specific paper is very much a personal choice. There are numerous consistencies regardless of your approach.
A print is a tactile thing
You can hold a print in your hands, you can place it on a table, and you can explore the image at your leisure. As you might expect, this is a very different experience from viewing on screen. Screen viewing is a fast process, and other than the occasional bit of somewhat useless pixel peeping, there is really no study of the image as a whole. A print is something that we can spend time with, to explore, and by investing to learn what worked well, and what we would choose to apply more attention to in future photographs
Prints are not about camera settings
A print has no EXIF information, or really should not. When we look at a print, we see the things we did not see in the viewfinder or on the edit screen because we are distracted by technical minutiae which will not impact the effect of story, or lack thereof. It is often said that a great photo once printed turns out to be not so great. This is not the fault of the print, but a recognition by the creator that something is just not there.
Prints do not lie
A print is exactly what you give the printer. While I constantly hear complaints that “the print is wrong”, this is completely untrue. The print is right, barring some highly improbably issue with the printing device. You get exactly what you send it. Prints have higher resolution than any display. They have less colour gamut than most displays, and they are reflective not projected through, so any misperceptions caused by the image being projected onto your eye by a display are tossed out the window.
Displays do lie
A display is a projective device. We see reflected light in the real world, but we do not see that on screens. Display colours can be way out, and frequently are, unless diligence is performed to maintain colour calibration of the display. Ignore all the Internet “secrets” and the proselytizing of self-proclaimed experts and buy yourself a display calibrator. The learning curve is not the tool, but it is in learning that your display has been lying to you.
Prints are never too dark, that only happens when displays are set too bright
“My prints always come out dark” is a common refrain with the simplest solution. The print is right, the display is wrong and in this case it is because the brightness on the display is set far too high. They come from the factory this way, and also may have profiles designed to make colours have more punch and the display to have higher contrast. While this may be good for somethings, it is a disaster for making accurate prints. A properly calibrated display, in a good editing location, with the brightness set properly, will produce prints that match the display view, only better. When you see what you are actually making, you can make better decisions.
Viewing distance matters
Some people who start printing begin inspecting the photo inches from the eyes. This is akin to pixel peeping, being of net zero value. Take the diagonal measurement of the print and double it. That is your minimum natural viewing distance. Any closer and you mislead yourself and stop studying the photo and spend your time pointlessly on immaterial minutiae.
Bigger is better
Printing 4x6, 5x7 and even 8x10 can be interesting, but they are not informative. The bigger the print, the more than you can learn from it. I quote Moose Peterson, who says that for him, he gets the most out of reviewing a 24” x36” print. This makes excellent sense. First it is the same aspect ratio as his camera sensor. Second it allows him to stand back and take the entire image in at once, to see how the story plays out and see what he might do differently in the future.
A small print is better than no print
It’s hard to learn anything from a 4x6, but still better than just looking at a screen. Even a 4x6 will reveal problems in composition very quickly and this is great because regular folks like desktop sized photos to place on desktops, and mantles and on end tables.
A good print requires good photo paper
If you print on cheap paper, you are subconsciously saying your work is worth nothing. Moreover that cheap paper is probably a collection of end runs from a number of jobbers, will have (if at all) a lousy ICC profile, and often has an emulsion side that is irregular. At the very least buy papers from the maker of your printer, and if you are going to print for your own improvement, only print on high quality paper. The last company making their own paper from the very start is Hahnemuhle as of this writing. That is not to say that you cannot get nice papers from Red River, Canson or Moab, just know what you are getting. It does make a difference, but whether that difference matters to you is a personal decision.
An edit for the web is not the same as an edit for print
As one becomes a better printer and becomes a better photographer, the realization sets in that these very different exhibition platforms require different inputs. Don’t assume that your edit that looks great on Instagram is going to look great on paper, because it will not. A great print edit is not suitable for the web and vice versa.
Conclusions
Want to be a better photographer? Learn to make prints at home. It’s not space consuming, stupid expensive or difficult. Like any skill, it is an investment in yourself. No lab will ever produce work as good as your best personal print, but accept that learning to print is not ingrained, and that there are no shortcuts. If you are a great photographer, this does not automatically make you a great photographer. However with research, training and the right materials, you can get there.
Do you have an idea for an article, tutorial, video or podcast? Do you have an imaging question unrelated to this article? Send me an email directly at ross@thephotovideoguy.ca or post in the comments. When you email your questions on any imaging topic, I will try to respond within a day.
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I'm Ross Chevalier, thanks for reading, watching and listening and until next time, peace.
