The true value of photographs comes from the appreciation of them in the long-term, not just for short-term beauty appreciation through digital devices. And the best way to preserve these memories is through the form of print. In today’s age of digital photography, where thousands of images can be viewed within seconds from our devices, it has clearly diminished the way we value photographs, and the act of viewing images through prints has become a forgotten art. Despite all this, I am here to advocate that printing your work is not just another option, but a commitment to your craft and a way to elevate your photography to a whole new level.
One of the major challenges that we face in today’s digital age is the inconsistent outlook of an image, which varies because of how images are displayed through different digital screens. This variation in terms of screen size, resolution, and color accuracy poses an extreme challenge for photographers to show their work across different media, which can greatly impact how photographs are perceived and interpreted. Images that look vibrant and sharp on one screen may appear to be dull and distorted on another.
A solution to all the above inconsistency will clearly be through printing your photographs. In fact, printing your photographs will change the entire dynamic of how your work is being perceived. It primarily transforms your digital files into something tangible that you can touch, feel, and display. Printing also provides a consistent viewing experience across different lighting conditions and environments. That way, you will be able to have extreme control over how your image is presented and ensure that viewers can see your work as they intended it to be.
Besides, printing can also eliminate the inconsistency of color accuracy in photographs. When you print your photographs, you will be able to choose the type of paper and printing technology to best reproduce the colors and tones that you desire in your images. This level of control is almost impossible to achieve in the world of digital devices unless viewers are forced to calibrate their screens to the industry standards periodically.
Printing will not only ensure color consistency, but they are also capable of revealing details and textures that may go unnoticed on a lower-resolution screen. Subtle nuances in your photographs become more apparent, allowing viewers to engage with your work on a deeper level. This, in return, will improve the way you work on your images as a professional photographer and deliver a higher-quality print in the long run.
Printing also allows viewers to slow down and appreciate the art of photography in a tangible format, which creates a more profound emotional connection between you, your audience, and your subject. The physicality of prints evokes a sense of nostalgia and authenticity that all digital images often lack due to digital fatigue.
Lastly, in a world that is increasingly dominated by digital screens and the inconsistency they bring to our visual experience, the act of printing your photographs is a powerful and meaningful commitment to your craft. It not only transcends the digital realm but also addresses the issues of variance and inconsistency that digital screens introduce. When you print your photographs, you are saying: "This is more than just a moment captured; it's a piece of art from my soul, presented with precision and care." So, as a photographer, take that leap, make that commitment, and let your images come to life in the physical world. Your work deserves it, and so do you.
By Creating my own images into prints, or even professionally, I get a lot of satisfaction from my work. I also have learned that by printing, you get to see just what the technical limitations are of your Camera Gear and Lenses. Like Noise, and Mpixels. I have been printing on Chromalux Aluminum, and they are awesome! Highly recommend them.
That's one fine photo!
Totally agree! And btw that’s an awesome image I can only imagine it’ll look even better on print
Printing also eliminates the pixel peeping mentality that so many people dwell on today. I have sold 40 inch prints from 6 megapixel cameras. So the belief that anyone needs 100 megapixels to share on social media is silly. Printing to the 8x10 size accessible to most hobbyist consumers from a desktop printer requires very little resolution. Even 11x14 or 16x20 prints look brilliant from 8 or 10 megapixels.
You are right! To me personally 24mp is the sweet spot for my own personal daily documentation. It’s the sweet spot between too large of a file size to handle and too little pixels for cropping and detail
Our photo club encourages printing. We have one major exhibit every year and do smaller exhibits and are invited to join others. Winnipeg hosts a national exhibit, although, it was cancelled for a couple of years due to 19. We've had a couple of national winners from our club which is really neat.
A nice image deserves to be printed and displayed.
Good to know that this practice still is there. Hopefully it’ll keep going on and encourage even more people to print their images. I just can’t explain the level of satisfaction that one can get from just looking at their final product.
I think there is a point where printing your own becomes unviable and using a company to do them is better. The other way around as well. I'm not sure where that border is.
printing your images definitely does not limit to just doing it your own. I would say it is a balance of both doing yourself and learning from the expert. After all the expert has all the equipment and variety of print media available to experiment. Have fun experimenting!
In many cases, mine included, photographers sell their prints. It's a time saver and money saver. But such isn't the case for the occasional printer because of the initial cost of the printer. And, I also make my own mounts and frames. Certainly, that's not for most, but I already owned the woodworking equipment, so there was no real investment for that part.
you are right! it really does takes a lot of time and patience to setup a whole ecosystem and to keep them running!