johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

After about a year or so of learning this great hobby, I decided to use an online service to print two photographs as a way to examine my work in printed form. What I've learned from this are two very important things.

1. I really need to calibrate my monitor. Or at least know that my monitor has much more contrast and color range than a printed version will. I will not say I'm disappointed in the printed version but there is a drastic difference with what I see on my computer and the service I use. But I do know if I use this service again I will add even more contrast and saturation to the file before I submit it for print. I can invest in a very good printer, but honestly I have other priorities and that may come further down the line when my other more costly hobbies (drumming) start slowing down.

2. Touching a physical print changes your perspective. Having those prints in my hands was an eye opening experience and I was able to see things that I can improve upon and some things that I truly enjoyed about the photograph. Being a drummer of 30+ years, I have developed the mindset that nothing is perfect. And with a critical eye, you always find different ways to improve on every aspect. The physical print shows me things I might not have seen in the capture process, post processing, or even cropping if necessary.


I encourage anyone else who has had similar experiences to chime in and discuss some things they have learned from printing their work.

Strofam

Welcome to a rewarding field. You’ve taken your first step in what should become many. Self-critiquing is great but do some research to learn the basics of composure, exposure and focus (selective). I assume you are working in color. Take a look into black & white, too.

Monitor calibrators are very affordable.

Lastly, do some research into affordable printers. In the long run you will save money and get better prints.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

Keep in mind that a monitor is its own light source, always the same (pretty much). A printed picture depends on the ambient light. This means that the print could look very different in different light (flourescent vs tungsten vs window light etc.)

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

👍👍👍

Also keep in mind that no matter how well you calibrate your monitor there will always be differences between the color you see and the print you get back. Show me one perfectly calibrated monitor and I’ll show you ten prints from 10 different labs with ten different looks. Although it’s time consuming, I suggest you order a small print from one or more labs and ask for reprint adjustments until you’re satisfied. Then have the large print made, matching the color, brightness, etc. if you own your own printer, this is what you will go through as well, but in the end, with a quality printer you’ll be happy with the results.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Beside just calibrating your monitor, see if you can get ICC profiles for the printer and paper combinations you’re using.

tcthome Loc: NJ

If he is having the prints made from an outside source(stated in OP) they should provide the profile.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

Yeah, if I ever get around to calibrating my monitor...I'll be sure to get them. Thank you for that tip!

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Coming from the film era, including doing my own darkroom printing for 25 years, I find it fascinating that someone today in the digital realm would work for a year and never have a photo printed. That was the only way to see them with film. Even with a high end calibrated BenQ monitor, my prints will always look different than the image onscreen. But I can't imagine not having my own printer and having to use an outside service. I make smaller prints to start with, and can immediately adjust them and reprint them if they don't meet my expectations. Then when I'm happy, I print them large. I still feel that prints are my final product, and not just an image on a screen.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

I guess I should have been more clear in my initial post

I do have a Canon Pixma printer that we use for kids school stuff and my work. We use third party ink we buy through Amazon to keep costs down as we print documents. I guess I could have taken the leap and given it the old Sailor try, but I'm not 100% confident that the ink would provide a quality print.


As far as why I waited this long to print anything. I finally found to photos that I actually thought were decent enough for print. I am not one of those that takes the "that looks great" from friends and family and is satisfied with that. I've played live music for far too long to hold any weight in the opinions of those that are close to me, or anyone still hanging around the bar at the end of the night.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Excellent topic, John! I had good results with Costco for the most part, but have gone from printing 4x6's of everything I shot in my first year with a dslr (I did have a b&w film dark room 25 years ago) to printing only about 10 images in past three years. You've inspired me to buy a printer!

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I print all my own work, unless I want something larger than my printer can provide. I use a Epson R3000, an older printer that costs around $400. I work on a mac. Every print turns out perfectly, exactly like the monitor. I use Soft Proofing in LR for any print that has a wide range of difficult colors, yellows, oranges, reds. I always use the correct ICC profile. I hang my work in a gallery and these are always printed by me. Printing your own work does not take a large degree of skill or money, just do the right things and use good equipment made for printing images. And, yes, I agree that the printed work does add something to viewing it. Printing a 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 can be a good way to start out.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

Glad I can help you with a purchasing decision Linda


Unfortunately we do not have a Costco in the area, so I haven't been a member for about 10 years. I was really thinking about a smaller mom and pop shop around town until I figure out what I want to do when I grow up.