The best way to keep your images is to print them out. It's also the best way to highlight your finest shots. But quality home printing requires a solid understanding of the intricacies of workflow. June Andersen explains.
When you aim for quality prints there are a lot of important factors to consider, but before ‘getting technical’ here’s a different slant to consider. Try to look upon your printer like you do your camera. As a photographer do you put your camera on ‘auto’ and expect to capture a scene exactly as you’d like it? You actually make decisions about elements like aperture, shutter speed, and focus points if you want to create a strong picture, because this leads to better results. You need to use the same procedure with printing. To create the best prints you need to get involved in the decision-making process. In establishing a printing workflow it’s important to understand that image capture, image processing and image output are closely related.
Printing is one component in the output of this workflow, but the printing of quality images starts right at the moment of image capture. I use the word ‘quality’ – but what defines a quality print? For me, it’s correct exposure, sharp focus and colour fidelity. All these elements are subject to an individual photographer’s interpretation. What might look ‘just right’ to one shooter may look unacceptable to another. So setting your own standard is important. In defining a quality image, notice I haven’t mentioned ‘subject matter’. It’s all too easy to get caught up and ‘fall in love’ with your subject, whilst forgetting whether the image will necessarily produce a quality print...
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: How to shoot into the light; Storage and data safety; In-camera creative controls; Profile - Jack Atley; Maritime Memories; Locations - Charters Towers, Qld; Fuji X-Pro 1