So far I don't print anything. Is there more to be learned about digital photography through printing than just through processing for web viewing, or is what you learn by printing only about printing (if that makes sense)? Thank you.
In my not so very humble opinion, the print is where the rubber meets the road. Before we had computers, Photoshop, and the web, the print was the photograph! You can hold a print in your hand and scrutinize every detail from compostion, to sharpness, tonality, and color. By doing so, one learns to improve their seeing.
Making a fine print presents its own set of challenges. In order to realize the best print, one must be well versed in camera technique, exposure, processing for printing, color management, and the capabilites of their printer, ink, and paper.
Is it worth the time, effort, and expense to make a fine print? Absolutely! Years ago, I worked strictly with 4x5 black and white film, developing my negatives and printing them in a darkroom. One of the great joys I experienced was seeing that print come up in the developer. I experience a similar joy when a great print rolls off my printer, and my hands don't smell like fixer! For myself, the print is the final product of my photographic process. It is an end in itself to which my entire process is geared. I learn a lot through the process and also experience the joy. I love to learn, but having fun is where it's at for me.
I don't know if this really answers your question because my remarks are more related to the subjective side of the process.
What you learn photographically by printing is really hard to define, but Preston is right, "it is where the rubber meets the road".
I put image makers into 3 categories: Shooters, Photographers and Printers. Shooters are capable and competent behind the lens and let someone else do the rest. Printers take others work and perform their own magic with what they have to work with. Photographers do it all. Start to finish. Thats not to disparage Shooters or Printers. No one starts out being a photographer, or a shooter, or a printer. It's a learned and practiced skill and all three have their place. Learning to be a photographer required me to spend as much time or more in the darkroom as I did behind the lens. Clock forward 30 years to the present and I spend a great deal of my time in Photoshop/Lightroom attached to an Epson and, like Preston, find great joy watching a print come to life as it rolls off a printer (and not smelling like fixer) , It's magical!
I'm happiest when I'm practicing being a photographer. I would recommend you find all the aspects of image making that you find fun and bring you joy, concentrate on them and never stop learning.
Enjoy.
Neil
I whole-heartedly agree with Preston and Neil. The is a HUGE difference in what it takes to make a good 11"X14" print versus what it takes to make a good 720 pixel image. Huge difference. Every problem is magnified on a print, and you have to have much more resolution to get something to print out well. Holding a print in your hand, you will start to see everything that is wrong with it. Lack of sharpness really shows up. What looks like a small extra-bright area in a small 720 px image will suddenly look like a great big white blotch. Likewise, blotchiness or noise in dark areas will show up, too.
So yes, I think printing is a great learning tool. I have made all of my own prints (except for some calendars) ever since 2005. Is it a royal pain sometimes? Yes, but it's worth it to me for lots of reasons, but control of that final print is the biggest reason.
Posted by Mark Stadsklev on January 12, 2012 at 12:54 PM
While I agree with the above comments I would add that your question sort of asked will printing make you a better photographer. I think the answer is yes. You could choose to only shoot and then hire someone who has spent 30 years learning the nuances of printing make you a print that you could never make, in conjunction with your preferences, and have the best possible image. Except that the more you understand the print process the better you will be at your in-camera work. More obviously is the opposite argument. If you knew nothing about exposures and simply pointed a camera in the direction of an interesting subject and pulled the trigger, your print maker no matter how talented could only do so much with your negative depending on the luck of the capture.
But you know that metering off the sky or foreground will determine where your histogram is centered and what details may be blown out or blocked up and thereby make a better negative for the printer to handle. There is a certain amount of joy in making your own print, but it is a personal preference whether that joy exceeds the joy you get in going out and shooting and so on. Still whether you make the print or someone else you eventually have to learn how the print is made if you care enough. The more time and effort you invest the more you will care about the smallest part of the print.
artwithinnature.com
Posted by Barbara Graham on January 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Thank you all so much for your replies. It's a lot to absorb, and I'll be referring to this thread many times.
Discussion
5 repliesIn my not so very humble opinion, the print is where the rubber meets the road. Before we had computers, Photoshop, and the web, the print was the photograph! You can hold a print in your hand and scrutinize every detail from compostion, to sharpness, tonality, and color. By doing so, one learns to improve their seeing.
Making a fine print presents its own set of challenges. In order to realize the best print, one must be well versed in camera technique, exposure, processing for printing, color management, and the capabilites of their printer, ink, and paper.
Is it worth the time, effort, and expense to make a fine print? Absolutely! Years ago, I worked strictly with 4x5 black and white film, developing my negatives and printing them in a darkroom. One of the great joys I experienced was seeing that print come up in the developer. I experience a similar joy when a great print rolls off my printer, and my hands don't smell like fixer! For myself, the print is the final product of my photographic process. It is an end in itself to which my entire process is geared. I learn a lot through the process and also experience the joy. I love to learn, but having fun is where it's at for me.
I don't know if this really answers your question because my remarks are more related to the subjective side of the process.
--P
What you learn photographically by printing is really hard to define, but Preston is right, "it is where the rubber meets the road".
I put image makers into 3 categories: Shooters, Photographers and Printers. Shooters are capable and competent behind the lens and let someone else do the rest. Printers take others work and perform their own magic with what they have to work with. Photographers do it all. Start to finish. Thats not to disparage Shooters or Printers. No one starts out being a photographer, or a shooter, or a printer. It's a learned and practiced skill and all three have their place. Learning to be a photographer required me to spend as much time or more in the darkroom as I did behind the lens. Clock forward 30 years to the present and I spend a great deal of my time in Photoshop/Lightroom attached to an Epson and, like Preston, find great joy watching a print come to life as it rolls off a printer (and not smelling like fixer) , It's magical!
I'm happiest when I'm practicing being a photographer. I would recommend you find all the aspects of image making that you find fun and bring you joy, concentrate on them and never stop learning.
Enjoy.
Neil
I whole-heartedly agree with Preston and Neil. The is a HUGE difference in what it takes to make a good 11"X14" print versus what it takes to make a good 720 pixel image. Huge difference. Every problem is magnified on a print, and you have to have much more resolution to get something to print out well. Holding a print in your hand, you will start to see everything that is wrong with it. Lack of sharpness really shows up. What looks like a small extra-bright area in a small 720 px image will suddenly look like a great big white blotch. Likewise, blotchiness or noise in dark areas will show up, too.
So yes, I think printing is a great learning tool. I have made all of my own prints (except for some calendars) ever since 2005. Is it a royal pain sometimes? Yes, but it's worth it to me for lots of reasons, but control of that final print is the biggest reason.
But you know that metering off the sky or foreground will determine where your histogram is centered and what details may be blown out or blocked up and thereby make a better negative for the printer to handle. There is a certain amount of joy in making your own print, but it is a personal preference whether that joy exceeds the joy you get in going out and shooting and so on. Still whether you make the print or someone else you eventually have to learn how the print is made if you care enough. The more time and effort you invest the more you will care about the smallest part of the print.
artwithinnature.com