Finally got around to making a video on one of my favorite topics: printing! This is one of the most technical but also most rewarding aspects of photography, as many photographers insist that it's not a photograph until it's printed. This is quite a deep topic that I've spent many, many hours studying both online and under the guidance of my mentor, but I hope this demonstration gives you a decent overview and whets your curiosity about all the work that goes into fine art printing.
In the video, I cover noise reduction and sharpening using the Google Nik Collection (free download here!) and basically speed through print and color management settings on Adobe Lightroom CC before printing it out on my Epson P607 (our regional version of the Epson P600, the best professional-level home inkjet printer of 2015).
This video skips over a lot of the steps I normally take to ensure a print looks amazing, even at nose distance, but I wanted to keep it relatively brief for now. While the process may at first seem a little complicated, the satisfaction you get once that print starts coming out of the printer is like nothing else.
I'm very much still learning --- so I also can't say if six months from now I'll have the same workflow, but for now, this for me is a relatively fast process that gets me good enough results for prints up to 13x19 inches.
The finished product. 13x19 inches on Ilford Smooth Cotton Rag.
I'd love to know your questions and thoughts because I am considering teaching a basic shot-to-print workshop in the near future, and that would help me figure out what to emphasize. As I mention in the video as well, Redlab has some excellent workshops and they are world-class fine art printers, so do check them out!
Prints of this and other images (5x7 inches to 11x17 inches) are available now at my shop! For prints 13x19 inches and larger, please submit a request here.