A wise old man speaking in an informative and at the same time, in such an entertaining manner. Come on guys, give your love to this channel it deserves. Greetings from Finland!
Enjoying a print is so much more gratifying than posting on social media. It is extremely rewarding to see a physical manifestation of your work. Thank you for this presentation. I will soon have some “epic” size prints done and have enjoyed printing and framing my work for years using Epson printers. I recently purchased an Epson P900, and previously printed on an Epson 3880, which I loved. Again, thank you for this video on a mostly ignored subject in a fast moving world where images by the billions only get a fraction of a second of attention on social media. Then they disappear in into oblivion. Printing is a beautiful thing!
My first forays into "large" print came last year. At my photo club I was offered a chance to present myself as a photographer with a selection of 36 images printed on 19 x 13 paper and hung on the walls of the club. It was an exhilarating experience to see images, which a very familiar with, framed, handing on walls, lit up and big! The whole process of selection for print, preparing images to look the way you intended them be in print and then to see all of those images hanging side by side taught me so much on so many levels, that I could not succinctly put into words. I wholeheartedly join Hugh in inviting every serious photographer to do BIG PRINTS. P.S.: in my club's "50 Years Olympia in Munich" exhibition we printed fifty five images from fifteen of our members at 23 x 16... I like the results! 🙃
A friend once told me that ‘you have to print.’ His advice was spot-on! I’ve been digitally printing for 12+ years and I LOVE large prints! I had an Epson 44 inch printer and then purchased the Canon Pro 4000 … Both great printers - although the Canon requires slightly less maintenance. A few years ago, I printed a 88 inch x 26 inch pano made with 7 - iPhone 5 images! Two years ago, I printed 4 panels to create a 40 inch x 84 inch images to make a composite 160 inch x 84 inch image for a show. Keep up the good work with the show. Hope to chat soon!
I love printing my own work. From monitor calibration to printer paper profiles to editing/soft proofing. I love it because it engages you in the process of making your image presentable to yourself or others in the home or perhaps in a photo show. Sending out certainly has its place but printing your own work challenges you to make decisions and adjustments to make your image enjoyable on a medium. Go for it! Have fun with it!!
Another brilliant, thoughtful and engaging discussion. Thank you, Hugh, for your always sensible approach to another subject too often mired in a ludicrous pursuit of vanishing points.
Excellent video. When I can relate to your videos, you are my favorite photo related youtuber. I call myself a closet artist. I have hundreds of prints, some framed, all sitting in my closet with very few of my own hanging in my house. I did one 6-hour fair and sold 19 prints and made about 400 bucks. I considered the fair a test run to see if anyone would buy my work. Afterwards I wondered if I should have charged a little more. I have owned Epson printers for about 15 years now, and my current 3880 is my latest little workhorse. Prior to digital cameras, I had a medium format Nikon film scanner which I would still own, but Nikon refused to update firmware, and Windows 98 was getting kind of old. I agree with you about cropping. I do not crop for any specific size, unless I need to put an image in an 8x10 frame. Recently, I've been going as big as my printer can go which is 17 in wide, and like you said, I crop for the image and not for any specific format. What I like about the larger images, especially with street photography is, you see a lot of interesting things in the background you would not see with a smaller print. Then there is the issue of photoshop. How much Photoshop is too much photoshop? Is it okay to clone out garbage on the sidewalk, or even a leg like I just did in a recent print of a man covered in tattoos. No, I didn't turn him into an amputee, but I did clone out a portion of his right leg to highlight his tattooed covered left egg which was at an interesting angle stepping off the curb. Anyway, I will continue printing, placing them in my closet, and saving them for another fair or maybe even a gallery. Thanks for making these videos.
Gene Smith manipulated his images; so did Arnold Newman and (very occasionally) Cartier-Bresson. Do what we the image tells you it needs to be the best version of itself.
Hugh.... after 50 years of being a working photographer for commercial and personal work. I may be the last generation of photographers who could make a living off of straight photography. I was ready to hang it up after 50 years but it was me and I just could not so I decided to keep a small studio. During my career I made many film based prints. But nothing was as satisfying as projecting an image across the room to print 2' X 3' silver gelatin prints. After going back and looking at them I just could not hang it up. If you have an image that is sharp enough to print that sizer..... go for it!! It will renew your love of photography.
Hugh, I took one of my favorite images in 2011 on an Olympus E-PL1, a 12MP Micro Four Thirds camera, at ISO 400 using a Minolta Rokkor MC 58mm f1.2 during blue hour on a rainy day. I blew it up to 30 by 40 inches - the print is brilliant. You'd have to step really close to it - closer than 20cm - to see any issues and even then you'd have to squint really hard to determine if it's a technical deficiency with the enlargement or a feature of the subject matter - the image is a panning shot of a black Volkswagen Beetle Classic at 1/20s against a rainy, illuminated street. How is that possible? 12MP?! AI based resolution upscaling and AI based noise reduction and CAREFUL retouching and a bunch of test prints before getting it right. It's simply incredible what you can do with today's software and yesterday's RAW files. It doesn't work for all subject matter of course, I would not blow up a macro shot taken with a 12MP camera with a focus on intricate details of a tiny subject to a size of a 30 by 40 inches print. The other lesson I took from printing this large: the print cost me around USD200. The frame and framing work cost around USD800. All museum quality. It's expensive. I don't even want to know how expensive it would be to frame anything larger than that. You need the right space to hang it. Or a buyer who has that. For ANYONE, it will be rare to frequently print that large. Most subject matter does not require 100MP for that size. MEGAPIXELS DON'T MATTER. Real talk, they don't. They just don't. All cameras sold in the past few years have sufficient resolution to enable all required print sizes for 99.999% of photographers - especially when you consider typical viewing distances.
Hello Hugh, I love printing my images, way back into 1980's I remember doing a job if a girl holding a push button phone which ended up been printer 12 feet by 9 feet, that was fun in those day. But now I limit my self the 2 meter by ** prints. I just love taking an image, printing the image and then framing. I even go as far as carving my own moulding normal out of Oak or Walnut bust if I fined some nice Yew or cedar than I am very happy. So far the biggest frame I have made 3 meter by 2 meter and that took me two weeks of hard but fun work. Keep well, keep safe and remember Take, printing and framing is just so satisfying.
I started doing prints a few years ago because I always felt that I was missing something. As a kid, I had a couple of chances to print my film, but my parents didn't have the money to maintain it so, I didn't do it that much. Later on, after working as a wedding photographer for quite some time, I started to also do astrophotography workshops thanks to the local observatory where I was living, and that's where it hit me. Like REALLY HARD. No matter the style of your images, printing IS the line that closes the circle. And for astrophotography in particular, at least for me, it's a complete necessity. After working for so many hours, trying, experimenting... it's an absolute pleasure. Also, printing astrophotography in black and white is amazing. I can honestly see myself and my fellow students, friends and more, to be absorbed by the printing exercise, once they tried obviously. BIG PRINTS, that's another whole story, and it's beautiful. Thanks for your videos Hugh.
I am now retired from ‘the life’ and living on a state pension. Needs be that I carry on working by producing boxed sets of my pictures for sale via a Canon imageGRAF-1000 A2 size printer. Now waiting for the arrival of a UPS power supply before plugging in and tuning up. It’s a 12 inker, so I am super excited by the possibilities of either going large or small. At least I now have a choice.
I had lot of wall acreage at my project studio. We only used 24x36 inch frames for our giclee prints which knocked the socks off everyone, including certain models.
My own ancient history includes film to print B&W and Agfachrome to Cibachrome on my Beseler 23XL in my basement. My favorite project was printing about 50 8.5 x 5.5 birth announcement for my daughter in the fall of 1976. A pic of mom and baby. A pic of baby’s face. A date. A birth weight. An adventure of love about to begin. Thank you Hugh. This video of yours is truly inspirational. -
Oh, I am all about the print. Did my own in a darkroom early on, then when digital rolled around I bought an Epson Stylus Pro 4800 and printed a ton of images. But the high costs of framing eventually started becoming prohibitive. When we downsized our house a few years back I started using an online service to print on metallic paper with an acrylic finish, or on metal. Our house now is the Dean Allman Photo Gallery, and like you and Claudia I wish we had more wall space. But it is a thrill every time we unbox one of these images. Printing big really shows the content in a much more enthralling way. I am more selective now in what we print, too. All in all I totally support what you are saying here. It really gives expression to your body of work.
To complete the artistic exercise, I taught myself to laminate my prints under acrylic (manual cold press easily affordable on the web), or onto a wood sheet (a friend gave me an old heated vacuum press). Working with my hands and the feeling of achieving an extra level of artistry makes the whole process of photography even more enjoyable. Metallic paper and acrylic has allowed me to make my own Peter Lik-ish works of art. I try to print as large as I can on my Epson P800.
I like listening to your…dialogue. I tried to digest it to make sense of why I like to print “big”. It boiled down to I like big prints…😬 I know…not very eloquent 🤣 thanks for the video and your thoughts 👍
Loved this. Back in 2000, we had a family website. 'Family and a Herd of Elephants.' This was a dig at the noise my wife and daughter made going up and down the stairs.
I walked into a Peter Lik (I know, I know) studio in the Galleria in Houston about a decade ago and was blown away. Wall size prints that could be viewed from a foot away...still amazes me the detail that those medium format Hasselblads can capture...
I've only done 1 "large print" a 24 by 36 inch metal print. It was a photo of a bridge with personal value for me. With the same lenses I've gotten another photo (2 in fact) on a recent trip. I plan to print them the same size and put them at my work. As no more wall space where I currently live. Hopefully I can get something like a 36 by 48 in the future. As that would be something special.
Another great lesson in photography. I respect so much how you almost always mix a great social message within your videos. I am puzzled though that on a lesson about print size, you never mentioned the viewing distance.
Hey Hugh, Good vid. I'm incredibly lucky to have a membership at Lightwork here in Syracuse and have access to incredible printing for insanely low prices. Once I got into actually printing I realized it's probably my second favorite aspect of photography behind actually shooting. Also it can be addictive!
I've been printing large format ever since my film days when i had my makeshift darkroom. Back then, as you, I printed 11x14 prints. For a number of years ago I bought a refurbished Epson 3660, which was the precursor to the Surecolor 800, which was itself the precursor to your 900. I often print 17x22 inch prints as gifts for people. Also, I print 8.5x11 thin double-sided paper and use a thermal binder to make a photo book.
Thought provoking and inspiring. You probe the questions photographers should be asking themselves. Thanks for the exceptional content. You fly high above the rest.
Hi Huge, it's always been a pleasure watcing and knowing about your long journey with photographic experiences and I have been enriching my knowledge about photography whenever I come across such exuberance like you people and this time is no exception to this!! To be true, I must say that I never ever tried my hand in printing despite the fact that I have always felt I should, but the circumstances held me back to further my likings to prints which I have always had them from print-houses and that too without from the super professional hands that gave me choices of what they handedover as best they could do!! But I always had an intense affinity to get them as large as I could afford to be printed and the first and foremost reason for larger prints was that they gave me immense pleasure with no other added reasons did I have to get them large!! This was my earliest experiences about photography without any rhyme and reason except that it was my mind's sweet spot to recline on!! As I grew with my world of photography, I started realising what makes a world of difference preferring for larger prints and I am not being the person to enter into any photographic competions, which generally required 8X10 inch prints!! I, like my contemporries who I belive, immensely talented dilettantes at that that time, preferred most of their lazily emphatic needs to be printed not more than 5X3 inches although, I always opined that they should enlarge their some pictures to be printed as large as 16X20 inch but did they take little care to my likings when I, in those days, be not surprised or take aback what I'm going to reveal about the size I'll now hate the most, preferred to the size of 10X12 inches at the most because the size permitted my empty pocket the mostt!! I saw afterward that larger prints have so much to do with whetting your photographic skills: they bring out the areas where I lack to be improved and improvements have no limits despite the enormopus touch of divine pleasure they really imart to at leat one soul that always starts with me!! Thanks a lot for the contribution to my vision towards photography!! Be safe and sound!!
Printed my first a couple of months ago. Was very unsure about it. Got it back from the printer and couldn’t have been more proud. Still remember how I felt shooting that great egret. It was magical.
I might be missing it, but I don't see the video links you mentioned in the description. Thanks for the high quality content as usual. This is definitely one of the best photography channels on RUclips. 👍
As always, I enjoyed your presentation. And this afternoon while I wrapped up scanning black and white 35mm negatives (3:2 aspect ratio) of my grandkids I had photographed a couple of weeks ago, I listened to your thoughts and philosophy on large prints. At this stage I've yet evolved to that point: although, I have given it some thoughts primarily after I retire from my other job and can step out say into gallery work. In the meantime, I do print my work as 8X12 on 11X14 luster photo paper. And when I feel sassy, and I like a particular photograph, I will print it as a13X19, which is as large as I can get at home. I do this for two reasons: first, I haven't completed the process as a photographer until I print one of my works, and second, I told this to my eldest, when I expire, I want my kids, grandkids, great grandkids and onward to have an idea about who I was and ask, 'my gosh what was on his mind when he photographed that'? Thanks again Hugh, do enjoy your presentations.
Not to mention a device for making your own paper/printer profiles, if you are inclined to do so. Did you mention it. I might of missed it, I do that sometimes.
Wonderful episode, lots of ideas… I’ve had several 24x36 canvases printed by various suppliers. Some worked out well, others not so good but I learned from each experience… Printing is a lot to learn, but rewarding to see your work in a physical state rather than a monitor… I’ve never experienced the darkroom, although I’ve always wanted to see what it’s all about… Thank you for sharing your experiences with printing. I’d like to see more of this type of video.
I have a hard time choosing which ones to print big. - Love the Chrysler Building photo! I was in NYC this past March and they wouldn't let me take any photos inside the building! What's up with that?
I can´t agree more with you. In fact, the process of making an image, only ends when is printed. It used to be like that, to everyone in the film era. Why that change to almost everyone in our days? The feeling to see that image printed, is such a pleasure. You just can´t replicate in the sceen. That´s why I have one 44" and another A2, printing every week, even if is just in A4, from the last photo shoot. Probably, was the dark room era that I lived, that gave me the sense and the need to print. Great subject Hugh.
I wish I had had a darkroom and learned to print silver gelatin prints years ago but, hey ho, inkjet has (recently) helped fill the loss. I started, struggling with very early Epson inkjet printers and AWFUL ink sets via early photoshop and scans back in the 1990s. God, it was bad. The number of proofs and recorded changes to try to get anything like a decent blue! And the paper. And the (low) resolution. Ugh… … but thank that god for the progress. My Epson 3880 and Canon Pro20s with Fotospeed, Canson or Hahnemulle parts make beautiful A4 prints. Moving to A3+ really does add to some images. And for a small handful using labs like Whitewall for 40”x30” is worth it and makes my photography (entirely personal now with no sales or publications for years) seem so much more worth it. And a total joy!
Since my wallspace is limited, I have decided to invest in one big frame (50“ on the long side) with the best glass and to change my pictures once or twice a year. For any other printing desire I have started to produce books on travels and special topics.
I really enjoy your philosophy about the importance of printing. I would love it if you got the print shop to sponsor a second video where you get a bit more technical about the process. Minimum megapixel for large crisp prints, DPI, favorite software for processing, Raw vs JPEG shooting, etc. I recently splurged on a Sigma FPL specifically for its potential of producing large prints. Maybe even touch on what kind of lenses you need to fully utilize a high megapixel sensor.
Perfect timing Hugh!! I am a novice. I have an awesome photo of a horse and some people in the Horse community have expressed interest in buying this photo… and one wants to make it 24”x72” and I am terrified
@@francisschweitzer8431 Watch the resolution as you enlarge the photo. You will need at least 180 pixels per inch for the large print. Although others may recommend more or less. You printer will advise and help you. If the file is too small, consider using Gigapixel AI by Topaz to enlarge the image.
are you based jn new york ? would you be interested on making a video with the aero ektar and a dallmeyer pentac for 4x5 camera . I'm based in jersey city.. I can have you borrow it if you are interested
No, you don’t. It’s a function of image size, viewing distance - and the image itself. In our experience given what we do, 20MP is fine for 50” on the long side at normal viewing distance of, say, Claudia’s two poodles. For my 5 FEET on the long side image looking west to Tudor City from 1st Ave. when so much of the image is about architectural detail and texture, 45MP is a starting point. But then you have to consider how much glass you’re willing to carry; whether or not your camera has IBIS… you get the idea.
I did a job with an original Canon 5D (12 megapixels) and the client had a lab make a panorama from one frame and it was about 10 feet wide by 3 feet high. I was blown away by how good it looked from >3 feet away.
Damnit, Hugh… now you’ve done it… Here I was blithely ignoring the siren call of the big print (in spite of having done some in the past…) and here you go getting me all hot and bothered about the print. Hmmm… I just might just have to go out and order some. Damnit!
I really need to start printing again. Before the pandemic I would print at least once a month, however now things are starting to get back on track I might go bigger and bolder. God damn UK houses are going be my limiting factors. Just printing a 6x4 can open the eyes of anyone viewing a photo. We've gotten so used to viewing on screens that the magic of photo have disappeared, but hopefully not forgotten. I need a higher resolution camera as I'm seeing the limitation of my G9.
I print all the time and print my fine art on aluminum. The bigger the better in my eyes unless of course my client is on a tighter budget or doesn't have the space.
I still don't really understand why so many photographers have the constant argument about digital cameras when they've yet to really exceed film...outside of a Phase One or Hasselblad.
Love your common sense approach to creativity. It’s all about the picture! Tools and technology are not the end product, although our favorite camera and lens manufacturers seduce us, whispering sweet megapixels in our ears. I share your hard to describe and complicated relationship with the soul of the city. I grew up in the 60’s on 86th just off CPW. I also had my own darkroom (in my bedroom) and happily tortured my family with the smells of developer and fixer. By the way, what was that trumpet composition you had over your Chrysler Building shot?
GREAT question, thank you! I forgot to attribute it, but when I went back to look for the artist, I only got as far as where I'd seen it: energypost.eu/oilman-loved-dictators-texaco-supported-fascism/les-echos-cartoon-of-torkild-rieber-with-chrysler-building/ and www.lesechos.fr/2009/07/rieber-1083104
Good stuff as ever and plenty of food for thought. One small issue that I hope you don’t mind my mentioning is the use of inches all the time. I do understand that is what Americans use but only you, Liberia and Myanmar have them as official units. Of course, I don’t want you giving a conversion to centimetres at every mention but occasionally it might help the ‘imperially challenged’ in the rest of the world! Keep up the good work - I really enjoy the channel.
@@3BMEP A mixed picture here in the UK. I did my school exams in the 1970’ in metric and it remains the official system. Food, fuel etc all in metric. Confusingly, a significant number of people cling on to imperial. Some hard right politicians (we have them too!) think Brexit is an excuse to go back to imperial. Hey ho.
Beautifully said but I do feel you left out one major point: viewing distance. Take any photo or painting and two and half times the image diagonal is the sweet spot. The spot where the human eyes views normal, going in from this spot the image becomes wide angle to our eyes and vice versa moving further away we find a telephoto affect. Your opinion? K
A crude and stupid sign does not become profound when printed large... it is just crude, stupid and and "loud". That aside, I love your channel and this discussion in particular.
A wise old man speaking in an informative and at the same time, in such an entertaining manner. Come on guys, give your love to this channel it deserves. Greetings from Finland!
😊🙏🏻🖖🏻
I always have difficulties believing he's as old as he says, that effortless charisma is just timeless.
Truth has never been more eloquently spoken than you have demonstrated in this video. An honor to watch and listen too.
Enjoying a print is so much more gratifying than posting on social media. It is extremely rewarding to see a physical manifestation of your work. Thank you for this presentation. I will soon have some “epic” size prints done and have enjoyed printing and framing my work for years using Epson printers. I recently purchased an Epson P900, and previously printed on an Epson 3880, which I loved. Again, thank you for this video on a mostly ignored subject in a fast moving world where images by the billions only get a fraction of a second of attention on social media. Then they disappear in into oblivion. Printing is a beautiful thing!
Thank YOU. Wilfredo.
My first forays into "large" print came last year. At my photo club I was offered a chance to present myself as a photographer with a selection of 36 images printed on 19 x 13 paper and hung on the walls of the club. It was an exhilarating experience to see images, which a very familiar with, framed, handing on walls, lit up and big!
The whole process of selection for print, preparing images to look the way you intended them be in print and then to see all of those images hanging side by side taught me so much on so many levels, that I could not succinctly put into words.
I wholeheartedly join Hugh in inviting every serious photographer to do BIG PRINTS.
P.S.: in my club's "50 Years Olympia in Munich" exhibition we printed fifty five images from fifteen of our members at 23 x 16... I like the results! 🙃
Bassem, great story! Thanks for sharing!
A friend once told me that ‘you have to print.’ His advice was spot-on! I’ve been digitally printing for 12+ years and I LOVE large prints! I had an Epson 44 inch printer and then purchased the Canon Pro 4000 … Both great printers - although the Canon requires slightly less maintenance. A few years ago, I printed a 88 inch x 26 inch pano made with 7 - iPhone 5 images! Two years ago, I printed 4 panels to create a 40 inch x 84 inch images to make a composite 160 inch x 84 inch image for a show.
Keep up the good work with the show. Hope to chat soon!
Thanks so much for weighing in, Tom!
I love printing my own work. From monitor calibration to printer paper profiles to editing/soft proofing. I love it because it engages you in the process of making your image presentable to yourself or others in the home or perhaps in a photo show. Sending out certainly has its place but printing your own work challenges you to make decisions and adjustments to make your image enjoyable on a medium. Go for it! Have fun with it!!
Another brilliant, thoughtful and engaging discussion. Thank you, Hugh, for your always sensible approach to another subject too often mired in a ludicrous pursuit of vanishing points.
😊🖖🏻
Excellent video. When I can relate to your videos, you are my favorite photo related youtuber.
I call myself a closet artist. I have hundreds of prints, some framed, all sitting in my closet with very few of my own hanging in my house. I did one 6-hour fair and sold 19 prints and made about 400 bucks. I considered the fair a test run to see if anyone would buy my work. Afterwards I wondered if I should have charged a little more.
I have owned Epson printers for about 15 years now, and my current 3880 is my latest little workhorse. Prior to digital cameras, I had a medium format Nikon film scanner which I would still own, but Nikon refused to update firmware, and Windows 98 was getting kind of old.
I agree with you about cropping. I do not crop for any specific size, unless I need to put an image in an 8x10 frame. Recently, I've been going as big as my printer can go which is 17 in wide, and like you said, I crop for the image and not for any specific format.
What I like about the larger images, especially with street photography is, you see a lot of interesting things in the background you would not see with a smaller print.
Then there is the issue of photoshop. How much Photoshop is too much photoshop? Is it okay to clone out garbage on the sidewalk, or even a leg like I just did in a recent print of a man covered in tattoos. No, I didn't turn him into an amputee, but I did clone out a portion of his right leg to highlight his tattooed covered left egg which was at an interesting angle stepping off the curb.
Anyway, I will continue printing, placing them in my closet, and saving them for another fair or maybe even a gallery.
Thanks for making these videos.
Gene Smith manipulated his images; so did Arnold Newman and (very occasionally) Cartier-Bresson. Do what we the image tells you it needs to be the best version of itself.
Hugh.... after 50 years of being a working photographer for commercial and personal work. I may be the last generation of photographers who could make a living off of straight photography. I was ready to hang it up after 50 years but it was me and I just could not so I decided to keep a small studio. During my career I made many film based prints. But nothing was as satisfying as projecting an image across the room to print 2' X 3' silver gelatin prints. After going back and looking at them I just could not hang it up. If you have an image that is sharp enough to print that sizer..... go for it!! It will renew your love of photography.
Great advice, Sam - and oh boy: do I! 😊
Hugh, I took one of my favorite images in 2011 on an Olympus E-PL1, a 12MP Micro Four Thirds camera, at ISO 400 using a Minolta Rokkor MC 58mm f1.2 during blue hour on a rainy day. I blew it up to 30 by 40 inches - the print is brilliant. You'd have to step really close to it - closer than 20cm - to see any issues and even then you'd have to squint really hard to determine if it's a technical deficiency with the enlargement or a feature of the subject matter - the image is a panning shot of a black Volkswagen Beetle Classic at 1/20s against a rainy, illuminated street.
How is that possible? 12MP?! AI based resolution upscaling and AI based noise reduction and CAREFUL retouching and a bunch of test prints before getting it right. It's simply incredible what you can do with today's software and yesterday's RAW files. It doesn't work for all subject matter of course, I would not blow up a macro shot taken with a 12MP camera with a focus on intricate details of a tiny subject to a size of a 30 by 40 inches print.
The other lesson I took from printing this large: the print cost me around USD200. The frame and framing work cost around USD800. All museum quality. It's expensive. I don't even want to know how expensive it would be to frame anything larger than that.
You need the right space to hang it. Or a buyer who has that. For ANYONE, it will be rare to frequently print that large. Most subject matter does not require 100MP for that size. MEGAPIXELS DON'T MATTER. Real talk, they don't. They just don't. All cameras sold in the past few years have sufficient resolution to enable all required print sizes for 99.999% of photographers - especially when you consider typical viewing distances.
Hello Hugh, I love printing my images, way back into 1980's I remember doing a job if a girl holding a push button phone which ended up been printer 12 feet by 9 feet, that was fun in those day. But now I limit my self the 2 meter by ** prints. I just love taking an image, printing the image and then framing. I even go as far as carving my own moulding normal out of Oak or Walnut bust if I fined some nice Yew or cedar than I am very happy. So far the biggest frame I have made 3 meter by 2 meter and that took me two weeks of hard but fun work. Keep well, keep safe and remember Take, printing and framing is just so satisfying.
Thanks so much for sharing your passion here, John! 😊🖖🏻
I started doing prints a few years ago because I always felt that I was missing something. As a kid, I had a couple of chances to print my film, but my parents didn't have the money to maintain it so, I didn't do it that much.
Later on, after working as a wedding photographer for quite some time, I started to also do astrophotography workshops thanks to the local observatory where I was living, and that's where it hit me. Like REALLY HARD. No matter the style of your images, printing IS the line that closes the circle. And for astrophotography in particular, at least for me, it's a complete necessity.
After working for so many hours, trying, experimenting... it's an absolute pleasure. Also, printing astrophotography in black and white is amazing. I can honestly see myself and my fellow students, friends and more, to be absorbed by the printing exercise, once they tried obviously.
BIG PRINTS, that's another whole story, and it's beautiful. Thanks for your videos Hugh.
Thank YOU for weighing in!
I am now retired from ‘the life’ and living on a state pension. Needs be that I carry on working by producing boxed sets of my pictures for sale via a Canon imageGRAF-1000 A2 size printer. Now waiting for the arrival of a UPS power supply before plugging in and tuning up. It’s a 12 inker, so I am super excited by the possibilities of either going large or small. At least I now have a choice.
I had lot of wall acreage at my project studio. We only used 24x36 inch frames for our giclee prints which knocked the socks off everyone, including certain models.
After this beautiful piece I feel like a re-watch of Ric Burns magical New York documentary. Thank you.
😊🖖🏻
Love you. Simple
blah blah blah your anecdotes and take on almost everything is just...congruent and sublime.
🙏🏻😉🖖🏻
Big prints are luxurious and the best way to actually see your work. I truly miss my darkroom days.
I understand. 😊
My own ancient history includes film to print B&W and Agfachrome to Cibachrome on my Beseler 23XL in my basement. My favorite project was printing about 50 8.5 x 5.5 birth announcement for my daughter in the fall of 1976. A pic of mom and baby. A pic of baby’s face. A date. A birth weight. An adventure of love about to begin. Thank you Hugh. This video of yours is truly inspirational. -
Happy to be of service, Barry! Thank you for sharing!
Oh, I am all about the print. Did my own in a darkroom early on, then when digital rolled around I bought an Epson Stylus Pro 4800 and printed a ton of images. But the high costs of framing eventually started becoming prohibitive. When we downsized our house a few years back I started using an online service to print on metallic paper with an acrylic finish, or on metal. Our house now is the Dean Allman Photo Gallery, and like you and Claudia I wish we had more wall space. But it is a thrill every time we unbox one of these images. Printing big really shows the content in a much more enthralling way. I am more selective now in what we print, too. All in all I totally support what you are saying here. It really gives expression to your body of work.
So nice to see you here, Dean! Looking forward to October!
So well articulated as usual! Thank you for this. I don't print my work much because I simply have no where to put them :)
I need more space too!
To complete the artistic exercise, I taught myself to laminate my prints under acrylic (manual cold press easily affordable on the web), or onto a wood sheet (a friend gave me an old heated vacuum press). Working with my hands and the feeling of achieving an extra level of artistry makes the whole process of photography even more enjoyable. Metallic paper and acrylic has allowed me to make my own Peter Lik-ish works of art. I try to print as large as I can on my Epson P800.
I forgot that we use to laminate images to I can’t recall what using wax paper and a heated thing-a-ma-jig!
I like listening to your…dialogue. I tried to digest it to make sense of why I like to print “big”. It boiled down to I like big prints…😬 I know…not very eloquent 🤣 thanks for the video and your thoughts 👍
Loved this. Back in 2000, we had a family website. 'Family and a Herd of Elephants.' This was a dig at the noise my wife and daughter made going up and down the stairs.
Ha! Wonderful!
I walked into a Peter Lik (I know, I know) studio in the Galleria in Houston about a decade ago and was blown away. Wall size prints that could be viewed from a foot away...still amazes me the detail that those medium format Hasselblads can capture...
I've only done 1 "large print" a 24 by 36 inch metal print. It was a photo of a bridge with personal value for me.
With the same lenses I've gotten another photo (2 in fact) on a recent trip. I plan to print them the same size and put them at my work. As no more wall space where I currently live. Hopefully I can get something like a 36 by 48 in the future. As that would be something special.
Excellent insight into prints and printing - so well said. Thanks Hugh. And 3 cheers to TEN FEET HIGH.
👊🏻🖖🏻😊
Another great lesson in photography. I respect so much how you almost always mix a great social message within your videos.
I am puzzled though that on a lesson about print size, you never mentioned the viewing distance.
Hey Hugh,
Good vid. I'm incredibly lucky to have a membership at Lightwork here in Syracuse and have access to incredible printing for insanely low prices.
Once I got into actually printing I realized it's probably my second favorite aspect of photography behind actually shooting. Also it can be addictive!
So nice to hear from you Will! Yes, it can!!!!
I vote best audio on RUclips! You got some great sound mojo!
I've been printing large format ever since my film days when i had my makeshift darkroom. Back then, as you, I printed 11x14 prints. For a number of years ago I bought a refurbished Epson 3660, which was the precursor to the Surecolor 800, which was itself the precursor to your 900. I often print 17x22 inch prints as gifts for people. Also, I print 8.5x11 thin double-sided paper and use a thermal binder to make a photo book.
Hey, Cliff - nice to see you here.
Thought provoking and inspiring. You probe the questions photographers should be asking themselves. Thanks for the exceptional content. You fly high above the rest.
Thank you, Mark. Happy that you appreciate what we do! 🙏🏻😊🖖🏻
Hi Huge, it's always been a pleasure watcing and knowing about your long journey with photographic experiences and I have been enriching my knowledge about photography whenever I come across such exuberance like you people and this time is no exception to this!! To be true, I must say that I never ever tried my hand in printing despite the fact that I have always felt I should, but the circumstances held me back to further my likings to prints which I have always had them from print-houses and that too without from the super professional hands that gave me choices of what they handedover as best they could do!! But I always had an intense affinity to get them as large as I could afford to be printed and the first and foremost reason for larger prints was that they gave me immense pleasure with no other added reasons did I have to get them large!! This was my earliest experiences about photography without any rhyme and reason except that it was my mind's sweet spot to recline on!! As I grew with my world of photography, I started realising what makes a world of difference preferring for larger prints and I am not being the person to enter into any photographic competions, which generally required 8X10 inch prints!! I, like my contemporries who I belive, immensely talented dilettantes at that that time, preferred most of their lazily emphatic needs to be printed not more than 5X3 inches although, I always opined that they should enlarge their some pictures to be printed as large as 16X20 inch but did they take little care to my likings when I, in those days, be not surprised or take aback what I'm going to reveal about the size I'll now hate the most, preferred to the size of 10X12 inches at the most because the size permitted my empty pocket the mostt!! I saw afterward that larger prints have so much to do with whetting your photographic skills: they bring out the areas where I lack to be improved and improvements have no limits despite the enormopus touch of divine pleasure they really imart to at leat one soul that always starts with me!! Thanks a lot for the contribution to my vision towards photography!! Be safe and sound!!
Thank you for such a thoughtful and generous post, Shyamal! Truly lovely!
Your video are remarkable and helpful to me.
I'm so glad - thank you!
Printed my first a couple of months ago. Was very unsure about it. Got it back from the printer and couldn’t have been more proud. Still remember how I felt shooting that great egret. It was magical.
Keep going! 😊🖖🏻
I might be missing it, but I don't see the video links you mentioned in the description.
Thanks for the high quality content as usual. This is definitely one of the best photography channels on RUclips. 👍
Thanks! And thanks for reminding me to put those links in - DONE! :)
As always, I enjoyed your presentation. And this afternoon while I wrapped up scanning black and white 35mm negatives (3:2 aspect ratio) of my grandkids I had photographed a couple of weeks ago, I listened to your thoughts and philosophy on large prints. At this stage I've yet evolved to that point: although, I have given it some thoughts primarily after I retire from my other job and can step out say into gallery work. In the meantime, I do print my work as 8X12 on 11X14 luster photo paper. And when I feel sassy, and I like a particular photograph, I will print it as a13X19, which is as large as I can get at home. I do this for two reasons: first, I haven't completed the process as a photographer until I print one of my works, and second, I told this to my eldest, when I expire, I want my kids, grandkids, great grandkids and onward to have an idea about who I was and ask, 'my gosh what was on his mind when he photographed that'? Thanks again Hugh, do enjoy your presentations.
Chuck, it is my pleasure. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Love that! All of it. 😍
So glad, Avenger!
Not to mention a device for making your own paper/printer profiles, if you are inclined to do so. Did you mention it. I might of missed it, I do that sometimes.
Wonderful episode, lots of ideas…
I’ve had several 24x36 canvases printed by various suppliers. Some worked out well, others not so good but I learned from each experience…
Printing is a lot to learn, but rewarding to see your work in a physical state rather than a monitor…
I’ve never experienced the darkroom, although I’ve always wanted to see what it’s all about…
Thank you for sharing your experiences with printing. I’d like to see more of this type of video.
But these kinds of video take so much work, Hugh! 😉😊🖖🏻
@@3BMEP Quality is always appreciated 😁
Tears at 12:00, 22:58
Fantastic work. 💔📷
I have a hard time choosing which ones to print big. - Love the Chrysler Building photo! I was in NYC this past March and they wouldn't let me take any photos inside the building! What's up with that?
No idea!
I can´t agree more with you. In fact, the process of making an image, only ends when is printed. It used to be like that, to everyone in the film era. Why that change to almost everyone in our days?
The feeling to see that image printed, is such a pleasure. You just can´t replicate in the sceen. That´s why I have one 44" and another A2, printing every week, even if is just in A4, from the last photo shoot. Probably, was the dark room era that I lived, that gave me the sense and the need to print. Great subject Hugh.
😊🖖🏻
I wish I had had a darkroom and learned to print silver gelatin prints years ago but, hey ho, inkjet has (recently) helped fill the loss. I started, struggling with very early Epson inkjet printers and AWFUL ink sets via early photoshop and scans back in the 1990s. God, it was bad. The number of proofs and recorded changes to try to get anything like a decent blue! And the paper. And the (low) resolution. Ugh…
… but thank that god for the progress. My Epson 3880 and Canon Pro20s with Fotospeed, Canson or Hahnemulle parts make beautiful A4 prints. Moving to A3+ really does add to some images. And for a small handful using labs like Whitewall for 40”x30” is worth it and makes my photography (entirely personal now with no sales or publications for years) seem so much more worth it. And a total joy!
Good!
You know we are waiting for you down in Brooklyn, right?
Been there a number of times over the past couple of months -- was actually BORN there!
@@3BMEP here at Printique, in Brooklyn ;-)
@@pakodominguez2675 ah! We will make it happen!
Excellent!
Thank you, Jason! 🖖🏻
Since my wallspace is limited, I have decided to invest in one big frame (50“ on the long side) with the best glass and to change my pictures once or twice a year. For any other printing desire I have started to produce books on travels and special topics.
Nice!
Great minds think alike. In the process of hanging three 20”x20’ metal boards to have a rotating magnetic gallery of my images!
Nice!
I really enjoy your philosophy about the importance of printing. I would love it if you got the print shop to sponsor a second video where you get a bit more technical about the process. Minimum megapixel for large crisp prints, DPI, favorite software for processing, Raw vs JPEG shooting, etc. I recently splurged on a Sigma FPL specifically for its potential of producing large prints. Maybe even touch on what kind of lenses you need to fully utilize a high megapixel sensor.
I like it!
Perfect timing Hugh!! I am a novice. I have an awesome photo of a horse and some people in the Horse community have expressed interest in buying this photo… and one wants to make it 24”x72” and I am terrified
“Be afraid, not.” - Photo Yoda. Go for it, Frank - although perhaps try a large but smaller print first to see how it holds up to your eye!
@@3BMEP That’s what I was thinking. I wasn’t sure if you see this .. so the Patreon comment is answered.
To me… 24x72 is Times Square sized. Lol.
@@francisschweitzer8431 Watch the resolution as you enlarge the photo. You will need at least 180 pixels per inch for the large print. Although others may recommend more or less. You printer will advise and help you. If the file is too small, consider using Gigapixel AI by Topaz to enlarge the image.
are you based jn new york ? would you be interested on making a video with the aero ektar and a dallmeyer pentac for 4x5 camera . I'm based in jersey city.. I can have you borrow it if you are interested
Thank you for your generous offer, but I will decline for now - too much on my plate! 😊🖖🏻
Whats your recommendation for number of megapixels to print large? Do you really need a 50MP camera?
No, you don’t. It’s a function of image size, viewing distance - and the image itself. In our experience given what we do, 20MP is fine for 50” on the long side at normal viewing distance of, say, Claudia’s two poodles. For my 5 FEET on the long side image looking west to Tudor City from 1st Ave. when so much of the image is about architectural detail and texture, 45MP is a starting point. But then you have to consider how much glass you’re willing to carry; whether or not your camera has IBIS… you get the idea.
@@3BMEP Thanks so much for the response. I covet a GFX 50R, but good to know I can save up for a bit and still make great prints :)
I did a job with an original Canon 5D (12 megapixels) and the client had a lab make a panorama from one frame and it was about 10 feet wide by 3 feet high. I was blown away by how good it looked from >3 feet away.
Damnit, Hugh… now you’ve done it… Here I was blithely ignoring the siren call of the big print (in spite of having done some in the past…) and here you go getting me all hot and bothered about the print. Hmmm… I just might just have to go out and order some. Damnit!
Hot damn, Bill! 😊👊🏻
@@3BMEP Now that I’ve stepped in it, I’m now going to have put my money where my mouth is…
I really need to start printing again. Before the pandemic I would print at least once a month, however now things are starting to get back on track I might go bigger and bolder. God damn UK houses are going be my limiting factors. Just printing a 6x4 can open the eyes of anyone viewing a photo. We've gotten so used to viewing on screens that the magic of photo have disappeared, but hopefully not forgotten. I need a higher resolution camera as I'm seeing the limitation of my G9.
I print all the time and print my fine art on aluminum. The bigger the better in my eyes unless of course my client is on a tighter budget or doesn't have the space.
Up to A4 make a coffee table, A3 and larger up on the wall, your work needs to be seen. More expensive than wallpaper but easier to hang.
I still don't really understand why so many photographers have the constant argument about digital cameras when they've yet to really exceed film...outside of a Phase One or Hasselblad.
Love your common sense approach to creativity. It’s all about the picture! Tools and technology are not the end product, although our favorite camera and lens manufacturers seduce us, whispering sweet megapixels in our ears. I share your hard to describe and complicated relationship with the soul of the city. I grew up in the 60’s on 86th just off CPW. I also had my own darkroom (in my bedroom) and happily tortured my family with the smells of developer and fixer. By the way, what was that trumpet composition you had over your Chrysler Building shot?
GREAT question, thank you! I forgot to attribute it, but when I went back to look for the artist, I only got as far as where I'd seen it: energypost.eu/oilman-loved-dictators-texaco-supported-fascism/les-echos-cartoon-of-torkild-rieber-with-chrysler-building/ and www.lesechos.fr/2009/07/rieber-1083104
Good stuff as ever and plenty of food for thought. One small issue that I hope you don’t mind my mentioning is the use of inches all the time. I do understand that is what Americans use but only you, Liberia and Myanmar have them as official units. Of course, I don’t want you giving a conversion to centimetres at every mention but occasionally it might help the ‘imperially challenged’ in the rest of the world! Keep up the good work - I really enjoy the channel.
Not the UK too??
@@3BMEP A mixed picture here in the UK. I did my school exams in the 1970’ in metric and it remains the official system. Food, fuel etc all in metric. Confusingly, a significant number of people cling on to imperial. Some hard right politicians (we have them too!) think Brexit is an excuse to go back to imperial. Hey ho.
Wow
😉
Beautifully said but I do feel you left out one major point: viewing distance. Take any photo or painting and two and half times the image diagonal is the sweet spot. The spot where the human eyes views normal, going in from this spot the image becomes wide angle to our eyes and vice versa moving further away we find a telephoto affect. Your opinion? K
Ah. I often refer to normal image sizes and viewing distances, but fair enough: I did not do so here. Thanks for pointing it out!
Unfortunately, this company does not ship to Europe. Can someone recommend me a company producing very big prints in Europe?
I have been very happy with large - some beyond 50” - prints by Metro Imaging and White Wall.
I've only gone 8x12 cuz I live in a shoebox in Toronto. I gift as many as possible
Big is relative to any number of things, Jay. I say: bravo on your large 8x12’s!
Ever written a book? I would buy it.
No, but a screenplay, yes. 😊
Anyone else imagining Hugh as a 12yr old? You know the only 2 movies I can recall darkrooms was Ghostbusters II and One Hour Photo.
😜
A crude and stupid sign does not become profound when printed large... it is just crude, stupid and and "loud". That aside, I love your channel and this discussion in particular.
I firmly believe that a photograph does not exist until it is printed.
If you keep telling me that my camera and lenses are good enough and that I just need to take better photos, I'm going to have to unsubscribe. 😁
😜
"Humanity" doing that to poodles is inhumane!
Loved your video until you used your art to glorify religious bigotry… this causes a feeling of loss. Adios