In the current age of digital photography, there's something truly special about holding a physical print of your favorite photo in your hands or hanging it up on your wall. Printing your photos allows you to bring them to life, display them proudly, and share them with others in a tangible and lasting way.
Having said that, we know that printing photos can seem daunting, especially if you are a beginner. But fear not! We are here to help! In this article, we'll provide six beginner-friendly tips and guidance to help you navigate the complex world of photo printing.
From choosing the right paper and printer settings to preparing your images for print and finding a reliable print service, we'll cover all the essential steps to ensure your photos come out beautifully. Additionally, we’ll share one of our favorite professional printing companies!
So, whether you're looking to create stunning wall art or simply cherish memories in a personal photo album, these beginner tips for printing photos will set you on the right path to creating high-quality prints that you can be proud of. Now, grab your most treasured photos, and let’s find out more!
Table of Contents
- Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Shoot RAW Files
- Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Calibrate Your Display
- Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Crop and Edit Your Images
- Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Soft Proof Your Photos Before Printing
- Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Choose the Right Printing Paper
- Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Partner With a Professional Printing Lab
- Recommended Photography Gear
Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Shoot RAW File
The biggest tip related to your camera and how you shoot your photos for printing is to always shoot RAW files. RAW files store more information, such as colors and dynamic range, making them much better for editing (and printing) than JPEGs.
To check if you are shooting RAW images, simply enter the main menu on your camera, locate the camera settings, and select RAW. One thing to note is that RAW files take up substantially more space than JPEGs, so you will want to invest in a good SSD portable hard drive or cloud storage plan (1TB or more).
Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Calibrate Your Display
Once you have taken your photos, but before transferring them to your computer or tablet, the next step is calibrating your monitor. This will ensure your printed photos look like you intended them to. Most beginner photographers skip this essential step and blame the printer when their photos look different, but it’s easily avoidable if you calibrate your display correctly.
How do you calibrate your screen? And what does that even mean? Simply put, it means adjusting and balancing the colors you see using calibration software. We recommend doing this every 2-4 weeks for best results. And while there are plenty of different programs, our favorite is Datacolor SpyderX Pro.
Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Crop and Edit Your Images
Using post-production software to crop and edit images is another beginner tip for printing photos. Today there are tons of good paid and free programs to choose from, so there’s no excuse for not editing your pictures. The top paid program is Adobe Lightroom, while Gimp is a popular free option.
Presets are a fantastic tool for photographers learning to edit their photos. However, be wary not to overedit. Instead of enhancing your pictures, overediting can have the opposite effect and can totally ruin what otherwise would have been a stunning photo.
Learn More:
- The Benefits of Printing Your Photos: Why You Should Print Your Memories
- 3 Unique Photo Printing Options You Need to Try
Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Soft Proof Your Photos Before Printing
After making your edits, it’s always good to have an idea of what your images will look like before printing them. This used to be impossible, but thanks to modern technology, we now can easily preview or “soft proof” our pictures on our devices. In Adobe Lightroom, this can be done in seconds, and you can select everything from the color space to the model of your printer.
Better yet, you can quickly readjust your image if you notice something you don’t particularly like during the process. This will save you loads of time and money in the long run and give you the peace of mind that all your photos will come out looking great!
Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Choose the Right Printing Paper
If you are printing your photos at home, don’t make the mistake of printing on the same standard A4 paper on which you’d print a document. While you might think it doesn’t make a difference, it certainly does. With printing paper, you usually get what you pay for, so don’t be afraid to spend a little more.
Alternatively, if you are getting your photos professionally printed, today there are many excellent mediums besides paper. For example, you can print on canvas, velvet fine art paper, or even metal!
Beginner Tips for Printing Photos: Partner With a Professional Printing Lab
Finally, we 100% recommend working with a high-quality and dependable printing lab when you are getting started in photography. It may be slightly more expensive, but the results will blow your home office printer out of the water.
With that in mind, our current go-to printer is Pure Art Printer. They are an innovative online printing company known for their premium products, expert staff, and unbeatable prices. Furthermore, they offer professional services like pro file enhancements, large file orders, and photographing paintings.