What to Know Before Ordering Large Photo Prints for Walls

Very large photo prints for walls can look absolutely amazing when we know how best to prepare and order them. It also helps to know where to get such incredible prints, too.

Artbeat Studios can make paper prints in sizes up to 48 x 96 inches. That’s 4 x 8 feet! Artbeat Studios makes metal and acrylic prints plus canvas wraps in some huge sizes as well. More on that in a bit.

Before we make large photo prints for walls, we need to know some basics that will allow our image files to make prints this large. These basics aren’t that difficult, and they will help you achieve your end result of getting large photo prints for walls.

Start Big to Go Big

It’s an axiom in photography that the larger the source file, the bigger we can enlarge it without much loss of apparent resolution. This axiom worked for film photography, which is why Medium Format and Large Format stayed popular even with all the advances in lenses and film for 135 or 35mm Full Frame Format.

It’s still true today, perhaps even more so. The larger our base resolution (and how much other information can be captured and stored) the better our results for whatever type of final viewing we intend. To make large photo prints for walls of sizes measured in feet, we should be capturing large files.

That means capturing our image files in RAW instead of JPEG. RAW files are uncompressed, meaning they hold all of the information that the sensor captured. Even a fine resolution large file JPEG still has some compression, meaning loss of data.

This is also where your camera settings of bit depth come in. A 10-bit file has less color information and exposure dynamic range than a 12-bit RAW file, and 14-bit holds even more. The color gamut that a 12-bit RAW capture holds is up to 68 billion different shades. A 14-bit RAW image has a depth capability of 4 trillion shades.

Large Photo Prints for Walls File Settings

That’s a lot of color, exposure, and resolution information! The way to get the most out of your camera is to set this up for images you intend to be large photo prints for walls.

In your camera menu, one of the top choices that likely doesn’t require much searching through sub-menus is the setting for JPEG Fine or Large, JPEG Medium, JPEG Small, and RAW. You’ll want RAW.

Now, probably in one of the sub-menus, you’ll want to find the bit depth control. If you have that adjustment, select the highest on your camera. The color profile is next, even though it won’t affect the RAW file. In order to see the image displayed as a close representation of your final image after processing on your camera viewscreen, choose whatever profile your camera has that is going to be close.

The ISO should be lowered for capturing images intended for becoming large photo prints for walls. Finally, your focus and camera stability also play a part. Focus accurately, use the depth of field (deep or shallow) you want, and have a fast enough shutter speed, image stabilization, or a tripod or alternative camera mount, so no image degradation due to focus errors, subject movement, or camera shake happens.

Post-Processing Assists for Large Photo Prints for Walls

Now that you have your RAW files, they require post-processing into a usable file type. Generally, for making large photo prints for walls, this will be JPEG or sometimes a TIFF. But before we get to that image output, we have some steps to go through.

Choose the sharpest, best-focused, best-exposed files for your efforts in post-processing. It generally doesn’t happen that we can take a less than high-quality image file and make it good enough for creating large photo prints for walls. But we can take a great file and make it even better.

Use all that information in the RAW image to pull out and adjust, fine-tune, and tweak the colors and exposure information in it. There is every bit as much art, technique, and skill involved in great post-processing as there is in capturing the images with our cameras.

The Importance of Color Space

Since you captured images as RAW files, that means you can assign the color profile with your post-processing program. The color profile tells equipment reading the fuels, such as monitors and printers, how to read the colors embedded in the image file.

Most high-quality photo printers use Adobe RGB as their preferred color space. Other output settings to be aware of are saving with 8-bit color, 300 PPI (if able), flattening any layers used for the post-processing, and then the image file format.

This video from Artbeat Studios will help you learn the difference between 150 PPI and 300 PPI. They also have a video to help you place an order.

What Files Types are Used Large Photo Prints for Walls?

The file type most often used for making your large photo prints for walls will be JPEG, though TIFF is also an option for many printers. The difference in this JPEG vs capturing a JPEG in camera is that you controlled all or most of the variables for creating an excellent image and THEN turned it into a JPEG.

Displaying Large Images

I like to have a simple setting for my large photo prints for walls. The image will do the speaking. Perhaps a low profile frame and minimal matting or simply display with the least amount of frame possible. Any way you go, using these tips should net you some fantastic-looking large photo prints for walls.