I ordered my first large print (16×24) of one of my photographs this week; I am super excited to see how it turns out! I’m planning on hanging it in my living room. There is something special about decorating your home with art you made yourself. The process of printing is pretty simple but there are a few things you should know.
When you print a large print, little details that you don’t notice when the image will show up. For example, you need to make sure the exposure on the original image (before edits) is good quality or the large print will turn out pixelated. You also need to look for little details in the photograph that are distracting. For example, there were sticks that aren’t distracting when the photograph is small but I had to remove them for large print.
Another quick edit you should do is raise the shadows and blacks. I didn’t want to lose any detail in the rock, so raising the shadows and blacks will help show those details since the photograph usually comes out darker in print. Another important edit is to sharpen the photograph. When printing, you always need to sharpen your photo. Open it up in Photoshop and use the smart sharpen tool. Then mask out details that you want to be blurred. For example, I wanted the waterfall to be blurred but the rock to be sharp.
I used the printing company McKenna Pro. It was a super easy process. I simply downloaded a ROES Installer on their website in order to upload my print (this is very typical). I uploaded my photo and chose the size and material. I chose to print 16×24 on Metallic Styrene Mounted. Then I clicked order and entered in my credit card and shipping information. It is super easy to do! I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out.
xo,
Elizabeth
elizabethjane 