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Author Topic: how do you display photographs? Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-28-2010 01:00 PM                        I know that we have a bunch of amateur and professional photographers here and I am looking for ideas. How do you display your photographs at home? Do you dry mount them, frame them, keep them in albums, or what? What size prints do you prefer? Glossy, pearl, or matte? Fiber-base or RC paper? If you frame your pictures, how often (if ever) do you change them? For the last decade or so, I've mostly stuck to 8x10" glossy RC prints that I have kept in albums and occasionally stuck into ready-made frames under glass. I mostly shoot B&W. I have had a few 16x20" RC glossies made as well (I have had those professionally framed). I have recently had a few fiber-base prints made as well; they look great, but my bank statements do not. To date, I have been more interested in the process of taking pictures than in their display, so I have kept things simple. My apartment is smallish, so I haven't yet tried larger prints. I have also not tried toned (sepia or selinium) prints. I am interested in hearing other ideas.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 05-28-2010 01:29 PM                     If you have lots of money to spend there's a wide variety of creative options available. "Giclée" large format digital printing has transformed from one specific definition into a broad category involving a variety of print and laminating materials. Painting canvas is one of the more popular choices, although I think it is pretentious beyond all hell for someone to take a photograph, apply some painterly filter to the image in Photoshop then output it on canvas and glaze the crap out of it. It's a fake painting. Large format prints can be applied to many other substrates. Images going inside picture frames are probably best output on types of paper. You can also use rigid materials like Dibond. The edges are clean and can look good without a picture frame. Decorative "stand off" kits can be used to make the image float away from the wall an inch or two. Some stand off systems allow you to layer multiple sheets of material, such as a dark sheet of acrylic under the image and a layer of glass above the image. This visual approach can be particularly good in rooms with a contemporary theme.  |  IP: Logged Greg Anderson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 766 From: Ogden Valley, Utah Registered: Nov 1999 posted 05-28-2010 01:43 PM                        For years I've rarely printed pictures and mainly just share them through email (in smaller-than-original resolution, of course). But last week I took pictures of a new niece and I wanted to give prints to her parents. I was amazed when I got some really nice 8x10s from Sam's Club for about $1.50 each. A quick trip to the nearby "Dollar Tree" store and, presto! I had a handful of really nice, framed 8x10s for just $2.50 each. I've thought about a digital picture frame but those screens always look horrible compared to a regular computer monitor. So now I just use a nice, slideshow screen saver whenever the computer isn't busy and I get to see every picture I take as a pretty 11x16. I'm guessing that when my TV finally breaks (no sign of that yet) I'll get a large, flat HD monitor and just run slideshows on it all day in my living room.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-28-2010 03:22 PM                     I just got a quart of selenium toner today. I've been dying to go outside and try it out. (You do NOT want to use selenium inside the house unless you have ventilation, they tell me.) For practice, I print 5x7 inches: Cut an inch off the long side of an 8x10 sheet then cut the remainder in half, crosswise. You end up with two 5x7 sheets and a 1 inch piece you can use for test strips. 5x7 prints are also good for sharing and giving to friends or neighbors. For "good" prints I make 8x10. I usually use spray adhesive to mount them on matte board or foam core. For longevity I will take them in to work with me and dry mount them on art board. For "really good" prints I will make 11x14. I will either dry mount them or frame them in a nice frame. Choosing size also has a lot to do with how and where the print will be viewed and from what distance. If you want to hang it on the wall in your living room or in a gallery 11x14 would be the size. I like glossy or semi-gloss surface although I just bought a pack of Ilford paper that was pearl surface. It was the last pack they had in the store and I just bought it. Turns out I actually kind of liked it. I also just, today, received a pack of Oriental Seagul, Fiber based VC paper by mail order too. I'm just dying to try it out with some pictures I shot on Ilford Pan F! If the weather holds out this weekend I'm going to print some of those shots on Seagull and tone them in selenium!  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-28-2010 05:26 PM                     I've never been into fancy frames, myself. Those that are framed, thus far, have all be Film (or at least a HIGH percentage) in origin and most were printed by me. The frames are nothing spectacular and most, if not all, store bought. For my digitals...their primary display has been computer of many sorts. One has to ask the purpose of printing them. If it is to share, there is little point since emailing or Facebook will accomplish that task with little effort and no real problem. If it is because you particularly like looking at that picture (like some paintings) then yeah, print it up and get a frame the makes sense for the decor of the room and compliments the picture. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule there. But honestly, there are very few pictures hanging up at our house...at least pictures I've taken. There are some, for sure and again, they are definitely ones that I still enjoy seeing from time to time. Steve  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 05-28-2010 07:49 PM                        I display them on my web site and others I just keep on my computer. I'd have a hard time displaying my own photographs in my own home as my ego isn't quite that big.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-28-2010 10:00 PM                     Nothing to do with ego. If you want to make better photos it is wise to display your own past work. You have reference images to work from to compare exposure, development and composition. You have inspiration for future work. It helps you develop an artistic style and build a cohesive portfolio. If you want to be known to others as a photographer they should see you in your home in proximity your finished work or else those around you might not recognize your work. And, finally, unless they rise to the level of Rembrandt or Picasso I think most other people's art sucks. If I made it, I know it's good.  |  IP: Logged Gerard S. Cohen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 975 From: Forest Hills, NY, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 05-29-2010 02:17 PM                     Randy takes the display of one's photos to the higher levels of professionalism and self-esteem. Both my dentist and my cardiologist are skilled amateur photographers who display their enlarged color prints in formal black frames in their waiting rooms and examining rooms. Seeing their landscapes, floral photos and portraits displayed creates a feeling of trust and appreciation in me, and reveals these professionals as having interests beyond their specialties and being considerate of their patients' artistic enjoyment. I remember a saying of Groucho Marx: "I'll never go to a doctor whose waiting room plants are all dead." I brought my barber a plant when he moved his shop to a new location. It was claimed to be from the oldest living plant in the world.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 05-29-2010 04:01 PM                        quote: Randy Stankey You have reference images to work from to compare exposure, development and composition. You have inspiration for future work. It helps you develop an artistic style and build a cohesive portfolio. Sure, but it doesn't need to be hanging on my wall to do that. This doesn't mean I don't like to show off my stuff, it just means that I am happy viewing it on the computer. Hanging my own stuff on my wall just sends out a "Hey, look how great I am and then tell me about it" vibe. I have printed out stuff of mine before. It looked good. Wanna know how I store it? With other random papers on the desk or floor.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Jorgenson Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1002 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: Feb 2005 posted 05-31-2010 05:58 AM                        quote: Joe Redifer sends out a "Hey, look how great I am and then tell me about it" vibe. That's more the person than the framed pictures on his/her wall ... I mean you said you display yours on your web site, I'm sure you've come across other people's web sites that give off said "I'm great" vibe, right? But then there are those that do it right. Same deal with physically framed photos.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-31-2010 11:14 AM                     Isn't posting a digital photo on a website, the electronic equivalent of hanging a traditional photograph on your wall and saying, "Hey! Look at me!" Some people claim that they only create art to satisfy themselves but, the majority of the time, the primary goal of art is to display it for other people to look at. Even those people who say they don't want others to see their work will, more often than not, show it to others. They are just more selective about who they show it to. If you truly are an artist, it is important to show other people your work, at least occasionally. Without feedback and criticism, you have limited means to improve your work and grow as an artist. If you do not want to grow as an artist then your only real goal must be to own cool cameras and photography equipment. In today's consumerist society, owning photography equipment is an admirable life goal but owning a camera does not make you an artist. It only makes you a camera junkie. The first thing that one has to get through his head is that photography has little to do with the equipment and has everything to do with the image that is produced. (i.e. - The word "photographer" means, literally, "One who paints with light.") My first "real" camera was a Quaker Oatmeal box and my first "real" darkroom was the trunk of a rusty, yellow, 1968 Plymouth Fury. We did that in 1984; more than 25 years ago. I still have a few of those photographs. I, too, have been caught up in the "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" that a lot of other photographers experience. Out of the three official photography teachers I have had over the years, every one of them has made it a point to say that equipment has nothing to do with photography. It's about the IMAGES. (One of those teachers was my father who literally slapped my on the head when he said that!) I make no claims about being the next Ansel Adams, nor do I ever expect to make the "Great American Photograph." I am a photographer because I like to make photographs. (If you ask me why I like to make photographs I'll tell you it's because I can't draw worth a crap! ) Right now, my most favorite thing to do is to go out on a photo expedition with the camera I bought for $20 at a rummage sale and stand next to a guy shooting a shiny Nikon D-50 with a 9,000,000 mm. telephoto lens then have him ask me what kind of camera I'm shooting with. Then I'll take those negatives home, develop them and print them 11"x14" and have them be razor sharp without a hint of visible grain. (I'm using Ilford Pan F+ ASA 50 right now. Will be using Adox CMS 20 soon.) I'm getting better with my images and I hope to have some real nice "wall hangers" very soon. I've got about 5 rolls of Pan F in the basement right now. I'm still making contacts and printing previews but I hope to have some I can selenium tone and frame very soon. BTW: I only have two photographs hanging on my walls. Both of them were shot by my father over 50 years ago. I am not convinced that my digital photographs (or the digital scans of my traditional photos) will still be around in 50 years.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 05-31-2010 12:53 PM                        quote: Isn't posting a digital photo on a website, the electronic equivalent of hanging a traditional photograph on your wall and saying, "Hey! Look at me!" Not in the same way that it says "I live here and like looking at my own shit all the time throughout my daily life". I do not visit my website all the time. But when I am in my home, those pictures would always be there. Not a good comparison. Try again. A studio or similar, I could understand. I would more compare it to people who have paintings done of themselves and hang those up on their walls. I don't give a shit if anyone considers me an artist or not. I like to create things. I like to draw. But I really hate the word "artist".  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-31-2010 02:03 PM                     More likely you hate the stereotypes other people associate with the word "artist." "Artists" are supposed to be weird, ineffectual people who always have their head in the clouds and can't cope in the real world. I think that's a batch of bullshit. It's just like saying guys who like computers are antisocial geeks who wear thick glasses and pocket protectors. No, I think the most important part of being an artist, whether you draw, paint, photograph or weld scrap iron, is that you do what you want and you don't give a flying fuck about what other people think. If that's true, Joe, I think you're the King-Shit artist of them all!  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 05-31-2010 02:05 PM                        It's good to be king.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-31-2010 02:09 PM                     Some people think their shit doesn't stink but not me. The stink from my shit could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon! I always ask people, "Do you smell that?" because I'm King-Shit around here!  |  IP: Logged

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