Printing Your Series

Lesson 129 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

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129. Printing Your Series

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Next Lesson: How to Work With a Print Lab

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Printing Your Series

And let's take a look at a few details that you might wanna consider. Now, when I calibrate my monitor. Calibration is when you set the colors and tonality of your monitor, to be true to print. And when I calibrate my monitor, I personally use X-Rite ColorMunki Display software, that's just me. And you might have another software that you like, and that's okay too, but I really like X-Rite, and it's super simple. I mean most monitor calibration will be fairly straightforward, depending on how advanced it is. But this one's really user friendly. Plug it in, I set this device on top of my screen, it reads the colors, it does a blinky thing for five minutes, and then it's done. So, it's really, really, simple, I only do it about once a month. And that's it. So, I always my monitor. Might be a good idea to ask what your printer uses. Just say, what software do you use, to calibrate your monitor, and then see if you can match that to your printer, and then you'll have few problems, probably...

, when you're sending your files off, to get printed. And then, do you have a laptop versus a home computer, how are you working, make sure that you're calibrating each device, and recognize, that, if you have let's say a laptop, that's just not as powerful, not as good as your desktop, it may never match, with the colors, it may never match with the tonality, exactly. So, I would say, make sure that you have a computer that is capable of showing true colors, and then edit from that device, more than you would a cheap laptop, probably. I had a cheap laptop, and my colors looked crazy desaturated all the time. And then it was really hard, because I was editing for that device, versus another device. Something else that I wanna point out though, is not just going to print, and making sure the your images look how we want in print, but from one device to the other, I actually really like having a device that is not calibrated, so that, whenever I'm done, I finish an image, I've got my edit, I feel really good about it. I can then send it to my email, or send it to that device somehow, and look at it on my uncalibrated device, so that I can see potentially what other people will be seeing, if they're not calibrated. Now, this is not something that you have to do, but, I get really freaked out, knowing that some people have really desaturated monitors, and some people have really saturated monitors, and I just generally wanna know. Maybe to find a happy medium, or just to be aware that this image is going to look drastically different on different screens. How do we choose a paper? We're gonna get ourselves some paper. And in order to that, there are many, many factors that you wanna consider, and I'm actually going to open up a sample pack of paper here. And, this is, I asked for a sample pack a paper from Breathing Color, because that's my paper company, so I use Breathing Color, and I thought that would be nice just to share a little bit. No. Okay, and so let's take a look. We've got a number of things inside this packet, and they send a bunch of things, such as this is an aluminum print, which isn't going to show very well on camera, but they're just showing a sample of everything that they offer, different ways of printing. And then, they send basically every single paper that they offer as a sample. So, if I open this up. I have got access to tons and tons of different papers. Oh, they're very nice, printable side up. That's for me, a note for me, who does not know how to print anything. And within this, I can feel all the different types of papers, I can see the different levels of texture, and they have each one labeled. So this is pure smooth, and I can that this is a less textured paper, than the one that I'm using personally. And each one, I can just go through, pull it out, look at the name, and test. And then, see what the difference are. This one has a different weight on it, has a little bit more texture. It's like, I can't really bend it, just flop away here. And so, that's really good to test. And then we have a bunch of other papers in here, that are more cotton-y, that's a word now. And, a little bit more canvas. So these are going be just a whole different thing. So, they're super textured, you can see this one's called Silverado. And it just gives you a really good sense of what it feels, how bendable it is, how dentable it is, how scratchable it is, and these are really important things to consider. Because, once you choose your paper, you're pretty much stuck with your paper. So, even though it feels really bad, to take a paper and to go like that with your nail, and see it how it scratches, or to sort of like dent it and see how it dents, which it just won't, pretty much. Dent, I'm denting it, there we go, I dented it. So, it's good to do though, just to see how destructible it is. If you are going with a glossy paper, for example, you're probably gonna have an easier time denting it. Or scratching it, or bending it. Whereas something like this is just a lot thicker. So, this is really fun to play with. And I'll pass this around to you guys in a bit, so you can actually touch and feel it, but I would really recommend, ordering a couple of sample packs, just from a couple of different companies. And touching it, and feeling it, and test printing on it. And you should be able to bring a sample pack to any printer, and say, "Can you please run a couple of my images through the paper, "that I have, so we can see what's best?" Okay. Now, the other thing with sample paper, when you're getting some test prints done, when you're choosing a paper, is always consider that different images will print differently. So, if you're starting to think to yourself, "Hmm, how do I choose the right paper, "I've got my sample pack, what do I print on it?" I would recommend printing a range of things. Two to three different images. A really, really dark image, a really light image, a really saturated image, just to see how color picks up, how darkness picks up, how lightness picks up on the different papers, and see how that goes. Now, do the same thing for printing methods as well, if you're not sure what type of printer to go with. Try the same thing, but we aware, that something dark might print a lot differently than something light, versus something that's saturated. So, how're we choosing paper? We're looking at sizes, size of the paper, how big does the paper come? Flat versus rolled, is the paper going to come in a roll, or is it only available flat? That could change the pricing of the paper. The texture of the paper. Most important one in my opinion, based on the size. If it's really small, you're gonna see more texture, so just be aware, that when you are testing paper, you might wanna do something tiny just to see if it's too much texture on such a small print. The weight of the paper. How heavy is it, and you saw me flapping like a bird, so, is it, is it less destructible or more destructible, based on the weight? The color of the paper. And we've discussed this, such as bright white, white, I forget all the ones that there are. Yellow white, no, that's not one, I'm just kidding. But, all these different colors, I think there were like five or seven named ones, but we did talk about that. Eco-friendliness of the paper. So, is it sustainable? Is it not? Where is this paper being sourced from? Is it available to your printer? So, is it compatible, is it some that can be shipped easily to whoever it is you're using? And the price. Is it expensive paper, or not? And this is something to consider, in case you're on a budget, or you just don't, you can't afford all that paper, something to consider. Now, we have talked about c-type prints vs giclee prints. So, we'll just run over that one more time, in case you're getting yourself prepared today. So, printing method, what you're gonna think about is the cost of the printing method, which we have talked about the c-type prints, tend to be a little bit more costly. Longevity, giclees tend to have more longevity. Is it eco-friendly or not? The c-type prints as we know, is a wet type of printing so that's going to be less eco friendly. Does it have a greater color spectrum, one over the other. Giclee tends to have a greater color spectrum. What is the availability of it? Can you find a printer that will do giclee, can you find a printer that can do c-type. That's going to make a big difference. And then time until delivery, now I find that neither one nor the other has a big enough margin, that it's going to really sway me, one way or the other. But something to consider.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Guided Daydream & Writing Exercises Workbook (Lessons 1-11)

Creating an Original Narrative Workbook (Lessons 12-18)

Finding Your Target Audience Workbook (Lessons 19-27)

Planning Your Series Workbook (Lessons 28-34)

Set Design Workbook (Lessons 35-41)

Compositing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 42-49)

Editing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 50-55)

Location Scouting Workbook (Lessons 56-60)

Stock Image Downloads for Practice (Lessons 61-72)

Organizing Your Portfolio Workbook (Lessons 77-81)

Pricing & Editioning Your Work Workbook (Lessons 82-89)

Writing Contracts & Licensing Images Workbook (Lessons 90-98)

Gallery Best Practices (Lessons 99-106)

Pitch Package Workbook (Lessons 107-111)

Writing Your Brand Workbook (Lessons 112-117)

Marketing Workbook (Lessons 118-122)

Social Media Workbook (Lessons 123-127)

Printing Methods Checklist (Lessons 128-133)

Self Critique Workbook (Lessons 134-137)

Bonus Materials Guide

Syllabus

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Brooke Shaden

Brooke explores the darkness and light in people, and her work looks at that juxtaposition. As a self-portrait artist, she photographs herself and becomes the characters of dreams inspired by a childhood of intense imagination and fear.

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topics covered in this class

Fine Art Digital Photography

Ratings and Reviews

April S.

I tuned in for most of Brooke's lessons in this course and watched some of them more than once as they were rebroadcast. First I want to say that Brooke is a very good instructor. Her easy-going, friendly, down-to-earth, somewhat quirky manner cannot be mistaken for unprofessional. She is very prepared, she speaks well (not a bunch of hemming and hawing), she is thoughtful, she is thorough, she is very relatable and at ease, and she is definitely professional in her presentation. I really thought when I first tuned in that it would mostly be background noise while I was at work, sound to keep me company. Not because I didn't like Brooke but I really didn't think I was into fine art photography nor did I think I cared about the business side of things much. Not now anyhow. I was really wrong. Brooke sparked a deep interest in me to delve into fine art photography, to consider creating images for myself, from my imagination. In fact, I realized that this was something I'd been thinking about for a couple of years though I hadn't put a name to it (the idea of creating pre-conceived images based on my own creative goals). I gleaned many little treasures from her about image sizes, working with printers, different types of paper, selling, interacting with galleries, and so much more. I may not need all of what she taught right now because I'm definitely headed in another direction at the moment, but she planted ideas and information in my head that I know will be useful at some point. Things I may not have thought of on my own, but that seed is in my head now so when the time comes, I'll know. I'd really like to buy her course but at the moment, with the holidays right around the corner, it's not in my personal budget. I'm grateful to have caught the live and rebroadcast lessons though, and her course is on my list to own. I think it's a great reference to be consulted over and over again, not watched once and forgotten. Kudos Brooke for really putting together an excellent course.

Angel Ricci

When the title says comprehensive, it means comprehensive! I loved every part of this course. It's inspirational, motivating, and insightful towards creating art work. Even if you are not necessarily considering a fine art specialty, the concepts discussed in this course are applicable to many areas! I find this super useful as a videographer and photographer and look to apply all of these exercises and concepts for my personal and business work moving forward. It is lengthy, but you will not regret a single minute. Brooke Shaden is an amazing artist and educator. I recommend keeping up with her work, presentations, and any future courses that may come in the future.

Ron Landis

I'm retired now, but spent decades in the people and training business. Brooke is extraordinary! Even though this course is extremely well organized and she's left nothing unattended, she moves through it with friendly conversational manners and without a sense of it being stilted. It's as though we are all her friends, not students, as she shares her heart and passion with us. What a joy it is to listen to her. And what a clear, unambiguous command of her subject. Wow! She explains it with such ease using explanations and techniques that won't overwhelm artists just starting their portfolio or the Photoshop-squeamish among us; but despite its simplicity her resulting art is breathtaking and beyond original. I wish more of my professors at school were as engaging. This was by far my best buy at Creative Live yet.

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Printing Your Series

Printing Your Series

Lesson Info

129. Printing Your Series

Lessons

Class Introduction

Storytelling & Ideas

Universal Symbols in Stories

Create Interactive Characters

The Story is in The Details

Giving Your Audience Feelings

Guided Daydream Exercise

Elements of Imagery

The Death Scenario

Associations with Objects

Three Writing Exercises

Connection Through Art

Break Through Imposter Syndrome

Layering Inspiration

Creating an Original Narrative

Analyze an Image

Translate Emotion into Images

Finding Parts in Images

Finding Your Target Audience

Where Do You Want Your Images to Live?

Create a Series That Targets Your Audience

Formatting Your Work

Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Which Social Media Platforms Will be Useful?

How to Make Money from Your Target Audience

Circle of Focus

The Pillars of Branding

Planning Your Photoshoot

Choose Every Element for The Series

Write a Descriptive Paragraph

Sketch Your Ideas

Choose Your Gear

How to Utilize Costumes, Props & Locations

What Tells a Story in a Series?

Set Design Overview

Color Theory

Lighting for the Scene

Props, Wardrobe & Time Period for Set Design

Locations

Subject Within the Scene

Set Design Arrangement

Fine Art Compositing

Plan The Composite Before Shooting

Checklist for Composite Shooting

Analyze Composite Mistakes

Shoot: Black Backdrop for White Clothing

Shoot: Black Backdrop for Color Clothing

Shoot: Black Backdrop for Accessories

Shoot: Miniature Scene

Editing Workflow Overview

Add Fabric to Make a Big Dress

Edit Details of Images

Add Smoke & Texture

Blend Multiple Images Into One Composite

Put Subject Into a Miniature Scenario

Location Scouting & Test Photoshoot

Self Portrait Test Shoots

Shoot for Edit

Shoot Extra Stock Images

Practice the Shoot

Introduction to Shooting Photo Series

Shoot: Vine Image

Shoot: Sand Image

Shoot: End Table Image

Shoot: Bed Image

Shoot: Wall Paper Image

Shoot: Chair Image

Shoot: Mirror Image

Shoot: Moss Image

Shoot: Tree Image

Shoot: Fish Tank Image

Shoot: Feather Image

View Photo Series for Cohesion & Advanced Compositing

Edit Multiple Images to Show Cohesion