Poll

How did you learn to make high quality / fine art / giclee prints?

Attended Print Workshop
- 4 (4%)
Online videos
- 6 (6.1%)
Bought a printer, so HAD to learn
- 16 (16.2%)
Forums - LuLa, photo.net, etc..
- 24 (24.2%)
Self-taught / experimented
- 38 (38.4%)
From a friend / colleague
- 4 (4%)
Other
- 3 (3%)
actually went to art school
- 1 (1%)
was apprenticed/interned with a professional printer
- 1 (1%)
worked for a professional printer, then went out on my own
- 0 (0%)
took courses at a local college
- 0 (0%)
took courses online
- 0 (0%)
Books
- 2 (2%)
Darkrooms
- 0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 56

Voting closed: July 22, 2015, 03:51:02 pm


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Author Topic: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print  (Read 7109 times)

ismi

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Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« on: July 12, 2015, 03:51:02 pm »

Intention with this is to see how we have learnt the art of making Fine Art Prints.
I was intrigued after seeing it at a friends place, and then started experimenting,
and ended up printing for myself and quite a few clients for the past 3 years now.
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ismi

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ismi

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2015, 02:09:15 am »

Interestingly, as expected by me, most of the votes are coming in for self-taught.  :)
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ismi

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hugowolf

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2015, 02:53:05 am »

Interestingly, as expected by me, most of the votes are coming in for self-taught.  :)

Well it is a somewhat biased list, missing things like: actually went to art school, was apprenticed/interned with a professional printer, worked for a professional printer, then went out on my own, took courses at a local college, took courses online, etc.

Biased in such a way that it is almost bound to produce the answer you want.

It is like the ‘of 728 restaurants surveyed, the only common ingredient in chicken tikka masala was chicken’, which sounds fine, unless you realize that in this case, the larger the sample size, the more likely there will be no common ingredient.

Brian A
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ismi

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2015, 06:36:46 am »

@hugowolf .. You are right. I should have put in more thought to it before posting it out.
How silly of me, to have overlooked all those reasons too.  :( :-\
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ismi

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dwswager

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2015, 01:15:18 pm »

Interestingly, as expected by me, most of the votes are coming in for self-taught.  :)

I also expected this as well, but really, everyone should have checked "self taught/experimented".  All the learning in the world doesn't replace experience and the student doesn't become the master without their own experimentation.  Courses and other forms of instruction are methods to shorten the process, not replace it.

It is actually interesting, how many things we do without actually knowing why we do them.  We just know it works.  If you look at the age old Epson debate there are folks that still think the image gets re sampled along the way, some by the OS and some by the Driver, neither is true, but even so we have all arrived at the same universal result that 360ppi gives the best images through our own experimentation.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2015, 01:18:56 pm by dwswager »
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huguito

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2015, 04:35:44 pm »

Two very small suggestions.

More than 2 options should be available, everyone that wants to print will have a printer and had experimented quite a bit, and then is no more room for other choices.

The important one choice missing from the options is "reading books about printing", a handful of books from Jeff, Bruce Fraser and the like will rocket your understanding of the whole process from capture to image on the wall

Just my opinion, and thanks to take the effort to set up this survey, I am curious about the end result.

Hugo
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dseelig

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2015, 08:03:47 pm »

Of coarse a lot of us are older andwhen we went to art school we were in darkrooms
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luxborealis

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #7 on: July 13, 2015, 08:39:52 pm »

My "other" is that I transitioned from printing colour and B&W in a wet darkroom. As pointed out by dseelig, this is an important training ground for many (some?/few?) of us. There are the mechanics of digital printing, then there is the more important and often more subtle visual aspect, which, for me anyway, has come from my years in a darkroom.
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BobShaw

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2015, 09:58:32 pm »

You can only choose one option, so I chose the most valuable one of actually going to a print workshop.
You can not learn yourself what you don't know exists.

If you learn by reading what others have done then that is only valid if the person you are learning from is an expert in the field and actually is willing and able to convey that knowledge.
Yes you can self teach but how many years are you going to waste doing mediocre stuff before someone points out a basic mistake.
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ismi

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2015, 07:51:35 am »

More than 2 options should be available, everyone that wants to print will have a printer and had experimented quite a bit, and then is no more room for other choices.

I tried to activate that Hugo, but I dont see the option for allowing more than 2 answers per voter.  :( sorry.

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ismi

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ismi

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2015, 08:01:25 am »

Yes you can self teach but how many years are you going to waste doing mediocre stuff before someone points out a basic mistake.

errr... I spent close to a good 2 years printing for myself and others who were willing to experiment with me,
to eventually feel convinced that I am color-correcting and making prints of the best quality here.

Interestingly, I dont know whether some of us have heard of this, but, about a decade or two back in the US,
a group of photographers got together and started this thing where in they would make their prints,
and send them to another photographer. From photographer A to photographer B.

The photographer B would have a look at the prints, and give his feedback to the photographer A,
then add his prints and send them all, to photographer C.

By the end of it, if the prints ever came back to the person who started this,
the photographer A would end up with a heavy bunch of pictures to give his feedback on.

I was told, it didnt go too long, as photographers 6 or 7th down the line,
were finding it a tad bit expensive to courier the accumulated prints of the 5 or 6 before them.

Sorry.. took off in another direction. But, maybe its time to do that.
And instead of 12x18, like the photographers mentioned above, we can start with A4s. :D
« Last Edit: July 14, 2015, 08:03:47 am by ismi »
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ismi

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BAB

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2015, 09:05:49 am »

The common ingredient should have resulted in salt if the survey was taken correctly? The most common ingredient in good tasting food is sugar that's why food tastes great!
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Iluvmycam

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2015, 09:26:52 am »

Didn't vote. It is a good list all around. Can't say which one is best. Just do it!
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CASpyr

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #13 on: July 14, 2015, 10:39:10 am »

Well, it seems that a reset of the poll would be in order, now that the options have changed.
I can't imagine that I am the only one who ever read books about fine art printing...
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chez

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #14 on: July 14, 2015, 10:00:02 pm »

Well, it seems that a reset of the poll would be in order, now that the options have changed.
I can't imagine that I am the only one who ever read books about fine art printing...

Well, would you say the book taught you the most or gave you some ideas that were solidified via personal experimentations. I've read books, watched videos and actually took a weekend workshop, but nothing really came together without a lot of experimentation, trial and error and many hours tweaking images and settings until the results are what I was after.

It's like coming out of 4 years of university thinking you know everything but quickly realize you have lots yet left to learn with on the job experience...just like printing.

Nothing beats hands on experience.
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CASpyr

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #15 on: July 15, 2015, 05:14:25 am »

Well, would you say the book taught you the most or gave you some ideas that were solidified via personal experimentations. I've read books, watched videos and actually took a weekend workshop, but nothing really came together without a lot of experimentation, trial and error and many hours tweaking images and settings until the results are what I was after.

It's like coming out of 4 years of university thinking you know everything but quickly realize you have lots yet left to learn with on the job experience...just like printing.

Nothing beats hands on experience.

Couldn't agree more to your last sentence. Ink needs to hit paper.
With regards to the benefit of reading books: it was definitely one of the sources of information that helped me gain a solid first understanding when I started to print. From there, it was a back and forth between printing, tweaking, printing more, hitting walls, reading some more, printing again, etc.

Looking back, I'd say that reading books / watching instructional videos saved me a lot of time coming to grips with the more technical side of things. What can only be gained via hands-on experience is the mastery of the artistic side of printing, i.e. how to prepare pictures to have them elicit the emotional response you intend once they are printed on paper and hung on a wall. A long journey, judging from my own progress...
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dwswager

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #16 on: July 15, 2015, 10:42:42 am »

Nothing beats hands on experience.

I hear...I forget;
I see...I remember;
I do...I understand!

No amount of classes, book reading or forum trolling will make one an expert.  It certainly serves to shorten the process and help eliminate as many dead ends as possible, but until you actually do it yourself repeatedly, you will never improve.  And, at some point, you have to figure you know as much as the next guy.  That doesn't mean you know everything there is to know and others can't teach you things, but progress is never made following someone else.
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ismi

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Re: Learning how to make a Fine Art Print
« Reply #17 on: July 16, 2015, 12:44:01 pm »

Based on my recent issues with with Epsons (yes, 2 epson printers - 11880 3880/3885)
I think hands on, not only trains you and makes you understand the printing part of things,
but also, the troubleshooting.
I wouldn't want to get stuck while making prints for myself or more so, my client,
and the epson guy come down and fix it in just a few seconds and take a decent amount for the service call.

Not only am I losing money there, but most importantly, TIME.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2015, 12:54:04 pm by ismi »
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ismi

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