When photographers print their images they should make it really special.
Printed photographs are perhaps the most fantastic way to appreciate and understand the art of photography. Most photographers aren’t printing enough. Digital screens have become the default way in which we view photography. They have taken over our lives. But, the moment someone can take in their favorite photo as a print, their jaw drops. Beyond simply printing images, how do you make someone pay attention to it and want to buy one? This is something that requires you to think out of the box. As with most art and media these days, you need to create something folks want to interact with or you need to have interacted with the print in some way. It needs to be made special. It needs to be one of a kind.
Some ways to go about doing this:
- Make it into a Jigsaw Puzzle
- Combine it with a painting
- Print it in a very special way that people can understand: folks don’t understand the silver gelatin effect
- Limit the number of prints
- Combine it with some other form of mixed media like art and crafts project
- Print big: no one cares about small prints
- Consider the power of a canvas for the best setting in your home
- Make the print interactive in some way
- Notice how some book and comic covers have certain elements punched out and popping out? Try that with your photo
- Why not print it as a tapestry?
- Think mixed media
Above all, work on making these printed images one of a kind. If you’re printing an image of a bird, why not add bird feathers to the piece or paint over the blue areas of the sky? It requires you to be more creative as a photographer.