Making a Fine Art Print Portfolio for My Photo Projects

[@ThatShaunBoy]

I bought a semi decent printer for home printing, and I've been making Zines and handing them out to close friends. It has absolutely changed the way I shoot, think about, and share my photography. It's been really invigorating, actually.

[@KyleMcDougall]

That's awesome. As mentioned in this video, printing your work, regardless of size, paper choices, etc, is so important and also fulfilling.

[@dianeschuller]

I so agree with the importance of printing our work and viewing it that way. I've done many but only a few in a larger format like yours. I think I may do another series in the 16x size you mentioned. I'll do a test print or two in that size first and see. Thank you for this useful information.

[@GrainOnTheGo]

I keep wanting to print my work to fine and quality papers and this video has given me a big push to do so. Great one as always Kyle.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Glad it helped. Cheers!

[@mattbray_studio]

that final paper that you chose has great clarity in the houses, good choice

[@KyleMcDougall]

Yep, was happy I tested a few and didn't just go with the first. It'll be my goto moving forward.

[@danielscheerer3032]

SO appreciated. I'm always "fixin' to get ready". I have the printer, the paper, the archival box, the inks - everything needed! I just never set the time aside to pick the images and go through the refining process to run them to print. And yes, Hahnemuehle Baryta for my home printing. Thanks for the motivation!

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers, Daniel. I definitely understand. For me, making videos like this are a good motivator to take action and get this stuff done. But yeah, I'm very familiar with letting things hang for a bit.

[@danielscheerer3032]

@@KyleMcDougall I also suffer from “are they really good enough? Is it really worth it to print them?”, even though that shouldn’t matter. That little bastard, self doubt! 😄

[@Pezinokrm]

Excellent body of work and I agree getting the images printed is the way to go, nowadays most photographers don't print their work. Cheers! 🥃

[@tbostrowski6136]

You mentioned down sizing to keep costs down, gotta say I get a lot of your channel but also get the sense that you are just a regular canadian boy, albeit one with deep deep pockets. You have a lot of content on the the gear you use and why, and balance that with aesthetic considerations, but how do you stay financially healthy, do you have a business plan or model, what are your margins or are you willing to take losses for your art. And then there is the time invested, obviously a considerable amount of time. You have distinguished yourself in the market place for sure, high production values, a great body of work and a huge fan base. What drives you Kyle? Maybe thats too personal, dunno. Regardless of whether you answer or not, you rock dude.

[@KyleMcDougall]

That's too big of a reply for a YT comment box, but I'd be happy to talk about it if you're genuinely curious. Shoot me an email, or I could always talk about it in a future Q&A vid.

[@MrConna6]

@@KyleMcDougallId love to hear you talk about it in a Q&A

[@tbostrowski6136]

@@KyleMcDougall I have a week of travel on the Canadian prairie but will try to formulate a thoughtful email to you, destination is Regina where I should have some time to myself. Thanks Kyle.

[@tofulosophy]

yep, same here@@tbostrowski6136

[@KyleMcDougall]

Enjoy! I want to get out to the prairies to make some work at some point. Love it out there.

[@cnicolo]

Lovely to see that you print too. ☺️☕️

[@carlosquijano2827]

I enjoyed this video particularly because I am printing my photos these days. I am using Ilford Galerie Baryta papers and I am waiting for the Canson Prestige II , which I have never used before. Glad to hear you liked it. Thanks!

[@KyleMcDougall]

It'll be my go-to moving forward.

[@iamthejtm]

Love that shot you were working with. Thank you for doing this. Lovely work and good information.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Glad you enjoyed, cheers.

[@ricardoromanach]

Your choice of music matches very well with your photography style! Love your work, I hope to buy one of your books here soon!

[@KyleMcDougall]

Thank you!

[@frankyperal1]

Mate slate city is looking amazing! Honestly up there with the Ron Jude’s and the Bryan shutmaats.cant wait to see the final product

[@northwoodssurvival]

Beautiful photos and a fascinating video. Thank you. 🙏

[@kamilschapek]

Wow, very nice. I can feel your passion through the videos you make. I’m sure that , one day, you will be a legend in photography. Keep going Kyle 🎉 Greetings from Germany

[@claus3792]

Great video, very helpful. I was not using photoshop for this purpose yet (only LR). I like your photographs, too. They remember me a bit to Ansel Adams. This probably comes from your perfectionism, the way you shoot (with heavy cameras) and the control of the grey tones. Congratulations to the high level you have achieved.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Thank you very much. Cheers.

[@SilvioRusmigo]

Great video as always! My personal favourite paper is the Optica One from Breathing Color, their papers are well worth a test.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I've heard of Breathing Color, but never tried any. Maybe in the future if I decide to start printing at home again.

[@dmay1100]

Hey Kyle; it is always cool to see a photographer and his/her printing process. I have always printed my own but i have lately started to think of passing off the job to a lab, kind like the 80's again. I particularly like the idea of printing a project and putting it in a fine art box. That would help with organization, as my pile here and pile there isn't the best idea. lol

[@KyleMcDougall]

I printed my own as well, for many years, but it started to not make sense without doing large volume. I also had issues with my printer sitting idle and then clogging. I'd like to print again at home at some point, but just have to wait until it makes sense.

[@j.k5654]

This was sooo educational. Thanks 🙏🏾

[@Tryanphotos]

Fantastic video Kyle - love seeing the different paper stocks and your process. Regarding image resizing I'd be sure to turn 'resamling' check box off. This way you're not adding or removing pixels at all. Let the PPI goes where it wants to go, the printer will do what it needs to do with regards to its final print out. If you do your own prints at home it's also worth checking to see if your print lab can print out bespoke ICC profiles for you and your printer. I've done this and the differences are even better compared to canned profiles, when printing your work on your own printer.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers. Sizing to the printer PPI is just a habit I've had since I first started, and I've always been happy with the results.

[@20centurymodern]

@@KyleMcDougall Yes, Ive done that too, but was surprised by the results of letting the ppi go where it wants to go. There’d be a point where the human eye couldn’t see a difference in a higher ppi (literally more dots of ink being put down) but the resulting differences I see are there when comparing prints with a set ppi vs letting them go where they want. I also think if we have the hive resolution to,play with, why not keep them…when working the other way around with files that are smaller resolution, Ive found I get excellent results at ppi at even 190ppi. My thoughts are the industry has set 300ppi as a “standard” and this comes down to simplicity for customer orders…The world of printing is fascinating and feels like it’s a one long learning process of experimenting.

[@MacnTeensVisuals]

Always nice to seem some prints, they look great man. I've used Canson Baryta a few times for colour prints particularly with really vibrant colours and it really makes things pop. Great stuff.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers. The Canson is great one!

[@AbdonPhirathon]

I think a cost effective (in the long run) is to buy your own printer for these. I would consider an Epson P700 or Canon Pro 300 for a 13x19 print. You can still buy Canson papers and apply your ICC profiles. It will also allow for more experimentation, since you can usually get papers that labs often don’t carry. I only send the biggest prints out to the lab, and save time and money by printing at home.

[@KyleMcDougall]

As mentioned in a couple other comments, I printed at home for many years (epson 3880, canon pro 10, etc), but found doing lower volume I was always running into issues with the inks clogging or wasting a lot for cleaning cycles. I do miss it, any maybe something I'll return to at some point in the future.

[@AbdonPhirathon]

@@KyleMcDougall Oh, I must’ve missed that part. I thought only owned the Canon Selphy, but in that case it does make sense that you don’t own a bigger printer, especially if you aren’t going to be printing big often. However, if you ever go back to printing at home then consider buying 4x6 papers similar to the ones you print your big prints in, and when you don’t have any bigger prints in queue, printing one or two 4x6 every day will keep the printer from clogging up. Since you’re in the UK, Fotospeed could be a great place to get papers from.

[@titomartinroig4626]

amazing video mate, amazing photos bro!

[@juliussternfeld428]

Really nice portfolio, well done.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Thank you.

[@CameraNostalgiaClub]

Absolutely beautiful and very inspiring 👌 thank you Kyle 📸🤝

[@KyleMcDougall]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Larpy1933]

Thanks for this! It would be a delight to see your work in a gallery. If those truly are fine art prints, would it be wise to keep one’s fingers off the image area and border? Which leads me to ask: gloves? FYI: some labs (Silver Shack, Toronto) can print b&w digital files directly onto (fibre-based) silver gelatin papers with a sophisticated laser printer.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers. I've done a few c-type prints through WhiteWall (I think they use a Lambda), but I've never been able to get the colour/density right. More testing to be done.

[@jimtong]

Mind to share if you really keep those big boxes of photos in your home? I would love to print but thinking of the storage spaces required is really a challenge. Not to mentioned that being in the tropic area, humility is a constant challenge. Thanks.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I keep these in my office (at home). I have a large storage desk with some shelves. But yeah, a smaller version would be good if you're limited on space.

[@chrisrigby3694]

The best step I have ever made is to print. I get so much more from my photography now. Truthfully though, in my humble opinion, this should take place in the darkroom. If you are going to all this effort to shoot film, then embrace the whole processes. Develop your own film and wet print your own photographs. Take ownership of the whole process end to to end.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Fair enough. Darkroom printing is something that I haven't done in a long time, but to be honest, I'm completely happy with inkjet as well. But I have been thinking about revisiting the darkroom in the near future to get back into it.

[@chrisrigby3694]

@@KyleMcDougall I understand why you would be happy with the results from inkjet - they're pretty much a reproduction of however your onscreen edit turned out, which you can replicate exactly, time and again - with maybe some colour and contrast correction and some sharpening for whatever printer / paper you are using. For me though, there is no soul in an ink-jet print. I have no sense of attachment or achievement in my inkjet prints, where as I have found completely the opposite in darkroom prints. Perhaps it is the creative in me and the feeling that I have had full control over my entire process. What I have found most interesting, is the shift in how returning to darkroom printing has changed my attitude towards my own negative scans and over time, my digital edits have become more about provide me with a digital contact sheet, and help me chose what I want to turn into a final prints. Which perhaps ridiculously, then get scanned for sharing in the digital space on social media. Look, this is my thoughts and experiences. Nothing wrong with what you are doing - I'm just sharing how my behaviours and attitudes have shifted in the past 5 years or so, when I chose to retire the digital cameras and return to film after a 10+ year hiatus.

[@dmitrybelyakov]

Shot out to PEL! They've got pretty neat boxes with dividers for all those Selphy prints

[@KyleMcDougall]

Didn't know that. I'll have to check it out.

[@bracouda06]

Hello, really a very good video, I started printing my photos at home not long ago, but I'm still looking for the right paper. I am French and my English is really very bad and the translations are sometimes quite random, so I didn't really understand what paper you used. If you have a link, thank you in advance. and continue your videos it's a real pleasure. Olivier from Nice (France)

[@KyleMcDougall]

Hey Oliver, the paper I ended up with was Canon Prestige II. My second choice would be Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta. Both great options.

[@bracouda06]

@@KyleMcDougall Thanks you so much for your answer have à good day

[@diforbes]

Informative video! Have you compared or considered whether it is more cost effective to send out for prints vs owning a printer capable of printing the final sizes you want? Is it a matter of how often you want your own prints? Thanks.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I printed at home for years (used to sell my work at shows throughout the year) but started to run into issues when I began doing lower volume. My printer would clog and waste alot of ink. That's why I'm using a lab now. I will probably return to printing at home in the future, once it makes sense again.

[@john3Lee]

An excellent video - thanks..... How do your printers return your work, is it flat or in a tube ?

[@KyleMcDougall]

Most of the time, rolled in a tube.

[@FlamelXXII]

Do you use tissue paper or any paper or separation between prints inside the portfolio box?

[@KyleMcDougall]

I don't, but that's probably a good idea of something to add.

[@tomdivasion7724]

Does anyone know the ppi or resolution you need to blow up a photo to around 1.5m by 1.5m? I use a Fujifilm TX-4 but when I go to try and print a RAW image at a professional printer I'm told the resolution is insufficient for that size. Wonder if maybe AI upscaler might help?

[@lisaireton37]

In Lightroom, you can "resize" your photo to the 1.5 m x 1.5 m. This process adds pixels. I have done this with photos from my old Canon 3Ti (APS-C), and printed them out on large canvas prints, and from my Canon 6D(full frame) and made 40" x 60" metal prints for a client that turned out great. You can do the same in Photoshop. I asked around before I did the large prints, and did some Google searching, which is how I ended up using Lightroom.

[@tomdivasion7724]

@@lisaireton37 thank you!

[@PeeGeeTips]

I appreciate you telling us the DMax, it’s really helpful info! Did you measure the DMax yourself or did whitewall provide that information. I’d love to see the list of DMax they might have across their range or, if you measure them, to see that process.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers. I got the DMAX specs off of their website. They list it for every paper.

[@RRan-dk7ct]

@15:06 min into clip, that Canon Selphy will bring out all the tones from the Icc profiles ???

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Awesome & Thank you so much Sir :)

[@CryptoJones]

Ordered!

[@3dkev384]

Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately the code does not work for the UK Whitewall site, I was hoping to order a sample pack.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I'll check in with them about that.

[@faded_memory]

So informative thank you. I’m currently putting together my first portfolio to submit to reviews. What’s your opinion on mixing color and b&w? Should I keep it all uniform or do you think it’s okay to mix? Thanks!

[@lensman5762]

Hahnemuhle Baryta is what I exc!usicvely used between 2005 and 2015. Sadly, like everything else in photography it has become prohibitively expensive for the average photographer.

[@konmorse]

What photo paper size and print format do you use?

[@jasonpohlig_photo]

Awesome video! Which printer is that in the beginning??

[@thomasgrant1850]

The canon Selphy? The small one? I have one and also use it for the same purpose. Great bit of kit

[@KyleMcDougall]

Canon Selphy.

[@tudorevans9306]

How about running some Lr/Ps workshops? Being an old school chemical photographer i'm only using a fraction of the power of Lr/Ps through a combination of ignorance and fear. It might prove a money spinner for you if you do or are thinking of it put my name down 👍

[@KyleMcDougall]

Something I'll keep in mind for the future. I'm am currently planning some workshops

[@OrelRussia]

I guess it would be better not to add white borders to images. Images could be just printed with blank matts around them. Also, even size matts look better in my opinion. And smaller size prints can be easier to look at.

[@whosjozikolnik]

I might have been looking at selphy printers for the past hour because of the intro..

[@KyleMcDougall]

Honestly, one of the best small purchases I've made.

[@whosjozikolnik]

already ordered mine, thank you for the recommendation!@@KyleMcDougall

[@justinkeys523]

Go see a Wrexham AFC match!

[@KyleMcDougall]

Haha, maybe one time I'm up there!

[@mondoman712]

The discount code doesn't work for me, but at the price they want it almost looks worth buying a nice printer second hand instead.

[@whitewall]

Hello! We are sorry to hear that you had an issue with the discount code. It is working now, but if you still have any issues please contact our Customer Support team :).

[@mondoman712]

@@whitewallJust tried again, still doesn't work. I just get "Der Gutscheincode ist ungültig." every time

[@domipro123]

But why don't you print yourself? It's all in your own hands and control and... at home.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Mentioned this a few times. I did for many years, when I was doing larger volume. When I stopped selling prints, and my printer wasn't getting used as much, I ran into way too many issues with clogged ink and wastage.

[@AI-Hallucination]

Sorry the darkroom is the only way I will print black and white colour pigment print yeah not black and white

[@guillermoperezsantos]

Digital prints ARE NOT Fine Art, digital prints SUCKS

[@KyleMcDougall]

To each their own.

[@GrainOnTheGo]

I don’t think you really should criticize digital printing if you don’t understand how it works whatsoever. I’d argue for the most part print to digital is superior unless you’re doing extremely niche analog prints like palladium printing for example. So yea digital prints are absolutely fine art at the level Kyle is doing it.

[@iamthejtm]

Cars suck, horses forever! (I shoot 10 rolls of films a month).