Start PRINTING your photos today | ESSENTIAL Tips and Tricks

Everything you need to know to start printing your photographs perfectly today! Whether you’re using a lab or you’re own printer I’ve got some tips to really help you out.
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I absolutely love printing my pictures. It is the final step in creating an image and it just brings the work to life. I genuinely believe that photography is an art and when you print out a picture and hold it in your hand it is difficult to argue with that. You can see and feel the amount of work that has gone into creating the image and it takes on a new life once you can physically hold it in your hand.
I’m going to assume you are using Lightroom to edit your images but if you’re not the same applies to other software. I really recommend Lightroom though so I’ll put a link above where you can get a free trial. Once you have finished your edit and it’s time to print, the first thing to do is create a virtual copy of the image. This is going to be our print file. When we look at our image on a screen it is backlit by the monitor and once you print your image you obviously do not have that. So to compensate for this I always increase my exposure just a touch. Somewhere between a quarter and half a stop and it avoids the image printing out dull and disappointing. I then just pop that virtual copy into a collection so I have it for future reference.
Lab Vs DIY
So let’s just talk briefly about using a lab vs DIY.
Having your own good photo printer is a very nice thing. I have this Canon Pro 10s which prints up to A3+. It produces prints that are equal to the quality of a lab and I absolutely love it. It is expensive though and you need to work out whether it will be worth it for you.
A lab can often work out cheaper if you are not printing very often. They are also more versatile in terms of the size of print, the material you can print on and you can easily try out different papers. The downside is you’re not in control and the results can often be disappointing and colour not accurate.
Colour Accuracy
Accurate colour is important because we want our images to print out to match how we have edited them on the screen. You don’t your beautiful orange and pink sunset to print out green. There’s a lot going on to go from screen to paper so we use ICC profiles to make it easy. ICC profiles are based on the type of printer being used and the type of paper. Once installed we can go into Lightroom and enable soft proofing in the develop module, select the paper you want to use and get a good idea of how your print will look on paper.
Good labs should all provide ICC profiles for you to download for free and if you are printing yourself, paper companies should provide them for your printer model.
So once you have applied the profile and made an adjustments you are now ready to print.
Next we need to decide what type of paper we’re going to use. Generally there are three kinds
Glossy
Semi Gloss
Matt
The type and quality of the paper you use can massively affect the final print. It is very much a personal thing and something you will need to experiment with. As a general rule though I use a glossy finish for images that are heavily saturated and colourful.
The glossy finish really helps the colours to pop and it works perfectly for my water drop images and they just look brilliant.
Semi Gloss - I think is my favourite. I have been using Canson Baryta for years and it’s just a magnificent paper. It feels and looks extremely professional and high quality and works a really wide range of images. The majority of landscape prints I sell are printed on this.
Matt or Rag paper - Good cotton rag paper is the best bet for a matt finish. Good rag papers will have a high DMax rating which mean they hold the blacks very very well. Rag papers are perfect for black and white images although are also great for certain landscapes and colour portraits when a more muted fine art feel is required.
My video photography blogs are designed to entertain and document how I go about capturing my work. If it provides landscape photography tips and inspiration along the way then please share it with your friends so more people can benefit from the content. If you enjoyed this photography vlog I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to the channel so you can come along for the journey.

[@ColorEnthusiast]

I'm actually a scrapbooker, and this video is super helpful for learning how to print photos for scrapbooking. For some reason, I never thought of increasing the exposure level in editing to compensate for the lack of backlighting in the printed photo. Great video! Thanks!

[@neoasura]

A lot of people in the comments don't realize, you aren't printing at home to "save money". You do it for the control and the instant access. I don't like waiting days to even weeks to get copies back from the lab just to find out it doesn't look correct. Not to mention, the cost saving is negligible (after factoring in shipping, unless I order a "minimum" amount of prints) if you are good about printing on a regular basis, keeping them from drying out, etc.

[@joe_a_photo]

That first image that you printed was INSANE. So awesome

[@stephenelliott7071]

I always say a photograph comes alive in print...Your enthusiasm in your videos is inspiring, good work.

[@dimaermolenko98]

That's not you who says it...that's what photography always was about until the digital photography came around and started acting around as if a print is something special and makes them real photographers suddenly.

[@robgardner6399]

This may be one of your older vlogs, but it is still very relevant. Great content.

[@guillandanthony711]

I do exactly the contrary. I use semi-gloss for colour prints, as the reflections of glossy paper sometimes make it really hard to concentrate on the colours or details. And I use glossy paper for black and white, as the details are sharp and different tones can clearly be seen and it reminds me of the dark-room developed photos. But nice tips though. I will try matte paper for black and white. Good idea!

[@chasingwaves11]

Agree!! I enjoy the white Board around the photo . Makes it look more like a peace of art then just a photo someone took ..

[@Signsofcash]

Thank you for this video!!

[@lisapalzer2511]

Great video! I've recently gotten into printing my own prints and i can tell you, there is no greater satisfaction. Thanks !

[@moodvijuals638]

Thank you so much for taking your time to make this!

[@Sinegav]

As someone who is new to the hobby I must say this video is pretty awesome, thanks for all the great tips, and that panorama paper looks sick! Would love to try that haha.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thats awesome to hear buddy. Glad you enjoyed the video and really appreciate your comment. Good luck with your printing.

[@vermontmike9800]

Super helpful video. Great job.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JoseGutierrez-sk6zx]

Great video Adam. Thank you.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment.

[@thedrone_explorer]

Great video. Very informative as I have been trying to figure out the best way to print my drone photos and was having issues with lack of brightness when printed. I will try using the light room icd and proofing tools you mentioned. Thanks so much for putting together this information!

[@DavidDixon]

Between you and Nigel this week there has been some great tips and information about printing. Right at the time I'm getting back into printing! Thanks Adam!

[@DiegoMcCartney]

This is the second printing related video I’ve watched today, and man it’s got my very inspired to finally purchase a printer of my own. I’ve been outsourcing my printing so far, but there’s such a beautiful process to doing it yourself. Cheers Adam. Thanks for sharing buddy.

[@pgVeritas]

Thank you for explaining such a complicated process in simple layman terms. I’m awaiting my first photo printer, though it needs to still be able to do business printing too. I opted for the Epson Eco-tank ET7750 purely because I couldn’t, at this point in time, justify two dedicated printers. I realise that compromise means it’ll be equally bad at business docs and photos, but for my needs the attraction of cheap printing outweighs the purchase of a dedicated printer. You’re explanation of the different types has really helped me, as well as explaining about the profiles too. I’m guessing this is why you see so many bad reviews of printers and papers by amateurs who have no knowledge of ICC profiles. I would have been one of those had I not happened upon your site. Thank you!

[@scotty4418]

Can understand the feeling of seeing your work in print and enjoyed hearing your thoughts on this. Loved the glimpse of your lighthouse picture from Flamborough as that episode and image was the reason when staying with friends last year in North Yorkshire, I headed over one morning.

[@bettduncan]

Very informative!!

[@timothyishyc]

Just found you! Subscribed immediately! Love it! Thanks

[@sashankkv]

Very comprehensive. Thanks a lot

[@scottymitch1]

Great tips very well presented. Great work big man.

[@pink7ukusa]

Thanks for the info Adam, I will attempt my first panorama print and hope for the best, keep up the great work!

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks buddy. Good luck.

[@jongrall]

Great information, Adam! One other interesting thing to consider are the different print technologies e.g. inkjet vs. pigment-based inkjet vs. c-print vs. digital c-print. They can look pretty different. C-prints are out of reach for home users because of size and cost, but good labs will offer that method for interested customers. Not sure many people understand that there are different print technologies available, and what the pros/cons of each are.

[@drewgazmik3275]

Awesome video! I'm finally getting into printing my photos and I needed a lot of this advice! Happy sales! 😃

[@molopez619]

One of the best videos on this topic! And you came in at the perfect time! I will be selling my first print soon!

[@Firstmanphotography]

Amazing. Thanks for your comment and I hope you sell many more.

[@michealbay1290]

So 1. Increase brightness of picture because since screens are backlit printed photos turn out duller. So increase brightness of actual picture by 10 percent. 2. use TIFF file format for no-loss of quality 3. Use photolab websites where they print if you want high quality(emphasis for highest quality possible in print) 4. Glossy for colourful, detailed images || semi gloss for landscape || matte(cotton rag) for black and white, muted colors, gives fine art feeling, d-max number for how much black it holds, feels nice to the touch. Panorama perspective papers are available, check printer supports or not. 5. Borderless is better especially when putting in picture portraits, adds real estate to pictures printed.

[@Blackboarddiscover]

Really useful tips on printing. Thanks Adam.

[@lillianshih1057]

thank you for this kind sharing! it's a really informative video

[@Stone1108]

Wow, I do enjoy your videos, I learn a great deal, it’s as if we, the viewers and your KZbin Follows, are in this with you, kind of in your class at school (even if it sometimes feels like your telling us off too!!). I’d like to thank for guiding us on our photographic journey and sharing your journey. On the subject of printing I’ve just invested in my first photo printer, raised the bar so to speak. Your video is a really big help, it’s so rewarding to see your images in print and even though it’s a challenge to get it right it’s so worth it and I’d even go so far as to say it is helping my photography move to the next level by looking at the print and not the screen and backward thing the image taking and editing process and re-engineering my workflow. A great big thank you. 👍👏

[@jaishruti]

Thanks for providing the tips on printing, great video for hobbyists photographers like me. Love watching your videos always informative .

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks buddy. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Adiera]

I joined a local camera club and asked two questions so far: Why does my printed photo turn out darker than what I see on my computer and about the ICC profiles you spoke of. Both times they looked at me like I had grown another head! Not very helpful so I stopped asking. Thank you so much for explaining this so well! Now I have to figure out why my computer (windows 10 and lightroom classic) won't open raw files anymore. New subscriber, thanks for the in depth information!

[@allanmarshall4582]

You look very smart and clean Adam. Nice video and love your enthusiasm here.

[@paulsimpson3465]

Adam loved the video and tried theprintspace after watching quite a few of your vlogs. Very impressed with the wow factor of seeing our hard work well produced on paper. You are right seeing and holding a print in your hands improves self worth, determination and the enjoyment of being outdoors and capturing that moment in time. Thank you.

[@Loki_Highlock]

Great video! I took lots of notes. Thanks so much for the valuable content and look forwards to checking out more of your content. Cheers!

[@raisingbarssince1978]

Jesus that music at the beginning...the rest of the video top notch as always

[@paulbell9957]

Excellent video mate. Very informative. Took a lot from this. And your images look awesome as prints 👍👍

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks Paul. Appreciate it and glad you found it useful.

[@DanBuell]

Such an informative video - thank you so much!!!!

[@ZofiaKorcz86]

Very informative and interesting video. Well done Adam!

[@orion2250]

I agree with your sentiments and add, now it is a tangible..no longer subject to being corrupted or electronic loss

[@baggitwo2586]

Lots of love from India

[@paulrooker7013]

Another superb video

[@tornadoswe]

Nice video. Might I add the importance of calibrating your screens? We started using a colormunki to calibrate our screens and it fixed a lot of frustration from prints turning out "not quite right" and needing reprints.

[@GSO_GSO]

4:32 Holy sheet, that's a lot of money in ink cartridges!

[@Snowcatnz2]

Great video Adam. Printing is one thing I really need to start doing, and you have given me some really useful tips to help me start. Thanks for sharing!!

[@Firstmanphotography]

Hi Tim. Glad you found the video useful. You definitely won't regret printing your work.

[@subodhsharma406]

Thank you SIR 🙏💞🌹

[@Kiestaff85]

Outstanding mate Thank you

[@clivemiller9912]

thanks for sharing Adam, very informative.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks Clive. Appreciate it

[@jimhamilton8775]

Great video and very informative Adam.

[@elizabethwalters7741]

love your photographs, quite beautiful.

[@otavioleitefotografia]

Great tips! Thanks for sharing this!

[@lindadavison1418]

Excellent video, Adam I learned a lot from it

[@Firstmanphotography]

That's great to hear Linda. Appreciate the feedback back and I'm glad you found it useful.

[@Twobarpsi]

A picture isn't a photo, until it's printed!

[@cpt.furies440]

Great Video

[@VernNorrgard]

Fantastic tips mate, thank you.

[@RS.Outdoors]

Great stuff Adam. Just got my first prints done at a lab the other week and well chuffed with results.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks mate. Chuffed it turned out well for you.

[@zeluisbelo]

Thanks for sharing you knowledge in such a easy way to understand! I'll be trying to print some off my images.

[@MaxVitalityMe]

"Printing a picture is like driving on a lovely day, with a beautiful girl, rolling - with her top down!" LOVE IT! - and inspired to print thank you!!!

[@MrFiJy]

Thank you for your video! Awesome job)

[@swansong007]

You are bloody good. Love your work.

[@kennyc4472]

Great video thank you for your knowledge 👍🏼

[@bluebusmms]

Great concise video, thanks for sharing.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Glad you enjoyed it Martin. Appreciate the comment and feedback.

[@DWEccles]

Excellent - found this very helpful. Well done!

[@WayneRobertsonPhotography]

Great video Adam, must have taken a while to put together. I am a big fan of printing too and think it's a great way to view and appreciate all the hard work that went into creating the image.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks Wayne. Really appreciate your comment and recognition. You're right, the Print is definitely culmination and reward of all your hard work.

[@adamkrauss303]

Thanks for all your vids. People also print with a border when they want to sign it there.

[@fish3010]

For some reason soft proofing adds more blue to the image and when printing it's actually extra orange-ish.

[@cecimubar]

Really useful! Thanks a lot.

[@benhammedia9940]

This was so helpful, thank you

[@LWJCarroll]

Really pleased to get this video suggestion by KZbin today, as i then found out about the Fotospeed Panorama paper's you can use on regular printers. No need for roll paper! Really cool thanks Laurie

[@davidworthington8210]

Good fast quick demo.but one glaring omission, where is the reference to screen calibration? For correct basic colour correction even basic monitors need calibration

[@andrewcroft2570]

Great video Adam, have you done any videos on butting your pictures in frames and the frames you use, please?

[@Firstmanphotography]

Yes if you head over to the Raw Room.

[@andrewcroft2570]

@@Firstmanphotography Thank you.

[@MikeHallman]

Very informative!!! Thanks 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@duncanbirnie3234]

Hi Adam, I've not long discovered your channel but am already finding it a great resource. I've just dived in at the deep end with printing my own work, and your explanations here of what paper types to use for different reasons has helped me a great deal! Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and good luck with creating more stunning images! :)

[@andrewfrost8866]

Adam, thank you for a truly interesting and informative video. I'm inspired to print now, it's been far too long.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Excellent. Its Such a great reward for all your hard work. Enjoy.

[@stevevv583]

Very informative video! I am guilty of just leaving photos on my phone. I think I will start printing after seeing this.

[@jimbean532]

Good stuff and helpful! Thank you

[@bobmcdonald4834]

Really useful and informative, Adam and presented without the tech jargon - many thanks! Liked and subscribed 😊

[@poRtizzle]

just found this video per YT recommendation. Best and most simple video I found regarding this topic. thank you! New subscriber here!

[@Justin-uc8sc]

Thanks bro appreciate the support 💪

[@sonohrina2012]

I test printed at CVS and i was very disappointed but I know my settings weren’t right that’s when I realized printing is it’s own thing

[@riproaringblues]

Thanks Adam, really informative and helpful information. My prints have never quite live up to the screen image, now i have a bit more nouse about how to improve things.

[@RichieWilliams]

Great Video Adam, Top tips :) Thank you :)

[@Firstmanphotography]

It's a pleasure Richie. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@ChristianDThompson]

I really enjoyed the video, thank you for posting it. What a lovely chap you are. Nice website by the way.

[@johnmcfarland2055]

Nigel Danson (maybe you know him, Adam?) just posted a video a short while ago about printing your own images and how rewarding it can be. He spent more time discussing the different types of paper, not just 3 that you mention. He also stressed the importance of calibrating your monitor so that the printed colors will match more closely to what is seen on the screen. You both provide some good information.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Papers all pretty much fit into the categories of Glossy, Semi gloss and matt. There are many different kinds such as metallic paper (glossy) but I try to keep my videos as concise as possible. Like I said it's a big topic so I might do a video about paper choice later down the line.

[@Jma82-photo-travel-drone]

Thank you so much for tips ,I just started my photography career and your video will help me improve my skills 🤜🤛👍

[@edwardsp1916]

I would like to recommend the Epsom ET7750 (upto A3 prints). The print quality is excellent and another massive benefit is that the ink last a very long time as it stored in tanks rather than a cartridge. It's one of the best bits of equipment I have ever purchased. The biggest issue is I do not have enough wall space!

[@GraemeSomerville]

Thanks Adam. Very useful tips. Especially the soft proofing and ICC files. I didn't know that labs offered these.

[@normannbiodiversity5621]

Hello, I plan to acquire this printer and finally to convince my wife 😅, can we print classic documents with this printer ..? I really like your panoramic paper. Thank you.

[@flexman22]

Fantastic tips man. So helpful. As you said, it's a huge subject. I'm sure you could make hours of vids on this subject. So, please do. Thanks! :D

[@MelHughes]

You show a water droplet image printed to aluminium. Where do you get this process done? Thank you. Great video.

[@Firstmanphotography]

Take a look at Whitewall

[@markpursglovephotography]

Great informative video Adam. :)

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks mate.

[@carlinschelstraete682]

Another great video Adam. I have the same printer and will consider pano prints now.

[@Yupthereitism]

Photography is not an art, but I still appreciate it

[@tetriiick1618]

I you put time and experience to create an image, I think its art. Even if its a snapshot you take with your phone I think its art, bad art but still art.

[@michaelbrogan6412]

I really like this. I saw you with Gary Gough. You are awesome as well. Thank you for your work

[@Firstmanphotography]

Thanks Michael. Really appreciate it and glad you took the time to comment.

[@MikeJB]

Very nice video, Adam, but, if you have to increase the exposure of your image to compensate for the backlighting/brightness of your monitor then you are effectively changing the colours in your images (if only very slightly). You need to calibrate your monitor's brightness so that zero exposure compensation is required and what-you-see-is-what-you-print. That is best practice. If you are printing images that look dark compared to what you see on your screen, then your monitor is not calibrated correctly and is too bright.

[@bnkrazie]

Don't forget to use the paper's ICC profile from the manufacture's website or a custom ICC and it'll come out better without the "trial and error" method.

[@randsipe224]

Just bought the Canon Pixma Pro 100 and subscribed to Lightroom. just discovered that the Canon Print Studio Pro plug in no longer works with Mac OS Catalina. Apparently the only way to print from lightroom is to save the file to the computer and print it outside of LR? Any advice?

[@davidtaylor9492]

Hi Adam, great video for me it’s all about the print if not why shoot it. I’ve only recently found your channel and I have to tell you I’m hooked. Love your presentation style and the content is second to none. I’m busy working my way through your videos and learning a lot. Thanks too you I’ve taken the plunge into manual mode and it’s been a revelation thank you.

[@Firstmanphotography]

That's amazing to hear David. Thanks so much for your comment, means a lot and helps me keep going.

[@d1m18]

Can you please expand more on the steps after you apply an ICC profile? You glossed over those further editing details but mentioned them 7:22

[@huszarpeter7108]

Hi Adam! Very useful and helpful video! For me, the whole color accurate printing process starts with a properly calibrated monitor. Otherwise completely agree that holding a print of your photo gives an incredible feeling. Personally, I prefer to use labs instead of home printing because a pro lab (or at least the one I am using) has printers accurately calibrated and I can be sure that the same colors will appear on the paper that I can see on the screen.

[@martinberry1540]

Adam, If you buy other manufacturers paper in A2 size and then cut in half long ways you will get exactly the same size as the Fotospeed panoramic. It opens up many opportunities. Permajet for example will pre-cut the paper for you if you ask when ordering, try their Gold Silk for B&W images..

[@Firstmanphotography]

Depends on cost I guess. The panoramic test pack is under £40 for 24 sheets. Most good A2 papers cost well over £100 for the same number of sheets

[@martinberry1540]

Yep, but if you want good quality panoramic paper even from Fotospeed it is £3 a sheet plus so the A2 can work out cheaper if you print alot.

[@stuartwalter2399]

Have you looked at the Canon Print Studio Pro software? It's a free download from Canon's website. I've found it a bit easier to use than LR's print module. It's a plug-in that installs to both LR & PS (and a few others probably). I think it only works with the Canon Pro series printers if memory serves correctly.