Avoid these four rookie mistakes when printing your photos

No matter if you want to sell or gift your photos, or want to hang them on your own walls, there are some things to take into consideration before printing them. However, there are things many of us overlook when we just start printing our work. With his new video, Evan Ranft comes to the rescue. He tells you about four rookie mistakes that could make your prints look bad. But more importantly, he teaches you how to avoid them and make the best out of your printed photos.

1.Picking the wrong medium – there are many printing options available nowadays: wood, canvas, metal, all kinds of paper, and so on. Choose a medium that enhances the colors and the mood of the image. If you’re just starting out and you’re unsure of what medium to use, stick to the basics until you get some idea of what your photos look like printed.

2. Errors in retouching & missing the dust spots – once you print out your photos, any mistakes that you made in editing will show. And the worst thing is that, at that point, you can’t fix them any longer. So, make sure to go carefully through your image while it’s still in the digital format. It’s crucial that you carefully edit out any imperfections and dust spots that might ruin your final print.

3. Export errors – Keep in mind that default export settings in Lightroom are not set to the highest quality. Before you export your images, make sure that your resolution is set to 300 ppi, that your photo is not resized, that the image quality is set to 100, and that the Limit File Size option is unchecked.

Another piece of this puzzle is transferring your images to your phone for taking them to the print shop. Remember that emailing or texting them to yourself compresses the photos, and you don’t want that. So, make sure that the original files are on your phone before sending them to the printer. For instance, you can upload them to a cloud and access them from your phone at the print shop. Or send them from your laptop to your phone via Bluetooth.

4. Not anticipating the environment – before you print the images, think about where they will be hung and make sure to edit them accordingly. For example, if you use a black background in Lightroom and then your print is hung on a white wall, it’s going to look completely different than it did while you were editing it. You can add a black matte and a black frame to keep that contrast regardless of the wall color.

If you’re still relatively new to printing your work, these mistakes and tips are something to keep in mind before your next trip to the print shot. And those of you who regularly print your photos, let us know if there is anything else you’d add to this list.

[5 Amateur Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Prints | Evan Ranft]