Display Options - Let your Work Shine!

So now that you have created these amazing digital (or film) images...what do you do with them? I mean sure you have the files stored on your hard drive somewhere collecting digital dust, but what do you do with them to REALLY enjoy them?

A lot of photographers, freelance, professional, amateur, grandma with a point and shoot, tend to fall into this rut of being fine with just having the file. But doesn't photography need to be seen? It is my humble theory that photos were meant to be printed, something tangible, something you can hold in your hand and love forever. So, what are our options to make them that way?

Prints:

Ahh...the time tested, most simple way to display your photos. Safe, in an album, on the wall in a frame you picked up from the local craft store...y'know...easy. Take a look at online services to see what sort of options they have for mounting prints, canvas printing, all those fun options. There are also fun ways to transfer your print to other surfaces...check out acrylic transfers (earlier post in the blog, or just google it) there are also sunprinting kits if you are so inclined to do it yourself with a historic alternative process. Moo.com also offers a series of photo cards (moocards...love it!) that come with a frame to display. They are little tiny things, but when put together can equal one major work of art! So don't settle for 4x6 prints anymore!

Books:

Now we're getting a little more interesting...iPhoto books are exceptionally cost effective. They have a WIDE range of sizes, bindings, templates/themes, and are fantastically easy to create. There are also other options for those living in PC'dom...zookbinder is a favorite, they too offer a wide selection of sizes, bindings, as well as other framing options. Regardless of where you go, or how you get them printed...photo books make awesome gifts and what could be better than having a whole library of your images?!

Or, if all else fails...there are a plethora of digital photo frame options on the market right now. They may set you back about $100.00 but will give you lots of options with regards to look, file resolution that they handle, or even movie playback. So if you find yourself with not a lot of wall space (like a lot of us do in real life) this may be a space economical idea for you. Perhaps get a set of 9, put them on the wall 3x3 and have a wall of slide shows? Could be fun!

The point is, get your files off your computer and start sharing your art. You took the photos you have there for a reason, so let your creativity shine and let others see it too.

Back to Basics

The best thing about digital cameras and the computer technology that goes along with them, is that you can cram hundreds maybe even thousands of images on a single media card. A wise man once told me of digital photography "Electrons are free man, shoot it till ya get it."

It's true...you can shoot and fill your card full of 300 images and hopefully capture 10 good ones in what I call the modified Rambo "shoot'em till ya hit 'em" sort of routine. The other option, you can slow down a bit in your shooting and get more good photos than bad. Really think about what you are shooting and make it count. Even though you have 4 gigs of memory to play with, maybe in any given day you only shoot 30 shots, but since you slowed down a bit and really looked at what you were shooting, 25 of your 30 came out well! It's a good thing!

A great way to practice this new outlook on photography is to bust out the old 35mm film camera and run some film through it. When you only have 36 frames to work with, you will tend to slow it down a bit and use them much more wisely. Plus if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I'm a big fan of film.

 

So get out and shoot, take your time, and make 'em count. I would love to see what you all come up with so feel free to drop me a link in the comment section of any of the posts on the blog.