Versatile digital cameras plus software such as Photoshop and Aperture offer a huge range of possibilities. So it’s tempting to believe that, with a bit of electronic tweaking, whatever you shoot can be turned into a top quality print. Not so!
If you want a final result that’s full of rich colour and detail – just as your camera “saw” the subject, then you must start by shooting a large, top-quality digital file.
Ensure you set your digital camera to shoot “RAW” or at the highest resolution possible. When selecting how many images to save to its memory, always select the smallest number. (High-resolution files are BIG, so fewer can be stored.)
Next, take your files into Photoshop or similar software and save as 8 or 16 bit Tiffs at 300 d.p.i. in the Adobe RGB colour profile. Send us this file at the size you want it printed. Remember: high resolution origination + large file size = lots of image “data” and superior print quality.
Here’s the same image captured in four ways, from worst to best:
From Camera to Final Print: Tips for Photographers
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Close-up samples of white square area of picture...
Image shot as 'Low' JPEG.
File size: 332KB
Image shot as 'Medium' JPEG.
File size: 487KB
Image shot as TIFF, 8bit.
File size: 4.8MB
Image shot as RAW image, then processed to TIFF, 8bit
File size: 13.9MB
Tip 1 - Avoid compressed files. Small JPEG's squeeze camera data down for use on the web or email. This omits vital colour and detail. We can sometimes "make do" with higher resolution JPEGs to make prints, but it's still a quality compromise.
Tip 2 - If you start with low resolution JPEGs in your camera, it's impossible to change to higher resolution later via software. Missing colour and detail can never be replaced.