2009 Course Information Now Available!
We are back! After a brief hiatus in September the RMSP newsletter is back with more than just a new newsletter. All of our 2009 offerings are online and our gorgeous (if I do say so myself) 2009 catalog is in route to your mailboxes. September was a big month for Rocky Mountain School of Photography.

Presentation Part II: Making Your Images Look Great

More often than not, less is more when presenting your images. In the last newsletter I wrote about positioning and adhering images to a mount board, as well as the mounting parameters that most professionals follow. This month I will continue with the topic of presentation by covering framing, including how and where to sign a print; window mats; frame glass and material; and frame backing. For all these aspects of presentation, I employ museum standards methods. While there are many other creative methods out there, some of which are decidedly more contemporary, I favor the simple and clean techniques that I learned more than 30 years ago from Ansel Adams—the very same techniques that I teach to my students year after year.

Window Mat. The window mat is what really makes your print stand out—for better or worse, depending upon how you manage it. The window mat should be made of the same type of board on which you mount your image and should have a rectangular or square cut-out a little larger than the size of your image. These “windows” are cut out using a 45 degree bevel edge, which many photographers do themselves. I prefer spending any extra time I have in the field shooting, so I don’t mind paying a professional to do the job. In fact, shortly after moving to Missoula, I found L.A. Design (337 East Broadway Ave.). If you live locally I recommend them— they have handled all of my (and many of my students’) framing needs.  In most frame shops you will need to tell them exactly how you want your image framed; be very specific to ensure a high-quality, professional-looking product.

Dimensions. Part of ensuring this high-quality look is knowing what dimensions to ask for. The dimensions that I learned from Ansel Adams are as follows: the white space on the sides and top between the edge of the window mat and the image should be between ¼” and 3/8”; the bottom where we sign our image should have a little more space, between 3/8” and ½”.

If you plan on showing your image unframed, it’s a good idea to place it in an archival clear plastic sleeve to protect your work. Light Impressions sells sleeves of various sizes that correspond to board sizes.

Signing the Print. Once the print is adhered to the board, it is time to sign the image. Although the exact location varies depending on your mounting technique, the most common place to sign your image is directly below the image in the lower right-hand corner. In dry or cold method (method 1 & 2 from previous article), the photographer signs directly on the mount board itself, most likely in pencil or with a fine-tipped, archival ink pen. Of course, it is important to do this before putting the window mat over the image. In cornering and hinging (methods 3 & 4 from previous article), one signs on the white space surroundings the image on the window mat itself, with a fine black ink pen, as pencil may be too faint.

As I emphasized last time, the goal of any presentation technique is to emphasize the image, not the presentation—and in this case, you want people to notice the work, not the signature. I have seen photographers sign their work with bright colors in thick-tipped pens, which in my opinion detracts from the image. If your piece is seen and enjoyed, viewers can and will notice the signature on their own without the help of bold colors and over-sized lettering.

Other Helpful Hints: If you title your image, center the title directly beneath the print. If you date the image, I suggest doing so under the print in the lower left-hand corner. The same conventions hold for numbering a limited edition print or series of prints within a portfolio: the limited edition or portfolio number would be in the lower left instead of the date.

The Frame. The frame you choose should be clean and simple. Two good choices are black chrome or wood frames. Some chrome frames scratch easily, so be sure to look for scratch resistant varieties. A good brand is Nielsen. A nice wood frame is typically natural or painted black. Again, stray away from ornate colors, designs and materials. 

Framing Glass. With glass, there are three common choices. The first is regular window glass, which is very inexpensive and works pretty well; it has been a go-to for decades. A second choice, which is not much more expensive, is conservation glass. Conservation glass has UV protection and is probably the most popular choice for professional photographers who display their work—I’ve used it for years. I recommend Tru Vue. The extra cost is worth the price unless what you are framing (such as an inexpensive poster) is worth less than the extra price of the glass.  A 16 X 20 piece of conservation glass runs around $10 more than the same size of window glass.

The third choice is museum glass, which you can also buy through Tru Vue. This option is much more expensive and not worth the extra cost unless you are framing very expensive prints. (A 16 X 20 piece of museum glass runs around $56). Many times a frame shop will talk about glass that has an anti-reflective coating in order to remove glare. To most photographers, however, this is not a good choice because it can substantially soften the image.

Backing. The backing in the frame holds the print in place against the glass and should be made of something similar to acid-free foam core. Years ago, before I knew better, I had an Ansel Adams original print framed (from a framer who also didn’t know better) using corrugated cardboard for the backing (definitely not archival). After about 10 years, I noticed that thousands of little brown spots had come through the mount board, which, in turn, effectively ruined a $20,000 print. I sent it off to a company that minimizes issues of this kind, and after paying a small fortune got the print back—and though it is better, it is officially “damaged” and not worth nearly as much as it would be if I had used archival material. You could say that my archival-allegiance was learned the hard way.

Hardware. Finally, you want to make sure that the hardware used to mount the print is very secure. Last year I had an expensive print fall to the floor due to faulty hardware, and a piece of glass scratched the emulsion of the print. Since then, I have had the hardware on all of our frames replaced. This should not be an issue with chrome frames or high-quality wood frames. Thin wood, however, can be problem. I now require four screws on each side of the frame where the hanging wire connects.

I hope the preceding tips on presentation have been helpful. Of course, there is much more to say about the topic, but what I have shared is a great start. By following these simple parameters, you are bound to display your work in a clean, clear and professional manner.  

How do you determine the process that works best for you? Ask the pros. Over the last few months we have surveyed photographers on their daily photography practices. This is our last “What’s Your Workflow” article. In these interviews we have provided a glimpse of different professional photographer’s workflows with the goal of helping you fine tune your own workflow. To see other “What’s your Workflow?” articles please visit our previous newsletters.     

Capture
What are the steps you take to get ready to photograph (the night before, or hour before you go)? 
Usually it’s triggered by something I read, then followed up with a bit of map checking then making mental notes about what I want to achieve before the shoot. 

Right before you take a photograph, do you work slowly, deliberately, set up each shot? Or do you work more spontaneously and just go out and shoot? 
Spontaneously always. After doing the research and arriving at your destination, it’s easy to switch into a kind of intensity. After absorbing enough technique theory, you can usually respond to an opportunity without consciously checking all the settings or being sidetracked by the equipment. 

In general, do you pre-visualize and pre-compose or do you find your photographs as they happen/you happen upon them?  
Ooh big question! I actually re-arrange most things I find until they fit with my plans. Either physically moving things, myself, or thru camera composition or all three. It’s the end result that matters, not the ingredients. 

How often do you photograph? 
Weekly.  

What is your greatest challenge when photographing?
Getting the right shots to fit with my output plan. I usually shoot with a clear idea of what the end result will look like. 

Process
Briefly describe your process after downloading your images from the camera and before you get into local adjustments? What software do you use? Do you edit right away? Etc. 
Transfer the files onto second hard drive on my mac; import into Lightroom; do a rudimentary selection and maybe print the one that stands out the most, because I usually can’t wait to see the print physically. 

How do you name your files? 
Don’t bother with that. Lightroom’s ability to catalogue, index and subdivide shoots is perfectly simple and enough for me. 

How do you organize your files?
Simply. I just name the folder with the location and shoot date. I don’t spend time naming each file unless it’s exported as a finished file. 

Do you do much work on your images in Photoshop or do you perform the basic adjustments (contrast, saturation, and crop) and call it good? 
I do it mostly in Lightroom now, as it provides a better visual interface, touchy- feely TAT tools and a nicer way of printing. I also tend to work with specific printing styles, so if I use Photoshop at all, I only use about 10% of its functionality. Most of the print outcomes I make have their roots in traditional chemical techniques, so often it’s a case of building a sequence of digital moves to replicate a certain look. The software never suggests ideas to me, but it’s a wonderful production tool. 

How often do you edit your images?
I usually do a monthly house cleaning, throwing away files that don’t make the grade. For me editing and printing are the same thing, I don’t get drawn to editing unless there’s a print at the end of the process. Software is really only a kind of complex enlarger experience for me: you use it to make a print. 

What are your greatest challenges when processing your images?
Keeping it short, non-destructive and only enough to reveal the idea.  

Output
What is your most common form of output: print, web or multimedia? 
Print. 

Do you print your own images or do you outsource your printing? 
Print my own 

What type of printer do you have? 
Epson very generously gives me printers to include in my books, so I’m using the 4880 at the moment, which is just great. 

What’s your favorite paper?
Too many to mention! Current favourites are Somerset Velvet Enhanced and Harman’s Warmtone fiber based baryta. I also print on a lot of non-standard stuff too like vintage artists papers and paper ephemera using the liquid inkjet coating medium by InkAid. I’m making handmade books at the moment, binding a mixture of papers. 

Do you have a website? Who/What company created your web site?  
Yep, it’s www.timdaly.com, www.photocollege.co.uk.
I made the sites myself to promote my books, my printing workshops and my online course.  

Are you a member of photography/artist social networking sites? 
No. 

Do you maintain a blog? 
No. 

How often do you go through your output process?
Each time I print. For me the print needs to be a precious physical object rather than something you stick in a frame like a window on the world. 

What are your greatest challenges during the output stage of your workflow?
Making a print that looks hand-crafted rather than software generated 

What’s your favorite tool, gadget, resource or website? 
Ooh tricky one! The process of making images uses a lot of stuff along the way. I’ve developed a way of using Photoshop to mimic the kind of localized burning-in and hand-crafted printing that you can achieve in the darkroom with an enlarger and a piece of ragged card. It’s not rocket science, but a way of adapting the software tools to fit your purpose. I like the idea of making a unique print this way, so the results you get each time are different. I think many photographers nowadays are detached from the craft experience of printing, because of digital tools. Most who come along to my workshops want a physical connection to their work rather than feel like data jugglers. 

Fall Workshops
We still have a few seats left in our series of Photoshop workshops this fall.

Photoshop for the Landscape Photographer with Tim Cooper- October 19-24.
This workshop teaches you Photoshop skills that can be specifically applied to landscape photography. The first half of the week is spent in the field, creating images of the mountainous landscapes and learning landscape composition. In the digital lab, Tim introduces you to Photoshop techniques you can incorporate into your workflow in order to make your images stand out.

The Black and White Master Print with George DeWolfe- October 26-31.
George DeWolfe’s decades of experience with photography, and his extensive study of how light interacts with objects, come together to help you understand and achieve beautiful digital black and white prints.

Photoshop for Photographers with Dave Marx- November 2-7.
Learning Photoshop becomes manageable when it is broken down into small pieces. By learning to work with adjustment layers, masks, curves, levels, color balance and the spot healing tools, you open up a world of possibilities for working with your images.

Questions or comments on our 2009 catalog or website? Please send them to: marketing@rmsp.com. We would love to hear from you.