Digital Boudoir Photography : A Step-by-step Guide to ... - Ken Gilbert

70 Digital Boudoir Photography
Print coming out of printer capable of printing up to 13 × 19.
Print coming out of a printer that can print up to 8 1/2 × 11.
It does take time to do it yourself, plus additional
technical skills that you will need to learn. The ability
to print is usually in the software that you use to do
the retouching (see Step 15). You will need to crop
the image to the proportions that you want to print
(4 × 6, 5 × 7, or 8 × 10, for instance). To do that you
use a cropping tool in your chosen software program
and set the size and resolution (see below). You click
on the starting location and drag across to frame the
image.
The other option besides printing them yourself is to
send the images to a lab to be printed. You can take
your memory card to a lab or you can create a CD
on your computer and take it to the lab. Several discount
stores such as Costco and Sam’s Club offer
inexpensive prints, which can be quite nice if you follow
color management techniques to control the
color on your end. There are lots of labs conveniently
located in many neighborhoods. Besides those
options, there are many labs located online. You
upload the images to them and they print your
images and mail them to you. With some of the labs
you can upload the images and have them in your
hands a few days later. If you use an outside lab, you
need to find out the technical specifications they
require. Most will want the photographs in the same
color space that your camera typically produces
(sRGB for the technically inclined), which is why we
are not delving into that difficult, technical subject.
They will also specify the resolution (often 250 ppi
or 300 ppi) at the size of the print you will be ordering.
Once you learn this, you simply set your software
to that and it will be done automatically when
you crop your image for printing. Professional labs
will usually give you the information you need to set
things up and will talk you through it if necessary.
The same is true of local labs and even those at Sam’s
Club or Costco.
No matter how you do it, it is special to see the images that you chose printed the first
time. Your client or model will want photographs for herself and perhaps to share with
others, and you will need images for your own portfolio. Happy printing!