Research - Presenting Photo Images - Assignment 211

The Photo Book

The photo book is a simple way of presenting your photo images. There are many different companies available on the Internet Photobox, Albelli and Blurb to name a few.  Once you have signed up all you have to do is upload the images you wish to use and you are ready to create your own photo book.  You can however just upload a number of images and they will design the photo book for you.  You have full creative control using the templates available or creating your own. The books are available in paperback, hardback or with ring binders. Available in a range of sizes, with your choice of how many images or pages to include they come in square or landscape. Titles and text can be added to the pages which acts as a reference to what the images are about.

I have designed a photo book in the past for my sister in law of her hen weekend. I then gave it to her on her wedding day as this kind of presenting photo images can make a great gift.  The companies on the Internet which provide photo books also do canvas printing, mugs, t-shirts and many other things that make great gifts and provide a chance to show off great images.

A few examples of Photo Books

Canvas Prints.

The same companies that offer photo books also offer other gift ideas like calenders, mugs and canvas printing.  They do many different sizes of canvas so if you have that special picture that you would like to hang on the wall then canvas is an easy contemporary way to do this.  The are available in landscape, portrait or square and are mostly 100% cotton canvas.  You can choose if you would like the edge to be coloured or if you would like the photograph to wrap around the edge of the canvas. I really like canvas print especially really big canvas prints and black and white images on canvas.  Another really nice presenting idea is to have multiple canvas side by side all showing one image and creating an overall image in all the canvas area.

Traditional Photo Albums

Photo albums are a nice way to show photographs if you have a lot of photographs to present.  Photo albums have been around for a long time and come in many different styles, sizes and colours.  Photo albums are not as popular anymore since digital technology like slide shows and photo books as these are now easier options.  Since digital technology people don't have photos printed like they did in the past and show them using computer technology.

Digital Technology Slide shows

A slide show created on a computer is a really easy and cost free way of presenting photo images.  Slide shows can be created quickly and allows you to view large images if you have a big monitor which is more cost effective than printing.  There is also the environmental benefits of not using any paper or ink. A computer also allows you to store lots of images for viewing easily without taking up physical space.  There are many slide show software programs on the market like power point and dream weaver.  Slide shows can also be created on DVD to music which is a good way to present wedding photography.

Examples of Slide shows;

Professional Labs

Online professional labs offer simple drag and drop transfer, online sizing and specification options which are delivered within 3-5 days and 24h services at a premium.  If your using a lab that will not be doing colour or density corrections it is very important that you produce solid post production methods and ensure your monitor is calibrated.  Most labs will give you instructions for your settings which if followed should result in your desired prints.  Sending in test prints can be an option to ensure your monitor and the lab output match.  You can choose what kind of paper you would like the images to be printed on and companies will send out examples for you to choose.  Kristine came to college with a lovely collection of paper she had received as samples and these included high gloss, metallic, and Matt paper.  I think that certain paper suits certain images so you have to think about what will suit your images before you decide.

Frames

Frames are a great way to present your photo images.  This can be expensive but if you plan to exhibit your work then framed images are the best way to present.  If the images are all the same size then costs can be reduced by presenting the images side by side all in one frame thus cutting costs.  There are thousands of frames on the market which are available in many sizes and colours and made from many different materials.  When researching professional labs I discovered that they also offer a framing service for your images in many different styles and colours.

Photo Mounts

Photo mounts can be used within frames to create space or add colour between the frame and the image or they can just be used to mount a image onto a card.

Photographic Collage

A photographic collage is created by using photographs or parts of photographs to create a whole new image.  A photographic collage can be created easily by image software.  Internet companies such as Photo box offer collage prints which are really easy to create.  All you have to do is upload a selection of images and they are all mounted onto a large size print.

This image is a photographic collage image of Paris created by Hockney in 1985.

Photo montage

A photo montage is a process of cutting and joining a number of photographs together to make a final complete image.  These can be either be parts of photographs or complete images of low key and high key tone put together to create an whole new image.  

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Acrylic Prints

A new way of presenting presenting photo images is acrylic prints. These are images which are printed on photo paper and then coated in 6mm thick diamond polished acrylic.  They can be fixed to walls with aluminium wall fixings and are suitable for use in kitchens and bathrooms.  You must be aware that 10mm on each edge of your photo will be lost when printing on acrylic as this will fold around the edge of the acrylic.