Size Matters
I print big.
The other day I asked my photography students what a large print was. Some said 8x12 and others said a 16x20 were big images. I was surprised that their responses were so small. In my work and world as a photographer selling prints, those are small... really small.
In fact, those are chump change. Those are almost insignificant sizes in the grand scheme of images.
The problem is, those are large in our modern day context of an image. Most people in the world only see photos these days on a cell phone screen or laptop computer screen. (Maybe 4x6 or slightly bigger).
It is a special experience to see an image 30x45 or 40x60.
Small images that were once quaint take your breath away. Life is breathed into an image when seen large. The colors pop out, the small details that were once small become obvious.
And when combined with the right lighting. It is other worldly how much a photo comes to life.
Today I shared an image on social media (The title image for this blog post. I realized when I looked at it on my phone it was dismal. On a big screen it has nuance, character, depth and detail.
But on the phone it kind of looks like a rolling hill. The cow in the front corner disappears, the rainbow in the back is lost and the individual trees catching light are just lacking any detail to make them stand out.
This is a perfect example why small screens are not the judge of a photos worth. Sometimes images have to be large before they can be understood.
Moral of the story- If you are a photographer you do not know what your image really is like until it lives in the physical world as a large print. 8x12 wont do it. 16x24 begins to get close. Images really begin to sing around 24x36 and at 40x60, an image takes on a life of its own.
Print! And when you have the finances or the desire, print big!
You won't regret it.
I don't generally consider myself a country person. I like small towns and all, but I don't really connect with "country" life style. I like trucks as a tool, not as a state of being. ATV's are fine. They are fun for about 30 minutes then they kind of feel like driving a smallish car. Cows bring me zero joy. The idea of farming for a living sounds awful.
But when all the element come together in a picture, that I might be able to get behind. The above image has rural flare with broken down mountain structures, a pictures cow, and rolling hills leading to red rock and rainbows. On many levels this is the kind of photo that I think most photographers like to capture even though it wasn't jaw dropping conditions. Sometimes being simply pleasant is enough.