As a professional photographer specializing in digital photography, I do my best work with my camera and my computer.  However to take things to the next level, a photographers work has to move past just digital and become a physical print to be featured in galleries, purchased by fans and customers, as well as stand the test of time.

There are many ways to do this, the most common way being standard paper prints, as well as the very popular canvas prints.  However today I’m going to talk about a slightly different, but entirely cool way of printing our your photos and arts, metal prints!

What is a Metal Print?

As the name implies, a metal print is a photography, picture, or other type of image that is printed directly onto a piece of metal (usually aluminum).

Is it just like spray paint on metal? No! Not at all.  Just coating metal with paint is obviously not a great way to go about things, since it will just peal off eventually.

What metal prints use is a special kind of magic called Dye Sublimation Printing.

In this process ink is actually diffused into the metal itself, binding it in a way that lasts for a very long time.

Where Can I Get a Metal Print?

There are many vendors for metal prints, but only one (that I know of) that is the professional quality that I would trust with my livelihood.

The majority of metal print companies are aimed towards the home decor market, and usually provide brushed aluminum prints at small to medium sizes.

That might be fine for most people, but for me I need both high quality (HD level prints), on matte aluminum with an extra epoxy coating for both sheen and protection.  So far I’ve only found one provider to do that, and it’s Pictorem.

Pictorem – #1 Provider of Professional Grade Metal Prints

Pictorem is a full service printing company that caters to both consumers and professionals.  If it gets printed, chances are Pictorem does the job.  They’ve been voted as the having the best canvas prints, metal prints, wall murals, and paper prints.  Like I said, they are full service.

They have *huge* sizes to choose from, sizes that will dwarf the competition, including a canvas print that is up to 100″ by 50″!

Furthermore, they offer Chromaluxe HD, which is an amazing high class technology that provides HD quality images on metal prints.  They partner with Chromaluxe, which is an independent company that does not sell directly to consumers.  Only a few lucky companies are Chromaluxe partners.

Based in Montreal and with offices in New York they ship all over the US and Canada, as well as internationally.

I don’t know how much more praise I need to give, go check out for yourself!

Of course my personal favorite is Pictorem, but I will give some honorable mentions to some other players out there…

CanvasChamp – Honorable Mention

CanvasChamp, as its name implies, is a provider of canvas prints, mainly.  However they have a large focus on gifts and decor, including metal prints, pillows, mugs, and different novelties.

If your purpose in getting metal prints is to spruce up your interior design, CanvasChamp might be the way to go.  It’s also great if you are looking to get family photos printed as gifts or keepsakes, either metal prints or otherwise.

In terms of the quality, they are standard brushed aluminum prints and their sizes go up to 27×39, which is perfectly fine for most applications.  They also offer panoramic dimensions (wider than landscape) that go up to 16×36.

If this sounds like a good for you, give them a visit!

Printique – Honorable Mention #2

Printique is a well known brand and professional printing service.  They have brick-and-mortar locations in NYC, and recently merged with Adorama, the well known Camera equipment company.

They offer a wide range of printing services, and were recently voted as the best printing service for paper prints by Digital Photography Review.

They offer HD Metal prints, with sizes are up 40×60.

While this is a better choice than CanvasChamp if you are professional, its probably a little on the pricier side if you are a amateur or home decor enthusiast.  Even if you are a professional, Pictorem has better prices.

Nonetheless, they are a solid brand and a solid company who will be around for a long while to come.  Check them out!

Conclusion

Hope you’ve found this a little bit enlightening and a big bit helpful in your quest to get the best metal prints.

One final tip that applies to all the above: Wait for deals! Almost all printing companies run specials from time to time and around the major holidays.  These deals can be pretty dramatic too (like 40%+ off), so if your needs arent very time sensitive, it pays to hold out for some discounts!

References:

• https://science.howstuffworks.com/question583.htm
• http://www.triangulationblog.com/best-canvas-prints/
• https://www.chromaluxe.com/

With the ubiquity of high quality camera phones and the popularity of instagram and other photo based social media sites, it seems that everyone is a photographer nowadays.  However the complexity of professional photography is immense, a combination of both technical knowledge and skills and artistic instincts.  Snapping a quick photo on your new iPhone is easy, but what exactly makes that camera a good camera? Very few know the details…

One entree into knowing the technical backend of cameras is to study the different types of lenses.  Lenses are obviously extremely important and probably the most impactful element of a camera.  One of the more fundamental differences between lenses is whether they are leveraged for video/cinema, or whether they are meant for single shot photography.

Let’s take a look at the differences:

Photography Lenses vs. Cine Lenses – The Differenes

Video lenses do have many similar attributes to photo lenses, with a some very distinct differences.  We will go through the 3 main purposes of a lens, i.e. the focus, iris, and zoom, as well as physical characteristics.

• Physical/Dimension Characteristics

As you will see, video lenses need to support much more functionality as cinema lenses, and as such will be much larger and more expensive.  Many photo lenses, with the possible exception of telephoto lenses, can be small, compact, and may or may not have advanced mechanical functions like auto-focus/etc.

• Differences in Focus Control

Maintaining focus is extremely important in any lens.  In photographic lenses, the quickness of the autofocus is extremely important, since you are trying to capture one point in time, and can lose a great shot if you don’t have it in focus.

But when you have subjects that are in motion like in video, auto-focus is rarely used.  In fact, it introduces a new concept calls “follow focus”, which is often used with an additional piece of equipment (in fact, on film sets, there is a specific person responsible for the follow focus, to make sure the focus is maintained.   The best camera/lens brands, such as canon lenses for video (which I use as part of my gear) integrate with these external controls.

• Differences in Iris

Aperture control in still photo lens is usually chunked into 1/3 stop increments, and controlled within the camera.  Since changing the iris won’t ever be caught on film, it doesn’t matter if the change is a bit clunky.  However in video cameras this would be very noticeable, so they have continuous iris controls that allow for smooth transitions with no built in stops.

• Differences in Zoom

A main difference in zoom capabilities is that in still photos you don’t need to maintain focus while zooming.  However very often in video shots you will be shooting video and zooming in or out at the same time, hence focus will need to be maintained.  This is called “parfocal”, same focus, different zooms, as opposed to “varifocal” which has different focuses at different zooms.

If you want to hang canvas prints, you need some advice. You generally don’t want to just try to do this without knowing how it works or you could make a mistake. Here are some tips that will help you figure out how to hang a canvas print so you can show it off in your home or in an office.

First, you need to think about whether you’re going to get the print framed or not. If the print is high in quality and you want it to last a long time, then you’re going to want to frame it because then the elements are not going to get to it as easily as they would if you didn’t frame it in the first place. Before you get something framed, make sure you look at the styles of frames that are available and be sure you have an expert do the framing job so it looks nice.

Whether you have a canvas print in a frame or not, you’re going to have to figure out how to hang it on the wall. Usually, you can just use a wall hanging hook with a screw in back on it so you can make something stick out of the wall that you can use to hang the print. However, if you have a large print that is rather heavy, you’re going to want to use multiple hooks in places that are sturdy like in a stud behind the wall. You can use a stud finder to find out where studs are so you can use them to better anchor a print.

Now you’re aware of what you need to do if you want to hang canvas prints. It’s important to do it the right way so it looks nice and lasts a long time. Do your best to show off art in a nice way so you can enjoy it.

References:

How to Hang Canvas Prints  – LivingSpaces.com

With the advent of the digital age, a debate has sprung up among photographers: What is better, film or digital? While both undoubtedly have their own merits, we shall be making the argument for the former. After all, film photographer has been around for more than a century and, despite endless pronouncements stating otherwise, it is an art form that is alive and well in the 21^st century.

First, let us address the elephant in the room. As you probably know, film photography does not offer an infinite number of shots. Instead, photographers will need to work with a limited number of shots for every roll of film. We make the case that this is actually an advantage for film photography as it makes everything more deliberate. Instead of taking hundreds of pictures and hoping one of them would come out great, you have to think more about the composition of the image before clicking.

Capturing great images is also made easier with film as they often have greater resolution compared to digital cameras. Its greater dynamic range also makes black and white images crisp and detailed.

Unless you are completely out of touch with the latest trends in photography, you may have noticed that a growing number of shutterbugs have started putting down their digital cameras and their smartphones. Professional and amateur photographers alike are now joining the ranks of the old holdouts who never stopped using film.

This is particularly interesting especially when you compare it with the resurgence of other analog technology like vinyl and typewriters. Of course, you can simply chalk it up to nostalgia, but we highly doubt if everything is that simple. This is because the film has an undeniable appeal to it. The fact that it continues to endure speaks volumes with regard to its authenticity.

Of course, digital photography is still in its infancy and its quirks are still being worked out though there is no denying its potential. Meanwhile, the art of film photography has been around for more than a century. This latest trend just goes to show that film photography is alive and well. Of course, film photography never died, contrary to what you may have been told otherwise.