Printing photos on canvas and digital photo tips are two things I've wanted to write about for some time.
I've been reviewing and enlarging photos for canvas for several years now and I've seen some common mistakes that, with just a few minor adjustments, people could greatly improve their photos.
Most people probably think of digital photos when they consider printing a photo onto canvas.
Companies that do this work, have upload capabilities that can be done right from the computer.
This is certainly easy but it is not the only way to go and we must remember our favorite traditional photos that we want transferred to canvas.
Let's talk about some tips for taking photos.
RESOLUTION: relates to the pixel count captured in the image.
The denser the pixels, the better the resolution and enlargement is easy.
Low resolution will cause your image to pixelate when enlarged.
In accordance with your particular camera, you want to set it to the largest setting, typically shown as something like 3888 x 2592.
Such a setting limits the number of photos you can take before downloading but you will have the quality and won't miss out on the option to enlarge! Storage is cheap.
IMAGE QUALITY: relates to compression.
The greater the compression, the less quality you will have (high compression is good for emailing but not for enlarging).
Higher compression will result in ghosting and blotchy colors when enlarged.
So, however it is designated in your camera (check your manual), you want to set your camera to the least compression.
PERSPECTIVE: is the angle from which you are shooting.
This is especially important when taking photos of your kids or your pets.
Get down at their level.
The photos you take will be much more personal and natural and will make that canvas art more enjoyable as well.
LEVELING CAMERA: I can't count the number of photos I've corrected because the person shooting didn't take a moment to level (hold it straight) the camera to the horizon.
Yes it is easy to fix with a photo editor but take a moment and save yourself some time.
When a photo is enlarged for canvas printing the horizon becomes much more obvious and critical to the final outcome.
TRADITIONAL PHOTOS: For your traditional photographs from film, there is no way to know if they are usable until they are scanned and the digital image evaluated.
Obviously, newer film cameras are a lot better than some from 20 and more years ago.
Whether digital or traditional, your photos will be evaluated for their desired size and you'll be notified if there are any issues.
Likewise, old damaged traditional photos can usually be repaired and brought to sufficient "health" for canvas printing.
Depending on the extent of the work required, this might cost a little more.
A canvas printing company usually won't just print your image as received.
If attention is needed - even if it is just to brighten the image for printing - it will be done.
We have sophisticated and specialized software to enhance your images for the best possible canvas print but remember that the quality of the source photo directly relates to the quality of the canvas print.
We've put together a list of 10 Tips for Great Digital Photographs.
I've discussed a few of them here and how they relate to printing photos on canvas.