Displaying photos

Discussion in 'Photography and Cameras' started by Cspirou, Apr 13, 2016.

  1. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    After taking and editing your pictures, how do you like to display your hi-res photos? I feel like posting them on facebook is like taking a great recording and listening to it through iBuds.

    Do you guys like purpose made digital displays? Prints? Albums?
     
  2. Impulse

    Impulse Friend

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    Sideshows on TV, FB but also other services that show them off better (Google Photos, Dropbox with family, etc.), occasional prints to hang on the wall... I've never been into albums, my younger sister still builds some ironically (as a 29 year old).

    I mean, if I wanna reminisce or look up something it just seems easier and more enjoyable to do it on a big screen or a tablet, tho it does require having a properly organized and indexed collection. I know printing is still the ultimate goal for a lot of enthusiasts tho.

    I'd say it's a generational thing but there's also exceptions, like my sister.
     
  3. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I always looked at photo albums growing up and I still like the presentation an album gives. In the digital age printing and inserting prints into sheets sleeves doesn't make too much sense anymore. But I do like the idea of making a photo book.
     
  4. Impulse

    Impulse Friend

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    I can see the appeal, I'm just too lazy... :p
     
  5. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    Doesn't posting hi-rez pics on Facebook, to quote Tron, de-rez them? I prefer uploading them on Imgur.
     
  6. Impulse

    Impulse Friend

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    FB still has like a 2MP cap no? So, yeah... And they bought Instagram, which is like ten times worse, heh. I don't think they're worthless as photo sharing outlets, but they're definitely not optimal for many things.

    Many photos can definitely be appreciated even at low res, but I gotta imagine as more and more devices go to higher res screens they'll have to up their game.
     
  7. Friday

    Friday Friend

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    FB for sharing with friends, but those that I really like will be nominated for printing. One of my considerations when taking photos these days is whether it is one I would print big i.e. 12R, and if they aren't worth printing I might not even keep them at all. Saves the headache of having to sort through tons of sub-par photos after a holiday. Main exceptions are pictures that my family insist on being taken of them.
     
  8. Eric_C

    Eric_C Friend

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    I use some of my favourite photos as desktop wallpaper (set Windows to "slideshow"), and as Chromecast wallpaper. If I can get the format to fit, I'll use the pictures for phone lock screen and wallpaper.
    Hate putting photos on FB. For one, I don't like the idea that they own my photos. For another, FB makes legitimately good shots appear like crap.
     
  9. Friday

    Friday Friend

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    That's why I always down res my shots nowadays.
     
  10. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    Prints! I like printing the good stuff large and hanging it up. House. Office. Heck, I even give prints to my family for Christmas! Otherwise, I feel like my work gets lost in cyberspace.

    I don't print anything myself anymore, I use a service, but I do all of my own framing and matting.

    We do a few photo books each year, but I am lucky that my wife has awesome creative skills and loves doing this, so I just give her the photos and she goes to work. A lot of this publishing is for clients, getting credentials and gaining location access. The ability to publish so easily now is pretty cool.

    I like to try new printing "mediums" as well. Having been a fan of printing on metal I recently tried these guys who print on glass. I love the look.
    https://www.fractureme.com/?gclid=C...4_i7Cm_sy2Bloy2PooNEtuVih3C1x1YUBARoCL4_w_wcB


    As for Facebook and other social media? It is what it is. I don't like the idea of a damaged version of my photo getting looked at, but if I want to put it in front of a crowd what choice do I have? I have to relax my quality standards if I want the circulation.

    The reality is that most of my work that gets published will be through the web.


    I'd also throw out there that most people who see photos on FaceBook and Twitter think they look AWESOME! Much like the masses who are not concerned with high-quality music recording and reproduction, they are content with low-resolution photos on tiny screens!
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2016
  11. Friday

    Friday Friend

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    @shipsupt my sentiments exactly, except better put and with more words
     
  12. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I don't mind Facebook and Instagram so much. I just find it odd to spend so much money on gear and so much time on editing to just have the photo end up on Facebook at much lower quality or just archived on your hard drive never to be seen again. For photos we seem to be obsessed with production while with audiophilia we are obsessed with playback.
     
  13. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    While looking up top photographers I saw they do C-print on glass. I'd like to see what this looks like.
     
  14. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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  15. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

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    This is because (high quality) production is more accessible for photos, and its a better place to point our nervosa. Cameras = sexy to own; industrial photo printers = not sexy to own. For audio, (high quality) production requires significantly more time, money, and talent. No disrespect for exceptional photographers, but the odds are not against the amateur when you can capture 1,000 shots with relative ease. 1,000 takes a recording studio would end with at least one corpse.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2016
  16. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

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    As to the initial question: google photos, photo books, and large prints.

    Google photos is how I share with family and friends. I secretly hate social media, and don't want everyone on FB gawking at my photos, aside from obligatory blurry pics of children. G photos has free storage up to something like 12MP, which is plenty big for internet sharing or digital display. I can easily control who I share with, and that have some decently fun, if simple, editing options.

    Photobooks are very easy to do now, many services exist with reasonable fees. It also forces you to go through an event and pick the best shit, which lets you relive the event for free and inadvertently makes you consider your shots more thoughtfully moving forward. I also benefit from having a wife who hates taking pictures but loves putting books together. We make a great team. Now, when we are feeling wistful, we can pull out a photobook and flip through past adventures or show them to offspring.

    Large prints (like 20+ x 30+) are also surprisingly affordable, especially if you don't care too much about fanciness of frame. Costco will do poster prints for cheap. We invested in a group of standard large size frames and mats, and just print and rotate photos when we have an especially cool shot. Also, it is rewarding to see [whatever] that big and say "ah, yes, that is why I care about having high res gear."
     
  17. Impulse

    Impulse Friend

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    So essentially, avoid their built in image sharing if at all possible, and re-share rather than re download anything because on top of low image caps they have terrible compression. Not exactly news... :p

    Like @aufmerksam alluded to, Google Photos will store images up to 16MP for free/unlimited, tho it still often re compresses those close to that limit... They actually seem to know what they're doing tho and it isn't nearly as destructive as FB.

    Their auto edits and auto GIFs can be pretty fun, it made me a badass one of the lunar eclipse over the summer.
     
  18. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Anyone have a recommendation for a purpose made digital display? Something 12" or less. Any good DIY builds is fine as well.

    I like the idea of an e-ink display but I don't know how good the quality is and they still seem very expensive. Still, it's nice not to have it illuminating everything at night and from what I understand, there is near zero power draw when the image is static.
     
  19. bengo

    bengo Friend

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    E ink doesn't have enough grey levels, I think it would probably look crappy. How about a Samsung tablet (or anything with a good panel). DPI close to a real print (300).

    For online sharing I love Fluidr (it's just a nice UI on top of Flickr API) although it works better in desktop browsers than mobile. Ideally go full screen too.
     

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