📸 Pixel to Print – Part 4: Preparing Your Image for Print

There’s something magical about holding your own photograph in your hands—a moment you captured, now living and breathing on paper. Yet many great images remain trapped in our screens simply because printing feels intimidating. But with a few simple steps, anyone can confidently prepare their images for print. 

“A picture is worth a thousand words; A fine art print so much more.” – Steve Denby 

Whether you’re aiming to exhibit your work, enter a camera club competition, or just decorate your home, preparing your photo for print is a rewarding skill that connects you more deeply to your craft. 

By now, you understand why printing your photographs matters. You’ve chosen the image you want to print and edited it to perfection. Now it’s time to move from pixels to paper—to prepare your photo for print in a way that does justice to your creative vision. This post will guide you through each step of the process, from resizing and sharpening to soft proofing and exporting, so your final print looks just as stunning as it does on screen. 

Now, strap yourself in, I make no apologies but this is going to get a bit technical, but it’s information that you should try to understand: 

---

Ensure Your Monitor is Correctly Calibrated. 

We’ll cover this topic in more detail in a later post, but for now, just be aware that all digital monitors and displays differ greatly in how they present images, and you can tweak your own display to suit your personal preference. Most monitors, even straight out of the box, are tuned for general use—meaning they’re often too bright and overly saturated. This may look great for browsing or gaming, but it's not ideal for evaluating images for print. 

Before you can trust what you see on screen, you need to ensure your monitor is displaying colors accurately. This is where monitor calibration and profiling come in. Calibration adjusts your display to a consistent standard (like white point, brightness, and gamma), while profiling creates a color profile that allows color-managed software to interpret your display’s color behavior correctly. 

Is this step vital? Not strictly. You can certainly work around it by printing a test page, assessing the result, and adjusting accordingly. If you print regularly, you’ll soon get a feel for the tweaks you need to make. But is calibration recommended? Absolutely. Your prints will never exactly match the screen (due to differences in color gamuts and media), but calibration gets you much closer and makes editing and soft proofing more reliable. It turns your monitor into a more trustworthy preview of your printed output. 

Note: What calibration won’t do is make an image look exactly the same across different devices. There are many outside factors—ambient light, screen type, display age, and even viewing angle. Even two calibrated displays can differ under varying conditions. This is one of the limitations of digital image viewing. Once your image leaves your controlled environment, it's subject to variables beyond your influence. This is one reason why printing your work remains the most consistent way to present it as intended. 

Getting The Right Resolution and Size 

For a sharp print, aim for 300 pixels per inch (ppi) at the desired print size - This is a common, known definition and is a given - for printing… 300PPI. 

• Example: Want an 8x10 print? Multiply 8 by 300 = 2400 pixels wide, and 10 by 300 = 3000 pixels tall. 

A file sized for our club’s digital competitions—typically around 1920x1200 pixels—is great for screens but not suitable for printing at A4 or 8x10 size. At 300ppi, that image would only print clearly up to about 6.4" x 4" (1920 ÷ 300 = 6.4 inches, 1200 ÷ 300 = 4 inches) before quality begins to degrade. 

Most modern cameras shoot at high enough resolution (a 24MP camera produces images around 6000x4000 pixels), which is plenty for printing larger sizes—but cropping heavily can reduce print quality, so plan your composition with printing in mind when possible. 

What is resolution? 
Think of a photo as a mosaic made of tiny dots called pixels. The more dots you have packed into every inch, the sharper your photo looks when printed. This is called PPI – Pixels Per Inch. 

For high-quality prints, aim for 300 PPI. 
That just means you want 300 little dots per inch of printed photo. 

🛠️ Tip: Always keep your image in 300DPI - you can always create a lower quality (72DPI) copy for sharing online later, but once you’ve reduced it, you can’t go back.

📸 What size are my camera photos? 

Most modern cameras give you plenty of pixels. 
For example, a 24-megapixel camera creates images that are about 6000×4000 pixels — good enough for poster-size prints! 

⚠️ Watch out for cropping: 
If you cut away a lot of your photo (to zoom in on something), you're throwing away pixels — which might make your print look fuzzy. 

🧮 How big does my photo need to be for printing? 

Just do a little multiplication: 

Want to print 8x10 inches? 
Multiply: 

• 8 inches × 300 = 2400 pixels wide 

• 10 inches × 300 = 3000 pixels tall 

So your file should be at least 2400×3000 pixels for a sharp print. 

💻 What about printing from those files I create for competitions? 

Photos you prepare for digital use—like our club competitions—are usually resized to something like 1920×1200 pixels. This size looks great on screens but isn’t big enough for high-quality printing, especially at sizes like A4 or A3. 

Here’s why: 

A 1920×1200 pixel image printed at 300 PPI (the quality needed for sharp prints) 
= only 6.4 inches x 4 inches 
(1920 ÷ 300 = 6.4" wide, 1200 ÷ 300 = 4" tall) 

That’s much smaller than A4 (8.3" x 11.7") or A3 (11.7" x 16.5"). 
If you try to print that screen-sized image larger, it’ll start to look blurry or pixelated. 

🗂️ What should you do? 

To keep your options open: 

• Always keep your original, full-size edited photo (that’s what I do). 

• Or create a second version just for printing—save it at a size suitable for 300 PPI at your desired print dimensions. 

That way, you're ready for both digital display and print, without needing to re-edit your image later. 

Resolution vs. Print Size at 300 PPI 

 Match Your Aspect Ratio to Your Print Size 

If you've ever printed a photo and been surprised by a missing part of the image—or noticed unwanted white borders—you've run into a problem with aspect ratio. But don't worry! It's easy to understand, and knowing a bit about it will help you take full control of how your photos look when printed or framed. 

❓ What is Aspect Ratio?  

Aspect ratio is simply the shape of your photo. It describes the relationship between how wide and how tall the image is. 

It’s usually written as two numbers, like 3:2 or 4:5. 
It’s not about inches or pixels—it’s about proportions. For example: 

• 3:2 means the image is 1.5 times wider than it is tall. This is the native shape of most DSLR and mirrorless camera photos.  

• 4:5 is a little more square  - This is common for printing paper – for example 8x10 prints. It’s also the aspect ratio for camera club mounts. 

• A4 and A3 paper has an aspect ratio of about 1.41:1 – This is standard UK sized paper and is taller and narrower than both “standard” printing paper and camera photos. A4 is 210mm × 297mm and A3 is 297mm x 420mm 

• 9:16 is a common size for TVs – commonly called “wide screen” or “HD Format” - 1920px x 1080px is a common size. (You may have seen the term 1080p – this is where that comes from) 

• 10:16 is a slightly less common size but many people prefer it as it is slightly taller - infact this is what we use on our projector – 1920px x 1200px 

🧠 Why Does This Matter? 

Because the shape of your photo needs to match the shape of your paper or frame. 
If it doesn’t, you’ll either: 

• Crop off parts of the photo (maybe the best parts!), or 

• Get white borders when the image doesn’t fill the page. 

Think of it like buying clothes: if the size doesn't match, you either squeeze it in, stretch it, or leave space. None of those give a perfect fit. 

It’s also really important if you buy pre-cut mounts (mats) for framing. 
These mounts are made with a standard aperture (cutout.) If your photo doesn’t match, the mount will crop the image —and you may lose important details like a person’s head or the edge of a landscape. 
You should be the one deciding what gets shown—not the paper or mount. 

How to Make It Work 

Here’s how to stay in control and get the print you want: 

✅ Use the Crop Tool Intentionally 

When editing your photo, choose a crop that matches your final print size. 
Most editing programs (like Lightroom and Photoshop) let you: 

• Set custom aspect ratios, like 210:297 for A4 or 297:420 for A3 

• Preview how your image will look printed 

🖨️ Crop to Match Paper If Printing at Home 

If you want edge-to-edge prints (no borders), crop your image to match your paper size before printing. This avoids surprises and wasted ink/paper. 

🖼️ If Framing with a Mount, Plan Ahead 

If you’re using a pre-cut mount: 

• Check its opening size and aspect ratio 

📏 Bottom Line 

Matching your image’s aspect ratio to your chosen paper or mount size ensures that your photo prints exactly how you intended it to look. 

It prevents: 

• Unwanted cropping 

• Ugly white borders 

• Losing control over your final image 

Just a little planning during editing can make all the difference—so your photo looks polished, professional, and exactly how you imagined it. 

---

Select the Best Paper for Your Image 

We’ll talk more about paper choices in a following post, but just for now, accept that we’ll decide on a given paper to use then we can obtain the correct ICC Profile and apply the right amount of sharpening. 

Top Tip: Think about having a small number of preferred papers that you use... Consider a glossy paper, a satin paper and a matte paper. You can then become familiar with those and set yourself up with ICC Profiles for your printer. 

• Glossy/Satin: Great for high-contrast, colourful images like landscapes or portraits. 

• Matte/Fine Art Rag: Ideal for black & white, subtle tones, or painterly feels. 

🧪 Tip: Try sample packs from paper manufacturers to discover what suits your style. 

Choose the Right ICC Profile 

Each paper has its own "personality." Glossy papers punch, matte papers whisper. Profiles help your image speak clearly. 

Every printer/paper combination handles colour and contrast differently. For example, a Canon printer using glossy paper will render colours more vibrantly than the same printer using a matte fine art paper. That’s because glossy surfaces reflect more light, while matte surfaces absorb it, affecting brightness, contrast, and saturation. 

ICC profiles translate your image colours to what a printer/paper combination can reproduce.  The profile ensures the colours in the digital file match what comes out of your printer. It does this by accounting for the unique characteristics of your printer, your chosen paper, and your ink set. 

Notice, I intentionally say, the colours in the digital files match the print... I specifically do not say “The ICC profile ensures that the colours you see on screen match what comes out of your printer”  The reason for this is that if your display is not effectively calibrated, then your computer may not show the correct information so will differ from the print. 

Where to Find ICC Profiles 

You don’t have to go digging through tech forums. Here’s where to look: 

1. Paper Manufacturer’s Website – If you're using specialty paper (like Hahnemühle, Ilford, or Canson), go to the company’s website. Most have a "Downloads" or "ICC Profiles" section. You simply choose your printer model and the paper you're using. 

1. Printer Manufacturer's Website – Brands like Epson, Canon, and HP often include ICC profiles for their own papers in the printer software. You can also find updates or extra profiles on their support pages. 

1. Photo Labs and Print Services – If you're sending your image to a print lab, ask them if they provide an ICC profile. Many do—and using it lets you preview how your photo will look before it’s printed. 

How to Install an ICC Profile (No Tech Skills Needed!) 

Once you've downloaded the profile (it ends in .icc or .icm), here’s how to install it: 

• On Windows:  Right-click the file. 
  Choose "Install Profile." That’s it! 

• On Mac: Copy the file. 

• Open Finder, then click Go > Go to Folder... and type: 
  /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/ 
  (You can also use ~/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/ for user-only access.) 

• Paste the file in. 

Once installed, your photo editing or printing software (like Photoshop or Lightroom) will be able to see the profile when you're ready to print or soft proof. 

 See Before You Print - Use Soft Proofing 

Before you hit “print” on that perfect shot, there’s one important step that can save you frustration, paper, and ink: soft proofing. 

Soft proofing is like a dress rehearsal for your photo. It shows you on your screen what your image will probably look like once it’s printed—colors, contrast, and all. Why? Because what you see on your bright, backlit screen often looks different when printed on matte paper with ink. Soft proofing helps you spot these differences ahead of time, so there are no nasty surprises when your print comes out dull, too dark, or slightly off-color. 

All you need is a photo editing program like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop and the “ICC profile” for your printer and paper combo. 

You can enable soft proofing in your editing software, load the correct ICC profile for your printer/paper, and preview the image in that color space. Tweak brightness, contrast, and saturation within the soft proof to match your vision. Don’t forget to toggle on the gamut warning to catch colors that won’t print accurately. 

👀 Tip: Watch for colour shifts or loss of shadow detail. Tweak contrast or saturation if needed. 

👀 ProTip: Soft proofing is most effective when your monitor is properly calibrated and you’re using the correct ICC profile for your print setup. 

Whether you're printing at home or sending your photo to a lab, soft proofing bridges the gap between what you see and what you get. 

Apply Final Sharpening 

Even the sharpest digital images can appear a little softer when printed. This is normal—paper doesn’t display detail the same way a backlit screen does. To compensate, apply output sharpening specifically tailored for your final print size and medium. 

What is Output Sharpening? 
Output sharpening is the final sharpening step you apply after resizing your image to its print dimensions and resolution (typically 300ppi). Unlike earlier sharpening (which might correct lens softness or improve clarity for screen viewing), this step is designed to enhance edge definition in the printed version. 

In Lightroom: 
When using the Print module or the Export dialog, choose a sharpening preset under Output Sharpening. Options include: 

• Standard: A good default for most prints 

• Low: For very subtle sharpening (e.g., fine art prints) 

• High: For images that need extra crispness (e.g., detailed landscapes on glossy paper) 

Select your Media Type (Glossy or Matte) to tailor the sharpening to how ink spreads on your chosen paper. 

In Photoshop: 
Use Unsharp Mask or Smart Sharpen. A typical starting point for Unsharp Mask might be: 

• Amount: 80–120% 

• Radius: 1.0–1.5 pixels 

• Threshold: 2–5 levels (higher threshold avoids sharpening noise or fine grain) 

Or use Smart Sharpen for more control, especially with high-resolution images or if you're printing on textured paper. 

🛠 Extra Tip: If you're resizing in Photoshop, sharpen after you scale your image to its final print size. Resizing first ensures sharpening is applied at the pixel level your printer will use, making it more accurate. 

📏 Sharpening and Paper Type: 

• Glossy and Satin papers hold sharpness well—consider a higher sharpening amount. 

• Matte and Fine Art papers can absorb ink and soften details—sharpen moderately but avoid overdoing it, as it can cause halos. 

🧪 Test Prints Matter: What looks perfect on screen may look different on paper. Run a small test print on your selected paper type if you're unsure—it’s worth the cost to dial in your settings.  

🎯 Tip: Always sharpen as your final step after resizing. 

Export in the Right File Format 

If you are going to send your photo away for printing, then you’ll have to export the image to a file. Check with the print lab which is the prefered method.

• JPEG: Best for most lab prints—small size, good quality. Use maximum quality setting. 

• TIFF: Use when printing at home or sending to a pro lab that requests it. It’s uncompressed and ideal for retaining detail. 

💾 Tip: Use sRGB colour space unless your lab recommends AdobeRGB or another profile. 

Always send the biggest file possible - refer to the table above for minimum sizes - these are mimimum sizes, you can send bigger, and always send 300DPI

---

🛠️ Action Step:

Take the image you selected from the previous post and: 

• Crop it to your intended print size and aspect ratio. 

• Resize it to 300ppi. 

• Apply output sharpening. 

• Soft proof with the correct ICC profile. 

• Export it as a JPEG (max quality) for lab printing, or TIFF if you're printing at home. 

👀 Next Up: Home Printing vs. Lab Printing 

In the next post, we’ll dive into printing at home versus using a professional lab. What’s more cost-effective? Which gives you better control? And when should you choose one over the other? Whether you’re considering buying a printer or just want to get the most out of your local print lab, we’ve got you covered. 

Until then—get those pixels ready for paper! 

📸 Pixel to Print – Post #3: What Makes an Image Worth Printing?

This is the third post in our Pixel to Print series, this week we are going to take a look at what makes an image worth printing.

Have you ever taken a photo that just feels different? Maybe it lingers in your mind, or you find yourself going back to it again and again. That’s often the kind of image begging to be printed—not because it’s technically perfect, but because it means something.

As fine art printer and photographer John Granata says:

“A photograph isn’t finished until it’s printed.”
 Source: The Print Space – Interview with John Granata

Printing gives your image permanence, turning pixels into something tactile and lasting. But how do you know which of your photographs are truly worth printing?

Often at camera clubs or exhibitions, you’ll hear a judge say something like “This works much better as a print” or “Don’t look at the digital version—the print is much better.” There could be several reasons for this: the tonal range, the presentation, the tactile impact, or simply the mood enhanced by paper and scale. But remember—these comments are opinions, not universal truths. There’s no hidden checklist being satisfied. What works for one viewer may not work for another, and that’s what makes the print medium so personal and powerful.

🧭 There's No Magic Formula

Let’s get this out of the way: there’s no secret rule or blueprint that makes a photo “print-worthy.” Some of your most meaningful prints may never win a competition—and that’s okay. Printing is as much about personal connection as it is about photographic merit.

In short, have faith in yourself. If you like the image, then print it!

You can stop reading here, the question in the post title has been answered.

---

That would make for a very short blog post so lets carry on and explore some of the things you might want to consider when choosing what to print. There are some qualities that make certain images stand out as strong candidates for print. These aren’t checkboxes as much as they are guideposts to help you reflect more deeply on your work.

📖 1. Storytelling: What Is This Photo Really Saying?

A print has to stand on its own. Unlike social media or slideshows, there’s no caption or commentary to explain what’s going on. Strong storytelling—whether overt or subtle—gives the viewer something to engage with.

Ask yourself:

·       What’s the moment here?

·       Is there a beginning, middle, or end—even if it’s implied?

·       Does it make the viewer ask questions or feel connected to the subject?

🖼 Example: A photo of a cyclist pausing at sunrise might speak to themes of solitude, adventure, or calm before the race—even if it’s just a split-second scene.

💓 2. Emotional Impact: How Does It Make You (or Others) Feel?

Some images carry weight because of what they mean to you. Others hit home because they stir something universal. These are the ones that stop us in our tracks, regardless of whether the exposure was perfect.

Ask yourself:

·       Do I feel something every time I see this image?

·       Would this resonate with others?

·       Is it tied to a memory, a milestone, or a powerful mood?

🖼 Example: A slightly grainy photo of your grandparents dancing at their anniversary party might not be flawless—but the warmth and meaning make it a keeper.

🎯 3. Composition: Does It Hold Together Visually?

A well-composed image makes an impression even from across the room. Print amplifies both the strengths and flaws in composition, so clarity and intent matter.

Ask yourself:

·       Is the subject clear and compelling?

·       Are the lines, shapes, and framing helping the image work?

·       Could I imagine this hanging on a wall and still enjoying it after a month?

🖼 Example: A high-contrast silhouette of birds in flight, perfectly spaced in the frame, could make a bold and beautiful large-format print—even if the story is simple.

🔧 4. Technical Considerations: Will It Stand Up to Printing?

Let’s not forget the practical side. A photo that looks great as a small image on screen might fall apart on paper if it’s too noisy, out of focus, or lacking in resolution. That doesn’t mean it needs to be “perfect”—but it should be printable.

While emotional impact is key, printing magnifies everything—from beautiful tonal transitions to small flaws—so it’s worth giving your image a careful once-over.

Check for:

·       Sharpness and clean detail – Is your subject crisp where it should be (or intentionally soft)? Or does softness distract?

·       Exposure and contrast – Do the highlights and shadows retain detail? Is there enough dynamic range for the print to “breathe”?

·       No obvious editing flaws – Watch for over-sharpening halos, crushed blacks, blown highlights, or strange colour casts that may not show on a backlit screen but will on paper.

·       Is the resolution high enough for the size I want to print?
 We’ll cover this in more detail in a later post, but for now just be aware that printing a zoomed-in view from a small-sensor camera on an A3+ sheet of paper may simply not have sufficient quality to look great.

You don’t need perfection—but refining your image before printing will help it shine at its best. Think of this as polishing the frame around your story and emotion.

🛠️ Action Step: Reflect on Your Shortlist

Pull up the images you selected in the previous task—those that stood out to you in some way. For each one, consider the four qualities above:

1.      Storytelling – What’s happening here?

2.      Emotional Impact – How does it make you feel?

3.      Composition – Does the framing guide the eye?

4.      Technical Considerations – Will it hold up to scrutiny at print size?

Take a moment to jot down your thoughts. You may find that one or two images rise to the top—not necessarily because they’re perfect, but because they speak to you. That’s your signal. Print those first.

👀 Next Up: Preparing Your Image for Print

In the next post in our Pixel to Print series, we’ll move from what to print to how to get it ready. From editing for paper vs. screen, to sharpening, colour profiles, and file types, “Preparing Your Image for Print” will walk you through the technical steps to make sure your printed photo looks just as good on paper as it does in your imagination.

Until then—keep shooting, keep reflecting, and start imagining your images not just as files, but as finished prints.

📸 Pixel to Print – Part 2: Bringing Images to Life – An Interview with June Cook FRPS

Welcome to the second post in our Pixel to Print series, where we showcase the power of printing through the stories of our own club members. This month, we sit down with long-time member June Cook FRPS—a passionate photographer whose printing journey is as inspiring as her imagery.

“A print,” June says with a warm smile, “is a photograph that’s come home.”

👤 A Lifelong Passion for Photographs

June has been a member of our club for over 35 years, but her photographic journey began even earlier.

As a teenager, she lovingly rescued shoeboxes full of family negatives, developing them into 6"x4" prints with the help of the works photographer. Her first camera was a Bakelite Kodak, but the turning point came when she saw a beautifully composed portrait taken by a colleague using a Voigtlander Vitoret D. She was hooked.

That early spark grew into a lifelong pursuit of photographic excellence—culminating in her Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society in 2005, one of her proudest achievements, alongside winning ‘Best in Show’ at the MCPF Photofolio with a portrait of an Afghan hound.

Though she enjoys many genres, June is especially known for her expressive pet portraits and ability to tell stories through her images.

🖨️ The Start of Her Printing Journey

While June once experimented with traditional Cibachrome printing from slides, it was the arrival of Adobe Photoshop 5 and her first inkjet printer that truly brought her into the world of home printing.

“I remember my first print so clearly—a montage of kittens in baskets. I sat there in awe as my Epson Stylus 1200 slowly rolled it out. Cups of coffee went cold, but I couldn’t look away.”

She started with Permajet Oyster paper and now uses a Canon PIXMA Pro-100S, working primarily with Permajet and Marrutt papers.

Today, she prints for:

·       🏆 Club competitions and exhibitions

·       🖼️ Home decoration

·       🎁 Gifts for friends and family

·       💼 Client sales of her pet portraiture

“But mostly,” she says, “I print for the joy of it.”

🎯 Why Printing Still Matters

In our screen-dominated world, it’s easy to forget the power of the printed image. But for June, printing is essential—and deeply personal.

“Because I’m a control freak!” June jokes. “I’ve never been fully happy with anyone else printing my work.”

Behind the humour is a powerful truth. Printing gives her complete control over how her work is presented and allows her to make images feel finished—tangible, deliberate, and emotionally resonant.

She prints:

·       For competitions, where physical presentation can elevate impact

·       For her clients, where quality and detail matter

·       For her home, where her walls reflect her creative journey

·       For gifts, offering something meaningful and lasting

“Printing gives me control over how my work is seen. It’s not just about accuracy—it’s about emotional impact.”

And while the process hasn’t dramatically changed how she shoots, it has made her more intentional about finishing and presenting her work well. Choosing the right paper, mounting properly, and paying attention to detail are now second nature.

Have there been challenges? Of course. Misaligned mounts, paper profiles gone wrong, printer tantrums—but nothing that ever stopped her.

“The desire to get the print has always been stronger than the obstacles.”

💬 A Print That Moved Others

One moment that stands out was after giving a talk at Smethwick, where a judge and photographic idol of June’s was in the audience.

“The next day, he emailed to say he’d never seen such excellent print quality. That meant the world to me.”

But the most touching moments often happen in private. She recalls people becoming emotional when receiving a print—proof that a well-made photograph can move more than just the maker.

💡 June’s Advice for Club Members

If you’ve never printed your photos before, June has a simple message: Just try.

“Start with an image you love and have it printed—by a lab, or at home if you’re ready. Hold it in your hands. You’ll see your work in a completely new light.”

She recommends:

·       Talking with experienced members

·       Attending workshops (Permajet in Stratford-upon-Avon is a favourite)

·       Sticking to a consistent, manageable range of papers

·       Using original inks

·       Choosing heavier papers (300gsm or more) to avoid rippling or backing issues

And a final practical tip: when taping your print into the mount, be considerate. Make sure it won't damage other prints in a shared competition box!

🧵 Final Thoughts

June’s journey shows that printing is more than output—it’s expression, connection, and craftsmanship. Whether you’re preparing a competition entry or making a gift for someone special, a printed photograph brings your work into the world in a way no screen ever can.

So next time you’re proud of an image, don’t just export it—print it. Mount it. Frame it. Share it.

Bring it home.

🗓️ Coming Next in the Pixel to Print Series: "What to Print?"

Not sure which of your images deserves to be printed? In our next post, we’ll explore how to choose photographs that truly come alive on paper—whether you’re printing your first photo or curating a portfolio.

📸 Pixel to Print - Part 1: Why Print?

This is post 1 in a 10-part series on the journey from digital file to finished photograph

“A beautiful print is a thing in itself, not just a halfway house on the way to the page.”
 — Irving Penn

We live in an age of pixels—billions of photographs live on hard drives, clouds, and phones, rarely seeing the light of day. But there's a magic that happens when an image leaps from screen to paper. In this first post of our new series, Pixel to Print, we're diving into why printing your photographs matters—artistically, emotionally, and personally. A reminder that our photography is more than pixels on a screen. It’s a shared passion to be brought to life.

🖼️ 1. Photographs Come Alive in Print

There’s something transformative about seeing your photograph on paper. Not behind glass, not under the glare of a screen—but real, with weight, texture, and presence. It’s no longer just an image. It’s an object, something you can hold, pass around, frame, and live with.

The screen version of your photo is fleeting—backlit, easily scrolled past, competing with distractions. But a print invites pause. It draws people in. The way the ink settles into the fibres of fine art paper, the soft matte finish that makes light fall differently across a landscape, the gentle rustle as you turn the pages of a photo book—all of these sensory details add depth to your image. It’s a quiet kind of magic.

Camera club story: One of our members told me a story about how they printed an old black-and-white portrait of their grandfather. They said it wasn’t until they held that 10x8 print in their hands that they truly saw the image. The detail in the eyes, the emotion in the expression—it all hit them in a way it never had on screen. “It felt like I was meeting him again,”

Holding a print makes the experience of your photo physical. It creates a bond—a moment of connection between you and the image, and between the viewer and the subject. It becomes more than just something to look at. It becomes something to feel.

🎯 2. Prints (can) Make You a Better Photographer

Printing your photos sharpens your eye and raises your standards. When you're preparing an image for print, you're not just editing for a screen—you’re editing for permanence. This naturally leads you to look closer, refine more carefully, and make more intentional choices.

Printing forces you to slow down and see your work differently. You’ll notice distracting elements, soft focus, awkward compositions—things screens often gloss over. A photo that looked great in a thumbnail may suddenly reveal flaws in print. This encourages better editing, more thoughtful shooting, and a stronger sense of purpose.

Printing also teaches you something crucial about colour and tone. On digital displays, your photo is at the mercy of the screen it’s viewed on. A phone might oversaturate your blues. A projector might crush your shadows. Your beautifully balanced edit might look completely different on someone else’s screen.

Print takes the guesswork out of the equation. What you produce is what you get. With a calibrated workflow and the right materials, you control every element: contrast, colour, brightness, texture. The result is consistent, deliberate, and faithful to your vision.

Within our club setting, this is especially valuable. We've all had moments during competitions and critiques where someone’s photo looks perfect on their laptop, but overly dark or bright on the projector. With prints, everyone sees the image exactly as you intended.

When you print, you’re not just producing a physical copy—you’re refining your skills, owning your art, and stepping into your role as a visual storyteller.

💬 3. A Print Tells a Story Worth Sharing

Prints are conversation starters. They can become gifts, heirlooms, and parts of our homes. A framed photo isn’t just décor—it’s your story, your eye, your moment in time captured and made permanent.

Studies show we remember printed images more vividly than digital ones. A photo book of your travels, or a framed print from that perfect foggy morning, carries emotional weight in a way no phone gallery ever can.

Your photography deserves more than a "like." It deserves a life.

🏛️ 4. Prints Make a Lasting Impression in Exhibitions

There’s something undeniably powerful about seeing a photograph printed and presented in a physical space. Whether it’s in a gallery, a café wall, or our club meeting room, a print commands attention in a way a digital image simply can’t.

In exhibitions, viewers instinctively slow down. They lean in, study the details, and often engage more deeply. Compare that to digital slideshows—people might swipe through dozens of images in seconds or be bored and move on within just a few minutes.

Club feedback: At our last show, a visitor remarked, “It’s different. I felt like I was standing in the place the photo was taken.” That’s the power of presence—and print delivers it.

🎨 5. Printing Is a Creative Act in Itself

Printing isn’t just a chore, it’s the end of your process—it’s a creative process of its own to be enjoyed.

Choosing your paper (glossy or matte?), deciding on borders, mounts, or frames—all these decisions impact how your photograph is experienced. A high-contrast image on textured cotton rag paper may feel more painterly and emotive. A minimal black frame can give structure and focus.

Example from the club: A friend printed a moody Dartmoor landscape on soft matte paper with a wide mount and rustic wood frame. What was already a strong image became a gallery-quality piece. They told me, “It felt like I’d finished the image—it was finally done.”

Printing is your chance to bring the image into the world on your terms. That’s not just technical—it’s artistic.

👥 6. Community and Celebration

In our camera club, prints aren’t just about individual expression—they’re a vital part of how we connect and celebrate photography together. On competition nights, breaktime buzzes with lively discussions as members gather around printed entries, sharing insights, compliments, and constructive feedback. There’s a special energy in seeing each other’s work in physical form—it sparks conversation and deepens appreciation in ways digital screens rarely do.

Next season we are looking to introduce a weekly "Members Showcase Wall" at club meetings to highlight members’ work. Why not be a part of this? Bring your own prints to share, inspire, and celebrate with fellow enthusiasts.

✅ Action Step: Start Your Print Journey

This week, go back through your archives and longlist 6 or 7 images that speak to you. In upcoming posts, we’ll be discussing how to choose which images work best in print. But for now, just focus on finding some ones you like. Maybe they’re personal moments, striking compositions, or photographs you've always meant to print.

🔜 Coming Up Next: “Bringing Images to Life – An Interview with Club Member June Cook FRPS”

In this edition of Pixel to Print, we sit down with long-time club member June Cook FRPS, whose passion for printing has not only elevated her photography but also inspired others (me) in our community to see their work in a new light—literally.
 

Then stay tuned—and start looking at your photos with fresh eyes with an article on “Choosing What to Print”

BEGINNERS CLASS WINTER 2024

The beginners’ class this year was a friendly and cheerful bunch of 6 people who had all joined the club in the last few months. They enthusiastically tackled a lot of fundamental photographic topics such as exposure, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, lenses and ISO.  Now it is time to practice, take pictures and have some fun doing it.

The next beginners’ course will probably be next year, depending upon demand. But if anyone in the club wants to learn more about any photographic subject please let the committee know and we will try to tackle it on a club night or put you in touch with someone who is willing and able to help out. 

PhotoEntry - Viewing Images In PhotoEntry

In PhotoEntry, it is easy to see all of the images that you have entered in to competitions along with the scores they received, but did you also know that (Once Judged) you can see the images and scores for the other members entries. And if the judge has left comment, you can also see those… Here’s how to do that.

Select the Season from the main menu

Select the competition - In this case, Annual Competition - Mono Round 2

 Once the status has been moved to "Judged" your entry/entries will be shown, along with the score

Click the View Entries For All Users button

 You will be able to view each class by clicking the link

You can view each entry in turn
 - The Class is in the top left
 - The Authors Name and Image Title is top-center
 - The Entry number (1 of 4) is in the top right
  - The Judges comments are displayed under the image along with the score.

 If you click the image, you can see a larger version.

You can change the border colour from white, to shades of grey and black

You can move to the next and previous image with the left and right arrows

 In the very top right, you can return to the viewing menu (to see the other classes) or Exit Viewing entirely to return to the main menu.

---

 See the following video for a demonstration of the viewing application in PhotoEntry

Annual Exhibition 2021 - 3 Days To Go

2021/22 New Season Starts With a Great Presentation

For those that missed the first night back last night, it was a fantastic presentation from Nigel Forster billed as The Essentials of Landscape, it was actually something more akin to a landscape masterclass.

Nigel’s key message was to understand Why you are taking a photograph and what you are taking a photograph of, and in that way decide how you can make that clear to your viewer by understanding and controlling what adds to the composition and what detracts from it by using examples from his own photography, comparing various versions of his images with his final image.

For anyone that would like to re-watch the presentation, the link to the recording has been circulated to members (Please remember of course that it’s for members only so please don’t share outside of the club) Nigel has also provided the slides from his presentation for members to refer to, these will be circulated shortly.

If anyone would be interested in joining one of Nigel’s workshops, please speak to Debbie who has been on a few and can talk to you about them in detail.

Nigel’s contact details are as follows:

In other news, we have quite a few new members starting this season, including Graham and Jacqui Ireland, who are new to the area. Graham is a very accomplished photographer already, with around 15 years experience with Wareham Camera Club in Dorset. Graham was also a judge on the Stour and Avon Photographic Association circuit for Dorset and Hampshire for several years so will I’m sure be a very valuable asset to the club with a wealth of knowledge to share. Jacqui is also joining the club as a beginner. Welcome back too, to Fred Parker who is re-joining the club again this season.

There has also been a few members join the club over the summer period, so we’d also like to welcome Beau Bridges to the beginners section as well as Grant Ball and Phil Howell, Phil is starting his journey to LRPS and Grant is a very talented young (by club standards) photographer - both of whom will be joining in the intermediate class.

More Success In Dorset Dragons International Salon

We are again really pleased to share some successes of members, this time in the Dorset Dragons International Salon.

We had 3 members entering this salon, achieving acceptances a total of 10 Acceptances between them, impressively three of which were awarded Honourable Mention Ribbons.

Open / Colour

Debra Godwin - 1 Acceptance
- Pink

Open / Mono
Angela Danby - 3 Acceptances (Including 1 Honourable Mention)
- ABBEYDORE
- CHECKING ON WORK IN PROGRESS - Honourable Mention
- PREPARING ENGINE 6998

Dave Houston - 1 Acceptance
- CYCLE RACKS

People - Mono
Dave Houston - 3 Acceptances (Including 1 Honourable Mention)
- COLLECTION BOX - Honourable Mention
- SOLO SAX
- SOUL MAN

Debra Godwin - 1 Acceptance
- CLOWN REVISITED

Travel – Scape & Architecture
Dave Houston - 1 Acceptance (Which was awarded an Honourable Mention Ribbon)
- LIFE ON THE LINE - Honourable Mention

Many congratulations to Dave, Angela and Debs

Club Success In MidPhot 2021

For those of you who don’t know, MidPhot is the anual exhibition for the Midland Counties Photographic Federation, of which our club is a member. The MCPF covers about 120 camera clubs in the midlands region, from Leek in the north to Abingdon in the south, and from Leicester in the east over to Long Mynd in the west.

Although the figures havn’t yet been released for this year, Last year, the exhibition had almost 3800 entries so it is no mean feat to achieve an acceptance.

We are very pleased to share with everyone, that the club had 6 members achieving acceptances this year, with 20 images so a big well done to all who participated.

Angela Danby - 6
Mark Kemp - 5
Jay Hallsworth - 3
Debra Godwin - 2
Brian Swinyard - 2
Dave Houston - 2

If you’ve had any acceptances that you would like to share, then please let Jay know.

Usually the exhibition is a mixture of print and projected images, however this year of course, due to the pandemic, it was entirely projected images in the following sections.

Open Colour | Open Monochrome | Nature | Scapes | Tryptych

Our successful entries were as follows:

Open Colour

Angela Danby - The Rep comes Calling

Debra Godwin - Gemma

Mark Kemp - Table For One

Open Monochrome

Angela Danby - Any Chance of a Lift 2

Angela Danby - Preparing Engine 6998

Brian Swinyard - Hand Among The Curves

Dave Houston - Peace in Mist

Dave Houston - Solo Sax

Debra Godwin - Man and Baby

Jay Hallsworth - Low Lighthouse At Burnham On Sea

Nature

Angela Danby - Brown Fur Seal

Angela Danby - Coming into Land - straightened

Angela Danby Harvest Mouse

Tryptych

Brian Swinyard - Are You Inspired

Mark Kemp - Forest Light

Scapes

Jay Hallsworth - Bamburgh Castle At Sunrise

Jay Hallsworth - Jetty In The Sea

Mark Kemp - Ice Trees

Mark Kemp - The Wave

Mark Kemp - Trees In The Snow

I’m sure you will all agree, there is some fantastic work from our club members, and I hope that this will inspire all of our other capable members to participate.

If anyone would like any further information about MidPhot, or indeed any other Salon/Exhibition, please do contact Jay

Please feel free to like and share this post on your social media and leave comments below.

PhotoEntry - Uploading Images For A Club Competition

In this post, I will walk though the process of submitting entries to Club Competitions using the new PhotoEntry system.

Begin by browsing to the following address using your prefered browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari etc)

https://compent.photoentry.uk/compent/

Note: There is also a link in the menu bar here on the club website.

You will first be prompted for your username (this is your email address) and password. (You should have re-set your password the first time you logged on - If you are not sure what it is, there is a Forgotten Password link that will send you a new password by email)

Click the Login button

Select the Competition Group - This is usually sorted by Season, however at present there is also a Test group for members to practice.

Here you will see all the available competitions for the season in one place.

 Select the Competition that you are wanting to enter.

Here you can see the details of the competition, including the Status (Open, Closed, Judged or Future) The closing date, Your Class (Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced) How many entries are allowed and the desired dimensions for the images.

Click the Add New Entry button.

You are prompted for the Entry Title

Just enter the title of your image

Note: This doesn’t have to be the image filename - It is just how you want the image to be titled.

Then click the Add This Entry button.

Click the Choose JPEG button 

A File Open dialog box will appear and you can browse to the image you wish to enter to select it and click the OK button.

Then click the Upload Image button.

Review your entry and if applicable you can click the Add New Entry button to repeat the process

 Enter a Title for your next entry and click the Add This Entry button.

Click the Choose JPEG button again and browse to the file you wish to enter as your second entry.

Then click the Upload Image button

When you have added all entries, the page will say "You have reached the limit of entries in this competition"

 Click the Show All My Entries button

 Here you can delete the entry (with the Trash Can icon) or Edit the title (with the Pen icon)

 You can also Re-Order the entries with the up/down arrows

Note: It is important to get your preferred image first because if we need to cull, then the last entry will not be used.

 Once you are happy with your entry for this competition, click the link to the Competition Group at the top to return to the competitions - say to enter the Mono competition.

 Once finished, you can then either click the Main Menu link to return to the list of Competition Groups or log out of the system with the Logout link in the top right

Resizing Images with GCCDPIPREP

The Gloucester Camera Club Digital Projected Image Preparation (GCCDPIPrep) program is a simple to use application written by Mark Kemp.

This program will resize your photograph and name the file correctly.

You can download it from here and install it on your windows PC.

Mark’s original help file is here:

You should have your image(s) ready to be renamed and resized. The application usually expects a JPEG format, but it will also accept a BMP, TIF, GIF or PNG file. RAW Files are not supported.

Here there is a single JPG file called "Boat House on Rydal Water" - You can see it's dimensions are 2400 x 1500 and is just over 3MB is size.

The first time you open the program, it will prompt you for your name. Type your name and click the OK button

If you have opened the program before, it will remember your name.

Click the Select an Image to prepare button and a the usual File Open dialog box will  open.

 Browse to and select the file you wish to process, then click the Open button.

The picture will display in the middle of the window.

 There are some notes about the original size and what size the new image is. It does not matter but if you are curious press the ‘explain’ button for the calculation

 If the image is the wrong way up use the rotate clockwise or anticlockwise buttons to fix it.

 Then enter the title in the box below the picture and click the large  "Save the image ready for Gloucester Camera Club DPI competition" button to process your image.

 A file save dialog will appear with the name of the file in the correct format and it will be the right size.

 Click Browse to the location you want to save the file and click the Save button.

Your original file is not changed, the new file is formatted with the correct file name and you can see it has the right dimensions of 1920 x 1200 and is now only 424KB in size.

This is now ready to be given to the competition secretary.

Exporting Images At The Correct Size From Lightroom

In order to present images for digital display, particularly for Club and External competitions it is very important to select to correct resolution. This ensures that your image will be correctly displayed on the display device being used.

In the case of our internal club competitions, our club projector has a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 - For external Salon's and Exhibitions this is very often different - For example Cheltenham Salon is 1600x1200, whereas Neath Salon is 1400x1200 and if you were submitting digital images for assessment to the RPS then the resolution would be 4096x2400 So first of all, be sure of the size of image you need.

Given our club's projector is 1920x1200, this means that the maximum width of your image can be 1920 pixels and the maximum height can be 1200 pixels.

The method of achieving this is different in various pieces of Editing Software. In this series we are going to look at three common ones, as well as a tool written by a club member, Mark Kemp.

Here is Mike’s post about Resizing in PhotoShop

Here is DaveH’s post about Resizing in Afinity

and Here is Mark’s post about Resizing with his GCCDPIPrep program.

In this post though, I’m going to begin with Adobe Lightroom Classic 

Of course there are many ways to achieve the same thing, and if you use a different method, or setting, please do share your preferences in the comments sections below, but for this article, I'm just going to demonstrate one that generally works well for me. Here I'll begin with a landscape format image, then I'll repeat it with a portrait format.

Once your image is edited and complete, right click and select the Export option

The Export One File dialog box opens

 - Ensure the Hard Drive option is selected in the Export To: field for base settings.

Expand the Export Location section, choose a Specific Folder as the Export To location and click the Choose button to browse to your desired location.

 - Personally I store all my images in a OneDrive folder that's Synchronised to the cloud for backup. I have a folder for GCC_CompetitionEntries, and a Sub-Folder for each season. This is the location I choose, then I use the "Put in Subfolder field to create a new sub-folder for each round (say Round6 or GloucesterCup for example)

Expand the File Nameing - Here I have a saved preset called Camera Club so it always exports using our club format of Your Name%Photo Title but the new PhotoEntry system doesn't require this format and file naming is not important.

You don't need the Video options

Expand File Settings and ensure the Image Format is JPEG, Quality is 100% and the Colour Space is sRGB

 - This is the default colour space that our projector uses. You may need to select a different option for other reasons like some Salons for example, or if you are sending the image to be printed at an external lab

Expand the Image Sizing section and since this is Landscape format where the width is greater than the height*, choose Long Edge and set to 1920 pixels. For Portrait format images where the height is greater than the width then you would choose Short Edge and set to 1200.

Also set the Resolution to be 96 Pixels per inch as this is the recommended resolution for on screen display. You may need other resolutions for other reasons (such as 300 PPI for Printed Images)

* This is a broad generalisation... Depending on the Aspect Ratio of the image, you may find that you still have to export Landscape format images using Short Edge = 1200 so it's always important to doublecheck your final exported images.

 Personally I select Output Sharpening and select Sharpen For: Screen with the Amount: Standard

Other options are entirely optional, I leave defaults

You can then click Export button to save the image to the location that you specified and your work is complete.

Photo Salons & Exhibitions: Post 1 - What is a Salon and Why Bother?

This is a series of posts first published on my personal blog that will discuss information about Salons & Exhibitions that I hope you will find useful, and encourage people to participate in Photo Salons. I very much hope that you find this, and other posts of interest, use and encouraging. Please do like and share this article using the links at the bottom

The posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

 Background

Following encouragement from Mike Watson, I entered a few Salons and Exhibitions over the last year. I only entered about 5 or 6 last year, but I've had several acceptances and even won a commendation ribbon in MidPhot and a Gold Medal in the Cheltenham Salon. It is something that we actively promote as a club, but there are at the moment only a few members I'm aware of that enter external salons and exhibitions (like June, Martin, Deb and Mike for example) I wonder though, if more people knew a bit more about these excellent opportunities to display their photos, they might consider and enjoy participating as well.

To that end, I thought I'd put together this series of articles to share my (albeit limited) experiences in the hope that it inspires other members to give it a shot.

I've written this in a very informal and personal tone in order to make it feel inclusive to all club member rather than just to the advanced workers. There are most certainly some members in the beginners class, whose photos that would do well in Salons. Therefore please don't think this is just something that the advanced members can aspire to.

Last year, Mike said to me, have a go and you'll most likely be surprised, and indeed I was… which is why I'm repeating that advice to everyone.

I guess initially, there are a few questions to be answered... So… First of all...

What is a salon?

Well, in short, it is a combination of a photographic exhibition and a competition. There are many, many salons and exhibitions worldwide and entering them can bring awards and distinctions. While there are many commercial competitions with tangible prizes that you may feel you might like to compete in to win things, these are often initiated by companies, to make a profit from and collect images for commercial gain. Salons however, are usually patronised by photographic bodies, and tend to be more for prestige and recognition rather than for prize gains.

These national and international photographic bodies include:

FIAP - Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique - https://www.fiap.net/en

PSA - Photographic Society of America - https://psa-photo.org/

GPU - Global Photographic Union - https://www.gpuphoto.com/

PAGB - Photographic Alliance of Great Britain - http://www.thepagb.org.uk/

BPE - British Photographic Exhibitions - http://www.britishphotographicexhibitions.org.uk/

While there are some salons and exhibitions, including MidPhot, that usually have print sections, with the Covid19 pandemic, most of these were cancelled so I only did Digital Images. There are also usually different sections that you can enter images in to. There are normally Open Colour and Open Monochrome Sections of course, but then there can be other sections with specific general themes and rules. These might include:

Nature - Which has strict rules on nature images like limited editing,

Travel - Obviously travel photos, showing the people and culture in the environment.

Creative - Which is for composites and digital artwork like we see from our particularly creative members like Annie Blick, Brian Swinyard, Deb Godwin, Mike Watson and John Bridgen, as well as the super work Suzanne Mellor shares in the Club Facebook group

Scapes - This can include seascapes, landscapes and cityscapes amongst other things.

This year, MidPhot has also included a Triptych section. A Triptych is THREE images that are related or tell a story or progression and placed on a background.

Why bother...

Well other than the feeling of accomplishment of having images accepted in to national and international exhibitions, and winning awards, medals and ribbons, you may have noticed people in the community (like Lee Sutton and Kylie-Ann Martin) with accreditations like EFIAP and BPE2. These accreditations, or distinctions as they are called, are gained by achieving acceptances in accredited Salons and Exhibitions. I'll talk more about these in a later post.

As mentioned earlier, each salon usually has many sections and each section can have multiple awards, Gold, Silver, Bronze as well as ribbons for commended and highly commended images. There are also often judges awards.

In addition many salons are patronised by more than one photographic body and so can bestow many awards.

For example, the Cheltenham International Salon of Photography (CISP) is affiliated with FIAP, PSA, GPU and the PAGB

Each salon can award a Gold Medal per section for each of these bodies, as well as various Salon Silver and Bronze medals in each section plus several ribbons for each body and section.

This generates for example over 140 awards in the Cheltenham Salon.

Although there are many entries to these salons etc, (last year in the Cheltenham Salon for example, there were almost 8000 photographic entries from over 650 entrants in more than 50 countries worldwide,) About 81% of entrants gained at least one acceptance, and 23% of all entries were accepted so don't be to concerned about the number of entries. You certainly have an equal chance and it's a real sense of achievement having your work recognised as being to such a high quality to appear in an international exhibition.

---

If you have found this post interesting and useful, please do comment below or like & share it.

The other posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

Photo Salons & Exhibitions: Post 2 - How to enter?

In this, the second post in the series, I will continue from the previous discussion on what a salon is and why bother to enter, to share some practical information on how to enter salons and exhibitions.

 The posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

 Background

Following encouragement from Mike Watson, I entered a few Salons and Exhibitions over the last year. It is something that we want to actively promote as a club, but there are at the moment only a few members I'm aware of that enter external salons and exhibitions.

 Last year, Mike said to me, have a go and you'll most likely be surprised, and indeed I was… which is why I'm repeating that advice to everyone. To that end, I thought I'd put together this series of articles to share my (albeit limited) experiences in the hope that it inspires other members to give it a shot.

 How to enter?

Normally, each salon has its own website and entry is online.  The salon's page usually introduces the exhibition, specifying which photographic bodies it is affiliated with, detailing the key information including what catagories and sections there are as well as what awards will be made and entry costs. The salons page will also importantly define key dates like the entry closing date, when judging will take place and when results will be published. The page will also have a link to the online entry form.

 Here is the page for the upcoming 2021 Cheltenham International Salon of Photography (CISP) - http://www.cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk/wordpress/salon/

 Each Salon usually has a rules page that is important to read, these define the sections in detail, along with the rules for each section etc. Obviously there is no substitute for reading the rules completely, however once you have familiarised yourself with a few, most are quite similar so you will naturally find yourself just looking for the important differences and key pieces of information. Other than the specific rules on the sections you aim to enter, one of the most important is things defined in the rules that you will have to check on all salons are the requirements for image size and dimensions.

 Below is a link to the Cheltenham Salon rules. On Page 8  you will see it specifies JPEG files in sRGB colour space, with dimensions of 1920 (max horizontal) x 1200 (max vertical) and a maximum file size of 5MB

http://www.cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2021-Salon-Rules-Approved-R2.pdf

 The entry is via an online entry form… this is basically a webpage that you sign up to, that you enter your details then the title of each image and upload the image file. You will find that most will not accept images that don't meet the image size and dimension requirements so it's important to size your image files correctly beforehand. You will then be directed to the secure online payment system, often this is done by paypal which is the method I would personally suggest using as it is very secure and can be trusted. Other systems may be available if you prefer those, this will be obvious and most people will be familiar with this kind of method.

 (Note: For those interested, I can write a post on exporting image files from lightroom separately)

 How much does it cost?

 Costs vary from salon to salon, some are cheaper than others, but entries are usually about £1-£2 per image as a guideline.

 Usually however there is usually a flat fee for the first four images entered or for each section entered and you can normally enter 4 images per section.

 For example, Cheltenham this year (2021) the pricing structure is as follows:

 Therefore if all of the four allowed images were entered in each of 3 sections (For example Colour, Mono and Nature) it would equate to £1.25 per image.

How are images scored and accepted?

 The scoring is actually rather easy to understand. Normally each section has three judges who independently score the image between 2 and 5. This generates a score of between 6 and 15.

 The acceptance mark is us usually 12.

 Therefore your image stands a very good chance of receiving an acceptance, and it is an achievement certainly to be proud of.

I very much hope that you find this, and other posts of interest, use and encouraging. Please do like and share this article using the links at the below

---

If you have found this post interesting and useful, please do comment below or like & share it.

The other posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

Photo Salons & Exhibitions: Post 3 - Where to find Salons to Enter?

This is the third post in a series about Photo Salons and Exhibitions. In previous posts I looked at What is a Salon and How to Enter a Salon. This post will cover how to find salons to enter.

The posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

Background

Following encouragement from Mike Watson, I entered a few Salons and Exhibitions over the last year. It is something that we want to actively promote as a club, but there are at the moment only a few members I'm aware of that enter external salons and exhibitions.

 Last year, Mike said to me, have a go and you'll most likely be surprised, and indeed I was… which is why I'm repeating that advice to everyone. To that end, I thought I'd put together this series of articles to share my (albeit limited) experiences in the hope that it inspires other members to give it a shot.

Where to find Salons?

Initially Mike told me about MidPhot and Cheltenham last year so I entered those. A short while later I came across an advert for the Neath PS Salon in  the Photography News magazine, circulated by Mike in club emails.

Later I found a web service built by Adrian Lines (a well-known member of the photography community,) that lists many national and international salons. (Albeit the accuracy isn't 100% at the moment)

The salons are also published by the regulating bodies on their websites. For example FIAP and BPE.

FIAP - https://www.myfiap.net/patronages

GPU - https://www.gpuphoto.com/salons-with-gpu-license

PSA  - https://psa-photo.org/index.php?exhibitions-current-exhibition-list

PAGB - http://www.thepagb.org.uk/

The following British based salons are affiliated with all four main photographic bodies.

• Bristol Salon (Closing Date in January) - https://bristolphoto.org.uk/bristol-salon/

• Cheltenham International Salon (Cosing date April5th 2021)- http://www.cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk/wordpress/salon/

• Midland Salon (Closing Date in June - 2021 Not announced) - http://www.midland-salon.com/

• Welsh International Salon of Photography (Closing Date in August - 2021 Salon not announced) - http://thewpf.co.uk/category/wipis

• Smethwick International (Closing Date in November - 2021 Salon not yet announced - https://smethwickinternational.com/

• Edinburgh International Exhibition of Photography (FIAP/GPU only - Closing Date in June) - http://www.edinburghphotosalon.org/

 Acceptances to these Salons count towards the AFIAP and EFIAP distinctions as well as the GPU Crown distinctions.

The PSA do have their own distinctions however they are not widely regarded in the UK.

 PAGB have it's own distinctions, but they are more panel based in similar to RPS distinctions (LRPS/ARPS/FRPS) rather than criteria based like FIAP, GPU or BPE distinctions.

 British Photographic Exhibitions are a smaller, often UK camera club based group of Exhibitions, that are not generally internationally affiliated (FIAP/GPU/PSA) so do not count towards FIAP/GPU/PSA distinctions, however acceptances to these exhibitions count towards the BPE Crowns distinctions instead.

 The BPE website is here: http://www.britishphotographicexhibitions.org.uk/

 There are currently 17 exhibitions per year, with the list of exhibitions posted here: http://www.britishphotographicexhibitions.org.uk/index.php/list-of-exhibitions

 January - Clay Cross & Southport
 - https://www.claycrossps.co.uk/exhibition
 - https://www.southportphotographic.co.uk/exhibition-2021/

February - Evesham
 - https://www.eveshamphoto.net/

March - Basingstoke & South Birmingham
 - https://www.basingstokecameraclub.co.uk/exhib/index.htm
 - http://southbirminghamphotographicsociety.co.uk/exhibition

April - Robin Hood,  Neath & Rushden
 - http://www.robinhoodexhibition.co.uk/
 - http://www.neathphotographicsociety.org/nps-salon/welcome/ (No 2021 Details published yet)
 - https://www.rdps.co.uk/open/

May - Midland Monochrome
 - https://www.midland-mono.co.uk

June - Winchester
 - https://www.winphotosoc.uk/2020/06/wne-2021-introduction/ 

July - Beyond Group
 - http://www.beyondgroup.info/

August – None

September - Dingwell & Shrewesbury (Shropshire)
 - http://www.shropshire-photographic.org.uk/Exhibition/Index
 - http://www.dingwallcameraclub.com/nationalcompetition.asp

October - Gurnsey & Wessex (Frome)
 - https://www.fromewessexcameraclub.com/salon.html

 - http://www.guernseysalon.co.uk/

November - Bebbington
 - http://www.bebingtonps.org.uk/BEBINGTONSALON.html

December - Solihull
 - https://solihullphotographicsociety.co.uk/open-exhibition/

MidPhot

MidPhot is an individual exhibition, that runs annually for members of clubs that are part of the Midland Counties Photographic Federation.  Gloucester Camera Club is part of this federation.

Usually there are both print and projected image sections, however this year due to COVID, only digital image sections are included. In previous years, these have been entered en-masse through the club, however this year since it is digital entry is by individuals online.

Closing date for entries are usually around February, this year it is Saturday 13th.

Prints are normally entered as a club rather than individually and are collected on club nights and delivered by our representative Bob Harding, at the MCFP General Meeting.

Full details about MidPhot, including the online entry system can be found here: https://www.mcpf.co.uk/midphot-2/

If there is interest, we could also announce upcoming salons in club meetings and emails to help people enter.

I very much hope that you find this, and other posts of interest, use and encouraging. If so then please do like and share this article using the links at the bottom

---

If you have found this post interesting and useful, please do comment below or like & share it.

The other posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

Photo Salons & Exhibitions: Post 4 - Distinctions: What are they?

So this is the fourth post in this series on Salons and Exhibitions. Previously we have discussed "What is a Salon" then "How to enter a salon" and most recently "How to find salons to enter" In this post I'll discuss the distinctions that can be achieved from entering salons.

The posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

 Background

Following encouragement from Mike Watson, I entered a few Salons and Exhibitions over the last year. It is something that we want to actively promote as a club, but there are at the moment only a few members I'm aware of that enter external salons and exhibitions.

 Last year, Mike said to me, have a go and you'll most likely be surprised, and indeed I was… which is why I'm repeating that advice to everyone. To that end, I thought I'd put together this series of articles to share my (albeit limited) experiences in the hope that it inspires other members to give it a shot.

 Distinctions: What are they?

 The two common distinctions you can achieve from entering Salons and exhibitions are BPE Crowns and  AFIAP/EFIAP Awards.

 The easiest to describe is the BPE Crowns:

 The criteria for these are simple and application for the distinctions relatively easy from what I have heard. Full details can be found in the link below, but in essence each image accepted in to a BPE affiliated exhibition will count for one point. Distinctions are as follows:

BPE1 Crown Award - 25 Points
BPE2 Crown Award - 50 points
BPE3 Crown Award - 100 points
BPE4 Crown Award - 200 points
BPE5 Crown Award - 300 points

Beyond BPE5* are ABPE (Associate) and FBPE (Fellow) levels - More details of these can be found on the BPE awards page, below:

http://www.britishphotographicexhibitions.org.uk/index.php/awards

FIAP - AFIAP / EFIAP - then EFIAP Levels

The AFIAP (Artist) distinction is awarded when the candidate has:

(1) Taken part in International Salons under the FIAP patronage for at least one year.
(2) Accepted Images in at least 15 international salons in 8 different countries
(3) Obtained 40 accepted images, with at least 15 different works
(4) 10% of acceptances must be gained in Print salons.
      - (Although I believe this is waivered at the moment due to CoronaVirus limiting print image salons)

The EFIAP (Excellence) distinction is awarded when the candidate has:

(1) Already held the AFIAP distinction for one year.
(2) Accepted images in at least 30 Salons in 20 different countries.
(3) Obtained 250 Acceptances with at least 50 different works
(4) 10% of acceptances must be gained in Print Salons.

 Full details of these requirements can be found here: https://www.fiap.net/upload/files/1522656534-6d37f.pdf

 Beyond the basic AFIAP and EFIAP awards, lies EFIAP Levels - Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond 1/2/3 - with MFIAP beyond that. Full details of these are described in the above document.

Global Photographic Union

Not especially common in this country, but works on similar lines to BPE crowns with points for acceptances.

However you can claim points for exhibitions not accredited by GPU and also get more points for achieving honours and medals.

 GPU system for CROWNs is based on points.

The photographer collects the points from acceptances, mentions and awards in International exhibitions of any patronage and year.

GPU Crown 1: 200 pts.
GPU Crown 2: 600 pts.
GPU Crown 3: 2500 pts.
GPU Crown 4: 6000 pts.
GPU Crown 5: 15000 pts.

ACCEPTED photo or portfolio (not GPU’s patronage) = 1 pts.
Honorable Mention or Certificate (not GPU’s patronage) = 2 pts.
Medal or Trophy (not GPU’s patronage) = 4 pts. 

THESE POINTS ARE DOUBLED IF THE SALONS HAVE GPU PATRONAGE:

 Accepted image = 2 pts. ;  HM/ Certificate = 4 pts. ;  Medal/ Trophy = 8 pts.

 IT IS PERMITTED TO APPLY FOR A MAXIMUM OF 2 CROWN LEVELS PER YEAR.

 Full details can be found here:  https://www.gpuphoto.com/apply-for-distinction

I very much hope that you find this, and other posts of interest, use and encouraging. Please do like and share this article using the links below.

---

If you have found this post interesting and useful, please do comment below or like & share it.

The other posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

Photo Salons & Exhibitions: Post 5 - Competition Image Manager

This is the last post in this series on Salons and Exhibitions. In earlier posts, I covered "What is a Salon?", "How to Enter a Salon", "Where to find a Salon" and "Distinctions". In this short post I'll cover a resource that I've found very useful - Competition Image Manager.

The posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager

Background

Following encouragement from Mike Watson, I entered a few Salons and Exhibitions over the last year. It is something that we want to actively promote as a club, but there are at the moment only a few members I'm aware of that enter external salons and exhibitions.

Last year, Mike said to me, have a go and you'll most likely be surprised, and indeed I was… which is why I'm repeating that advice to everyone. To that end, I thought I'd put together this series of articles to share my (albeit limited) experiences in the hope that it inspires other members to give it a shot.

Competition Image Manager

One resource I have found of great use in managing my salon entries is the Competition Image Manager web site…

https://cimgr.com/launch/main.html

 This enables you to track images, that you have entered in to different salons & exhibitions.

You can then record the scores given plus view how many acceptances etc you have achieved, plus which images have been successful and which less so.

 A significant benefit is the facility to export images you select for a Salon, to be prepared at the correct resolution, ready to import to the Salon entry mechanism online.

 It can also track your progress towards distinctions like BPE and AFIAP

---

If you have found this post interesting and useful, please do comment below or like & share it.

The other posts in this series are:

1. What is a Salon and Why Bother?

2. How to Enter?

3. Where to find Salons to Enter?

4. Distinctions: What are they?

5. Competition Image Manager