Hi everyone! I’m so excited to be guest-blogging today! I just finished up a class at Big Picture called Photo Finish. In it, we learned how to post-process photos using Photoshop and Lightroom. It was a huge success and everyone learned so much! I’m always amazed at the things I learn from students as well. The discussions on the message board are always so interesting and engaging.

During the class we had a discussion about the importance of getting your final photos printed at a reputable photo lab, such as Persnickety Prints . Places such as this are extremely knowledgeable about the best look for your photos—the size, type of finish, and many other details that are critical to a printed photo looking its very best.

I’ve had several people ask me over the last few years (and often in my BPC classes), “what is the best option for printing at-home photos?” Well, I’m here today to answer that question! While it’s important to get your enlargements and other “important” photos printed through a photo lab, sometimes we just want the print right now. Maybe it’s for a scrapbook project, or a print to put on your child’s “all about me” poster for school (yep! Done a few of those over the past couple of years!). So what’s the best option in that situation?

For about seven years now I’ve been printing my photos exclusively on Epson printers. I’ve used everything from small 4x6 photo printers up to large format printers. Honestly, I’ve never been disappointed at all with the quality of prints I’ve gotten from my Epson printers.

My printer of choice right now is the Epson Aritsan 730. About 5 minutes after I got it set up, a document printed out that I hadn’t printed. I had no clue where it came from! I immediately thought “oh great! It’s defective!” and then I realized that my husband had already synced his iPhone with the Epson Connect WiFi capabilities on the printer and printed a couple documents from his phone. Ummm…how cool is that?? You can print not only documents, but also photos straight from your phone to the printer (and we all have those photos…the ones that NEVER seem to make it off your phone? I must have thousands like that.)

I have a photo collage wall in my house that I LOVE. When I first set it up I decided (for some reason) to get my pictures printed at a certain big warehouse store. NEVER AGAIN! You can see that the first picture (the one that was printed there) is dark and muted. The colors and the exposure don’t match what I see on my computer screen.

I decided to toss all those prints and just print them on my Artisan 730 instead. You can see how much of a difference there is, but to see it in person is mind-blowing! I was absolutely amazed at the quality.

I give a lot of different recommendations in my line of work (both with my clients and with the thousands of students I’ve taught over the last few years at Big Picture Classes), and I don’t give them lightly. I won’t recommend a product unless I’ve tried it myself and been extremely happy with it. So for those of you looking for a new at-home photo printing option, hopefully this little highlight of one of my favorite products helped!

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment! You can also email me at elishas@bigpictureclasses.com

P.S. My next class “Get Great Photos With Any Camera” is open for registration RIGHT NOW, and starts January 5, 2012!

Picture Fall with Tracey Clark is available for instant download! Here is one of the 31 prompts available.

Camera Settings: f/2.8, 1.500, ISO 400, lens 24mm

If you've ever risen before the rest of the world, you've experienced the quiet and calm that is unique to early morning hours. It's not easy to find that stillness in the hustle of racing to get out the door to start our busy day. Taking a few minutes to center yourself (by drinking in some inner-peace if you will) can set the right precedent for the day ahead.

No matter what your morning might look like, find something, anything at all, that whispers the kind of quiet reassurance you need to ease yourself into your day today.

Note: We usually have a routine and rhythm to our days. Sometimes it only takes noticing these simple things to help us focus on how the light of the morning can energize and inspire us; a coffee mug, the long shadows cast by early light, warm and soothing steam from our breakfast all worthy of daily reverie. Notice what that is for you and capture it in an image

Read the class description here
 

Summer here in Utah is in full swing. The heat has hit and so has the summer activities. At my house that means tennis, soccer camp, cousin sleep overs, late night movies, family BBQ's, water play, grilling, eating outside, popsicles, root beer floats (rbf), swimming, and more. Wow- exhausting! Make sure you take pictures of your favorite activities. Below are TWO photography tips to keep in mind for summer shooting.

Take advantage of the GOLDEN HOUR this is an ideal time to shoot because the light is perfect. Find your golden hour here.

VARY THE ANGLE get above, below, behind, on the level of your subject and prepare to be amazed by the results

photo credits

bus by Doug Wilson

puddles by Elisha Snow

Ryan on railing by Elisha Snow

boys at the lake by Elisha Snow

comic book readers by Elisha Snow

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Learn how to Master Manual Mode with Elisha this summer here at Big Picture!