Is there a point in making prints anymore?

easyrider said:
The result will be that there will be very few family albums. The electronics get outdated, hard drives, die, etc. Most images will perish. No visual history will be left.
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I tend to agree with this idea. I know in my family we still like albums; that being said, we are now moving to book format (Blurb). When we have family gatherings, the relatives seem to enjoy albums/ books more. Also, I have thousands of pictures on my website, but my daughter never sees them - and they are mostly for her. She will look at them on Facebook or in a book/ album. I personally still enjoy being able to browse through a book. I have a desktop, laptop, and an i-Pad, but I still enjoy the feel and simplicity of a book or album.
 
regularchickens said:
Sure. But I like to separate my images from said superabundance and place them in a format in which they have their own presence and context so that I feel like they're not lost in the mix. My interest in photos, art in general, and how they're presented, is not purely functional.
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That is a valid argument; nevertheless, photographs without an audience to see them is like singing in the shower for one's own pleasure, in other words one will never know how good of a singer one is unless there is no audience to listen to.

There is nothing wrong with that as well but from my own limited experience people usually take photos because they want others to see it, if not now at some point in future and the easier it is to reach an audience the better, and these days digital display is in fact the only way to reach an audience.
 
The Annenberg Space for Photography has (in addition to traditional gallery space) some 4k projectors in a central room that display images beautifully. I'm sure that digital displays will continue to compliment prints, but people really do like looking at real photographs. It's more fun to flip through a photo album with someone else than it is to click through a web gallery. Nothing looks quite the same as a beautifully made black and white print on fiber paper.
 
GSNfan said:
There is nothing wrong with that as well but from my own limited experience people usually take photos because they want others to see it, if not now at some point in future and the easier it is to reach an audience the better, and these days digital display is in fact the only way to reach an audience.
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Digital is for demonstration and physical media is for follow-through. Introduce people to your work with digital images, then sell/gift them prints, pamphlets, or beautiful books. That's my intended path. Nobody will make any money selling finely crafted JPEGs to art collectors. And while a family member or potential fan will flip through a gallery or folder of images once (if that), a book on a shelf or a print on a wall is more readily in sight or in hand.
 
Sam N said:
The Annenberg Space for Photography has (in addition to traditional gallery space) some 4k projectors in a central room that display images beautifully. I'm sure that digital displays will continue to compliment prints, but people really do like looking at real photographs. It's more fun to flip through a photo album with someone else than it is to click through a web gallery. Nothing looks quite the same as a beautifully made black and white print on fiber paper.
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People keep brining up the idea of family album so I guess I should deal with that.

Who really takes family photos any more when video is a lot more fun and watching it again even more so?

I much rather make a video knowing at some point in the future I can play it again with other people around and the sounds and everything will be a great fun, everyone will laugh and it will be a great 'family experience'.

Looking at family photos that most often is cringe worthy because someone did not really look right that day because they were in a bad mood or something else and all of that in 'silence'? I don't think so.

But even then, try flipping through photos in an ipad, with someone else and its the same thing as an album, in fact better because ipad is backlit.
 
No. There's no point in eating good food, either, or making love, or going for a walk in the fresh air, or sniffing a flower, or wearing natural fibres instead of polyester, or any of the other things that lift the spirits and refresh the soul.

Cheers,

R.
 
regularchickens said:
Digital is for demonstration and physical media is for follow-through. Introduce people to your work with digital images, then sell/gift them prints, pamphlets, or beautiful books. That's my intended path. Nobody will make any money selling finely crafted JPEGs to art collectors. And while a family member or potential fan will flip through a gallery or folder of images once (if that), a book on a shelf or a print on a wall is more readily in sight or in hand.
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I will have to find a buyer first before contemplating that thought... But yes, as I said before if someone specifically asks for a print, I will make one otherwise making prints for myself, I don't see any point.
 
Roger Hicks said:
No. There's no point in eating good food, either, or making love, or going for a walk in the fresh air, or sniffing a flower, or wearing natural fibres instead of polyester, or any of the other things that lift the spirits and refresh the soul.

Cheers,

R.
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Well said.
 
Roger Hicks said:
No. There's no point in eating good food, either, or making love, or going for a walk in the fresh air, or sniffing a flower, or wearing natural fibres instead of polyester, or any of the other things that lift the spirits and refresh the soul.

Cheers,

R.
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I agree Roger, but things have changed as it always does. The finely made, hand written books of medieval times with their miniature painting on the borders give way to mass printed boring books of what we use today and these books will be killed by e-readers, that is how it rolls and it will be a folly to hide from that.
 
GSNfan said:
Who really takes family photos any more when video is a lot more fun and watching it again even more so?

I much rather make a video knowing at some point in the future I can play it again with other people around and the sounds and everything will be a great fun, everyone will laugh and it will be a great 'family experience'.

Looking at family photos that most often is cringe worthy because someone did not really look right that day because they were in a bad mood or something else and all of that in 'silence'? I don't think so.
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I think family videos are over rated. I grew up in the 80's and 90's and we have family videos. We never watch them. Heck, we no longer have the players to play most of them (Hi-8, VHS, etc.).

As far as the comment about the cringe worthy comment: That might be the very photo that your grandkid treasures the most for some reason. The photos we think are important when we take them might not be the ones that are important to use in 30 years. Of course, this doesn't directly relate to the print vs. non-print discussion.
 
GSNfan said:
I will have to find a buyer first before contemplating that thought... But yes, as I said before if someone specifically asks for a print, I will make one otherwise making prints for myself, I don't see any point.
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If you don't enjoy seeing a nice 11x17 print fresh out of the darkroom or printer any more than watching it flick by on your TV as you scroll through a memory card, then, more power to you.
 
GSNfan said:
I agree Roger, but things have changed as it always does. The finely made, hand written books of medieval times with their miniature painting on the borders give way to mass printed boring books of what we use today and these books will be killed by e-readers, that is how it rolls and it will be a folly to hide from that.
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True. It's also folly to hide from the fact that people still hand write in journals because they like it, people still hand bind books with hand made paper, again, because they like it, etc.

I'm all for technology and it's advances. I'm also all for using older technologies when it suits me, or perhaps is even suited better for the purpose at hand.

For example, I have approximately 3000 photos on my phone right now. It has an extremely high resolution display, and is perfect for showing people some work when I'm out. I upload most of my stuff on flickr for easy sharing with friends, and often email people relevant photos. It's wonderful stuff. At the same time, I'm not going to hang an LCD screen on my fridge, or carry an LCD tucked away in my notebook/wallet so I can see a picture of a loved one, nor am I going to hang 30 LCDs (with their dangling cords) around my apartment just so I can see photos that I enjoy. Especially when I can substitute a simple sheet of paper that does the job *better*.

Of course you are more than free to never print another picture again if it suits you. I'm just saying that it doesn't suit me to only live with images on backlit screens.
 
These discussions always make me think of a quote by one of my favorite photographers, Danny Lyon (I think it's from the back cover of his book Memories of myself):

"Don't talk to me about digital. I've got hypo in my veins. The stains you see on my shirts are Dektol. I like the darkroom, the radio, the yellow light glowing. I rip the printing paper into quarters. One square is swimming in the Dektol. Through the clear, brown liquid I see my work emerging – my picture. Then I take it, the little piece, and give it away, a gift, to the person pictured in it, a return for what they have given me. Thirty years pass. People die. Children grow old. They keep the little piece, stuck up on a wall with thumbtacks, creased and stained: themselves, young and alive, forever.
That is photography."

The Online Photographer published a piece about this very issue last Summer: The Physicality of the Print.
 
You have a good point....

You have a good point....

I'm thinking about contracting APPLE to build me a 20X30 Ipad to hang on the wall in my living room. I am unsure about whether to frame it nicely to match my decor.

It would surely improve my ability to display more than one print and perhaps I could also get APPLE to make me a variety of sizes for other hangings in the house.

Not sure how I would give images as gifts. I would hate to go back to .... ugh....printing and framing. But it might be prohibitively expensive to gift large Ipads to others.

Hmmmm...???
 
GSNfan said:
People keep brining up the idea of family album so I guess I should deal with that.

Who really takes family photos any more when video is a lot more fun and watching it again even more so?

I much rather make a video knowing at some point in the future I can play it again with other people around and the sounds and everything will be a great fun, everyone will laugh and it will be a great 'family experience'.

Looking at family photos that most often is cringe worthy because someone did not really look right that day because they were in a bad mood or something else and all of that in 'silence'? I don't think so.

But even then, try flipping through photos in an ipad, with someone else and its the same thing as an album, in fact better because ipad is backlit.
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With all due respect, these are your opinions and feelings on the matter and that is perfectly valid. Other individuals and posters have different opinions and they are no less valid. For me, video is not someting I enjoy as much. As for photos that are cringe worthy, I would say that could apply equally to videos or any other electronic presentation.

One reason I like looking at a book or album with family is for the stories and memories that are shared during the process. In my experience the same type of interaction doeasn't occur during a video - we probably would not pause and share memories.

Different strokes for different folks...
 
GSNfan said:
What makes you think galleries will not isntall HD/ displays?

Neare: Proof of ownership is in the content and not the container.
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And what do galleries sell? Do they sell prints or HD Displays? Follow the $$$ in terms of galleries.

The real question is what is the best way for you to display your prints given your purposes.

Best regard,

Bob
 
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