Behind the print

Technique

Behind the print

Fine art photographer Claire Gillo reveals the steps she took to get a raw file ready for print

1I wanted the image to be square so I cropped it to a 1:1 ratio

2The background needs cleaning up and darkening down

3I want to bring out the exposure in the feathers here to match the other side

4The image needs to be gently toned and enhanced

Claire Gillo

Claire is a very experienced photography journalist and a former technique editor on AP. She now works as a freelancer from her base in Devon and enjoys taking and editing a wide range of images. For more information on Claire and her work, see her website at www.clairegillo.com

Although I enjoy shooting in many different genres there is something particularly enticing about fine art photography. There are endless possibilities when it comes to subject matter and I love creating images that not only have a visual connection but also a conceptual one. This image is the first shot from an emerging series called Layla’s gifts. My cat Layla is a beast when it comes to hunting and I find the ‘gifts’ she leaves behind to be often both a mixture of disgusting and upsetting. This bird was already dead by the time I got to it and there was something beautiful and sad about it at the same time. That is what I wanted to capture in the image but also explore the fragile line between life and death. I already had a black blanket set up in the corner of my office and I lit the bird using a flashgun and diffuser panel. Had I had a little more time I would have spent longer on my lighting set-up, however it goes to show you can still achieve great results in a couple of minutes and a little editing knowledge. For ALL IMAGES © CLAIRE GILLO

all my editing I use a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop. For this particular image I only used Photoshop, and it worked well.

PREPARING THE RAW FILE FOR PRINTING

1 Basic raw adjustments I opened the image in Adobe Camera Raw and cropped to a square format with a 1:1 ratio. I also slightly boosted the contrast and tweaked the shadows and highlights to bring out detail in the bird. I also added a touch of Texture to bring out the texture in the feathers.

2 Isolated exposure As the wing on the right was slightly darker than the other I wanted to make them match in exposure values. To do this I went to the Adjustment brush in ACR and made an isolated exposure adjustment. I then opened my image into Photoshop.

3 Time for healing In the main editor I started by duplicating the background layer. That way I always have a copy of the original image. To remove the marks from the background on the new layer I used the Spot Healing brush. You could also use the Clone tool to do this job.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

4 Background burning Once I had removed the main marks from the background I then duplicated the top layer and went to the Burn tool (Range set to Shadows at 8% exposure) and gradually darkened the background. I then added a Curves Adjustment layer to tone the overall image.

WhiteWall recommends

‘I recommend WhiteWall’s ultraHD Photo Print Under Acrylic Glass. Compared to conventional photos, ultraHD Photo Prints offer signifi cantly better resolution and have visibly sharper defi nition in the image’s fi ner details. Adding our 15mm Basel fl oater frame in the natural oak colour gives the image a rustic yet classy look. If you want to put more focus on the satiny gloss of the feathers and on the image itself, go for WhiteWall’s giclée print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl paper. A brown Hamburg passe-partout frame suits the image too. I would order the picture in a size of at least 40 x 40cm.’ Jan-Ole Schmidt, Product Manager, WhiteWall.com

Top tips for retouching

1Shoot in raw To get the most out of your image and your print, shoot in raw. You can do so much more to your image at the editing stage if you switch to this fi le format. Despite raw fi les taking up more space on your hard drive and memory card compared to JPEGs it will open up more creative possibilities.

2Know when to stop It’s really easy to keep editing your image trying to make it perfect, however you don’t want to go too far and take away that essence that made your image successful in the fi rst place. There’s a fi ne line between done and overdone so get feedback, keep comparing your edited image to the original so you can avoid this.

3Proof colours In Photoshop you can check the proof colours by going to View>Proof Colours. If you are still working on your image do this rather than converting your image to CMYK as it will retain the RGB colour gamut (which is larger than the CMYK gamut) but it will still preview your image as CMYK, which is what it will be printed out as.

4Get a professional to print it Printing is a real art form and requires a lot of technical knowledge. I am not ashamed to admit that it is not my strength and so I invest in my work through external printing services such as WhiteWall. Ask them about fi le formats and colour profi les so you can be sure your print is perfect. For me they can produce a far better result at a better price than I would be able to achieve at home.

5Get a sample If you are printing something for an exhibition or big print get a test print fi rst. Test strips/prints are available from any good printers and are vital before you commit to the fi nal one.

6Think about presentation Don’t just think about your image as a printed photo, think of it as a fi nal product. Printing on materials such as aluminium or canvas can be great. There are many different options but try to match your image to the best method because not all images suit all processes.