There are a lot of factors that go into creating an image that can make a beautiful print. Most people can recognize a good photo on screen or in a small print – The light is nice or the subject matter is special. But are your images as sharp as they can be for making large prints.

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When I talk about sharpness, I’m not referring to ‘Sharpening’ in Photoshop or Lightroom (leave digital sharpening up to the printmaker). I am talking about how much detail is rendered when you are shooting the image.

Utilize the following techniques to get the most out of your images:
-Use image stabilization
-Use a Tripod
-Use mirror lock up
-Use self timer mode of at least 3 seconds or a wireless shutter release.
-Use a low ISO value for less noise
-Shoot Raw as opposed to Jpeg
-Use a quality lens

You do not need to use all of these techniques when capturing an image, but for each one you use, your image will appear more and more sharp, and will be able to be printed larger with more detail.

The Photo Tip of the Month was written by LightSource Lead Technician, JP Jespersen

LightSource is proud to host a kickoff meeting for a 4 Day Advanced Flash Workshop with National Geographic Photographer, Raul Touzon. This event is open to the public as well to the attendees of the workshop.

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LightSource is proud to host a kickoff meeting for a 4 Day Advanced Flash Workshop with National Geographic Photographer, Raul Touzon. This event is open to the public as well to the attendees of the workshop.

To sign up for the free Aug 25th kickoff meeting at LightSource click here.

We’ll be serving pizza and soft drinks ($5 donation at the door for pizza) before Raul takes the stage to talk about and show his most recent photo work in Sudan, documenting the heart wrenching conditions brought about by an unrelenting civil war.

To sign up for the 4 Day Advanced Flash Workshop click here.

“Raul Touzon has 9 years of teaching experience and 7 years of documentary experience working for National Geographic”

One of the most effective ways to take your photography and creativity to the next level is with the external flash unit, what Raul often refers to as “the portable sun.” In this intense but enjoyment-focused workshop we learn how to use flash to photograph nature, people, and everyday life. No prior experience or complicated gear is necessary. We practice fill flash, remote flash operation (single and multiple units), and ways to apply different light sources to produce stunning images.

We begin each day by editing and reviewing the previous day’s photographs, followed by highly visual lectures and demonstrations on advanced flash usage and editing exercises. Then you will apply the lessons learned out in the field. In addition to mastering your flash, you learn how to present your work through editing, sequencing, and developing a story.

For detailed class schedule, more about Raul, and past student photos please click here.

What Past Students Are Saying

“Mind-blowing… The best workshop I have attended. Raul is a true inspiration…” – Nerus T.

“Thank you, Raul, I am a new photographer again.” – Niall David Cytryn

“The best workshop I ever been to.” – Sunny Saw

“I now have a clearer understanding of what is possible and how to go about making great pictures. I’ll be out there honing the craft armed with these new tools you gave me.” – Dan McBride

“Raul is a down to earth photographer. I wish the workshop was longer, 2 days of shooting just wasn’t enough! Look forward to the next one.” – Anais

“…best experience ever this past weekend.” – Amelia Kenned

Elephant photographer Carol Stevenson works tirelessly to help endangered elephants in Thailand by selling her gorgeous large prints.

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Photo District News featured Carol as one of the winners of the Faces contest in their September issue. Additionally, Carol was featured in the “Pro Showcase” on the Lowepro website for her stunning photography and 5 year humanitarian photo project for endangered and abused elephants in Thailand.

Here is an except from the LowePro interview with Carol:

Q: What event in your career brought you the moniker of elephant photographer?

A: A casual invitation from the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) to “come photograph our elephants” in Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand got me started on this mission to raise awareness about the dwindling numbers of a species. The experience launched my five-year portraiture and video project.

Q: Tell us a bit more about the current state of Asian elephants and their mahouts.

A: In Thailand, transportation and logging were once the primary occupations for mahouts (keepers) and their elephants. When bans were issued on logging in 1989, many were forced to forage in the city streets. GTAEF created a refuge for the mahouts, their families and the elephants. The foundation’s efforts to rescue and care for elephants that have been abandoned, abused or are unable to fend for themselves provides a solution for an entire culture.

Q: How do you go about raising awareness with your imagery?

A: Proceeds from the sales of my fine art prints help support the mission of GTAEF: to set up a safe haven for abused elephants and provide employment for their good keepers. There’s an increase in the conservation activities and every new elephant birth is a celebration, but their numbers are diminishing significantly. I want to do everything I can to help them thrive. In the first year of my project, I created a visual record of the elephants as well as a series of portraits of the mahouts with their elephants. It’s difficult not to become sentimental. I need to remain objective and let my photography document the story if I’m ultimately to help the species.

Click here to visit Carol’s website

Click Here to visit the Lowpro Showcase

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Her most recent book, in collaboration with Mary Ellen Hannibal, is Evidence of Evolution (Abrams 2009). Previous books in collaboration with David Liittschwager include Archipelago and Remains of a Rainbow (National Geographic); Witness and Here Today (Chronicle Books). She has produced films and exhibitions in conjunction with her book projects. Her most recent project is ‘Hermit Crabs!’, a short film produced for the web.

In 2006, she and David Littshwagger collaborated on a groundbreaking book call Archipelago, which resulted in the outer Hawaiian Islands being declared a National Monument by then president George W Bush.

She was Chair of the Department of Photography at the California Academy of Sciences from 1982 to 1995, where she currently serves as Research Associate. Middleton was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 2009, and is the recipient of an Endangered Species Coalition Champion Award for Education and Outreach and a Bay & Paul Foundation Biodiversity Leadership Award.

In the fall of 2008 Middleton was invited as a guest artist at Crown Point Press, San Francisco, to create a series of limited edition color photogravures. Middleton’s photographs have been exhibited and published throughout the world, both in fine art and natural history contexts. She lives in San Francisco.

LightSource, a digital imaging company in San Francisco, recently had the opportunity to digitally capture the largest painting we’ve ever done at Dostal Studios in San Rafael Ca. where artist Kathleen Lipinski created an 8′ x 16′ commissioned oil painting for a prominent new office tower in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lipinski in front of part of her Zion National Park painting

Lipinski is a prolific painter internationally known for her sylvan golden toned oil paintings of the wilderness and especially of Marin County, California. Normally her private San Anselmo studio is the perfect location for her to create her art works.  However, a call came to create a painting on such a scale that she would not be able to do it in her studio. It was simply too big.

In May of 2009, she called on gallery owner Frank Dostal in San Rafael, who agreed to let her create the painting at his gallery and frame shop in downtown San Rafael. Over four months Lipinski worked twelve hour days to complete the work in time for the installation in late November, 2009.

Any other artist might have been driven to distraction trying to paint day in and day out with active business taking place in Frank’s popular gallery and frame shop while answering customers questions. Lipinski took it all in stride and finished her commission on time.

Sam Hoffman, and his company LightSource became aware of Lipinskis monumental work at Dostal Galleries and asked to capture the immense canvas on his BetterLight digital capture system. She had already planned to have the painting photographed on 4X5 film which then would have to be scanned to make the digital file, so she would now have two files of her paintings.

Hoffman clearly recognized the importance of capturing this work with as much detail and color fidelity as possible, and took the opportunity to capture this beautiful painting and in the process compare it to the digital file made from the 4X5 transparency.

LightSource had a tight deadline to do the job as the artwork was bound for Salt Lake for the installation in 5 days. Frank Dostal had agreed to transport her work personally to the client in a custom rig trailer and would drive the 20 hours to Utah to ensure it got there safely.

With just four days to go, LightSource arrived on site at Dostal just after dark and turned Franks gallery into a photo studio to capture the painting. The painting was way too big for our camera to capture it in one exposure. So, we decided to make three captures of the painting, dividing the art into 1/3rd vertical sections of about 5′ wide by 8′ high for each capture, carefully overlapping the exposures so we could “stitch” the files together in our computer to create the final completed file of the entire painting.

The painting was too big to shoot suspended on the wall where Lipinski had created it. Instead we opted  on resting it on the floor and moving it 3 times to present a new section of the painting to our stationary BetterLight camera for capture. We re-focused the camera each time using special software to ensure the painting was tack sharp.

We set up our computer, BetterLight camera and lights and proceeded take three 13 minute exposures of the of the 1/3rd sections of the painting. We ensured the lighting was just right on each of the exposures with special software designed to digitally correct for variations in the lighting.

LightSource Master Capture Tech, JP Jespersen readies the BetterLight for Capture

Each capture was13 minutes in length. , We moved the 100 lb painting over 5 feet on the floor and did another 13 minute exposure. We repeated this process one more time. Each capture was over 500MB in file size.

Next, we stitched the three captures together using our BetterLights software tocreate a 1.4GB file . The huge file we delivered to Lipinski would enable her to make a print up to  5′X 9′ with absolutely no degradation of image quality from her original painting.

BetterLight Camera ready to capture Kathleen Lipinskis Zion National Park painting

After delivering the file, Lipinski was eager to view the capture. However, finding a computer up to the task of opening a 1.4 GB file was another matter. After several ill fated attempts at opening the file, we finally provided her with smaller files in the 300MB range so she could at least see what the file looked like.

Sometime later painter Steve Emery, Kathleens  husband, was able to open up the final 1.4GB capture file, and compare it to the 4X5 film that was shot of the painting. He wrote an email to describe what he saw:

Your image was truly amazing!!  We especially noticed detail in the darks of the trees, the dots of red and other brush strokes, on the cliffs & in the canvas texture where not as much paint was applied. When we looked at the scan made from the 4X5 transparency, there was much more noise in the dark areas, even when not zoomed in that much. We showed Kathleen what we’d discovered. She was impressed by how true to the painting your capture was.

Another thing that both Kathleen and I appreciated was how portable your capture device was. There was no way to move the painting to your studio, and yet you made short order of arriving on the scene and making this beautiful capture of the painting. I would think other artists would like the versatility of your home delivery style. It really made our lives a lot easier.

Thanks for the great work!

The three images below were scanned at 200 MB 8 Bit with sharpening turned off at the scanner and then levels and color adjusted in CS3 to present a similar appearance to each other to make this a fair test. Sharpening was then applied in CS3 to make all scans have the same “apparent” sharpness.

The image size works out to be 35″x31″ at 300 DPI on all three. Normally we would recommend scanning to 600 MB on a 4×5 if the final print size to make a 40″x60″image size. However, both the Imacon and the Epson can’t scan that large a file without interpolating. So to keep things equal we kept all scanners in the un-interpolated range.  Through the Zoomify feature, all three images can be viewed in great detail from highlights to shadows by just clicking on them and zooming in. Give it a shot now to see how it works!

There are a number of shops offering “drum scan equivalent” scans on Imacon and high-end flatbed scanners, however they don’t produce the same dynamic range or noise free scans that our Heidelberg scanners provide.

Two big limitations of Imicon scanners are the lack of a full frame scan capacity on 4×5 and the lack of a true high resolution scan for 4×5. The Imacon is limited to 200MB without interpolation which will only yield a 25×30 at 300DPI. If you up-res an Imacon file you can get a bigger size file at 300DPI, but you won’t get better resolution.

If you look closely at the detail in the shadows in an image at 100% in Photoshop scanned on an Imacon, you will see that the detail does not look distinct and highly resolved at all. Making the image size bigger by up-resing the file just makes the fuzzy detail bigger, not sharper.

In fact, the lack of resolution is quite pronounced on the Imacon when compared to our Heidelberg. (See our scan “Shoot Out”).  To make a really big print or enlarging a cropped part of your film, we recommend scanning to 500-800MB and beyond. For anyone needing a print size of 30X40 or larger, an Imacon scan can be a serious limitation and take away the powerful impact of a large print.

Note that we don’t apply any sharpening to our Heidelberg scans, as this is a user preference that is very subjective. As a result our scans may look “soft” in comparison with other labs that use default sharpening.

Another big difference between our scans and the Imacon and some drum scanners is that we ‘wet mount’ your film with Kami fluid for a much cleaner scan. Most dust, dirt and surface imperfections simply disappear in our Heidelberg scans. For a more information on this subject see our Resources section.
You can get a slightly less expensive scan on a flatbed/Imacon scanner.  However, is it worth it when you’re faced with the limitations of the scan in every printing application?

One additional factor to consider. All drum scanners are not alike. you can pay about the same for a scan from an old or lesser quality drum scanner as you do from our Heidelbergs. In fact, our pricing is comparable to many shops who use an Imacon as their “drum equivalent scanner”

We offer two different levels of scans, Raw and Corrected.

Raw Scans

LightSource Raw Scans are the perfect scan for someone who wants to spend the time to do the final dust removal from the scan in Photoshop and save a few dollars. We set the white and black point for the scan but do none of the spotting and “levels and cuves”corrections that we do in our Corrected Scans. We give you a scan with a slightly “flat” tonal range, so you can increase the contrast to where you feel it should be.   You save about 30% with Raw over Corrected Scans.

Corrected Scans

Corrected Scans are completely levels and curves optimized and spotted. Like the Raw Scan, we leave it a bit flat for you to define the contrast.
Note that when it comes time to print, all our corrected scans still need adjustments to make an optimal print on the paper or canvas of your choice at LightSource. These adjustments are specific to this print only and are saved as an adjustment layer. Your original scan should always be saved separately and backed up to ensure safe keeping.

In which Colorspace should my file be saved?

We save both our Raw and Corrected scans in a wide gamut color space:  Joseph Holmes’  Ektaspace PS-5 by default. When you have all the image information available from this color space, you can always choose to throw some out to meet the requirements for web or publication by doing a “save as” to sRGB, CMYK or Adobe RGB.

It just makes sense to start out with as much information as possible. Once you throw away information by converting to another smaller color space, you can never go back to a wider color space because the information is not there anymore!

The old scanning axiom remains true: Always scan in the widest color space you can. Of course, if you have a single specialized purpose, we’ll save your file in whatever color space you specify.

It is a common occurrence to get film scanned to make a small print, only to find out sometime later that the scan isn’t of adequate resolution to make a larger print you need for another use. To avoid having to scan twice, we suggest you get the largest resolution scan for the present application and for any future application for that image.

If you’re in doubt about how big to go, always choose to get a larger scan. Put another way, we recommend that you; “Scan once and repurpose many times.” You’re always better off this way, and your image will never have to be scanned again.

8 bit or 16 bit scans?

We recommend scanning in 16 Bit, because it contains twice as much information per pixel than an8 bit scan. A higher color depth (16 bit) gives a broader range of color values you can reproduce in a print. If you “work” your files in curves or levels allot, that is, make large moves in either then you create two potential problems:

1. Some of the pixels may become totally depopulated, resulting in a gap in the histogram that can create banding in skies or other gradated monochromatic colors that result in posterization or “jumps” in value in your smooth gradient areas.
2. More values that used to be distinct, existing in different pixels, now are the same, creating a larger spike in the histogram, which may result in blocking up of areas that previously had distinct values but that now consist of pixels all containing the same value.

Our Canon iPF 9000 is one of the few printers that will work with 16 bit files, The increase in image quality you get from 16 Bit files are sometimes subtle and other times more pronounced; It depends on the file. In the future, more printers will be able to work with 16 bit files. If you have adequate storage space, and want the ability to manipulate your files with no fidelity loss, then it makes sense to scan in 16 bit. A more detailed description on bit depth is available in our Resources section.

What Size Scans?

Here’s a good rule of thumb for assessing your scan size, or input resolution, for a given output size, or output resolution at 300DPI (Dots Per Inch). File size for 8 and 16 bit scans are in the two columns on the left, and your desired final output size you want is in the right hand column:

File Size @ 8 bit		File Size @ 16 bit		Output Size
100 MB		200 MB		18x22
200 MB		400 MB		24x32
350 MB		600 MB		40x60
650 MB		1.3 GB		60x80

Here is a list of maximum file sizes needed to scan at the maximum resolution of the film:

Film Size		8 Bit		16 Bit
35mm		100 MB		200 MB
6x6		300 MB		600 MB
6x7		400 MB		800 MB
4x5		700 MB		1.4 GB
8x10		1.3 GB		2.6 GB

If you absolutely know you’ll never need a higher resolution scan in the future, then you can get by with a lower resolution scan for the output size you need now. Here’s how to calculate the scan size you need in MB for the resolution you want at 300DPI:

(Output Width x PPI) x (Output Height x PPI) x 3= Mega Bytes of the scan
PPI = Pixels Per Inch, PPI and DPI are often used interchangeably

For example: A 20X30 Output size at 300DPI that would be:

(20x300) x (30x300) x 3= 162 MB

The Photoshop “Image Size” dropdown menu will calculate this for you as well.

We’ll discuss your needs with you and estimate the time for the job. You may choose to do simple global changes to alter the tone, color and contrast in your file, or you may want to do some photo composite work where you bring in new elements to be placed in the file. Either way, we’ll do the work in the most efficient way possible.

When your job is ready, we’ll include a flattened file of the work done at no extra charge. If you’d like to see the steps we took in Photoshop to manipulate your file for optimal printing, please contact us and we’ll be glad to send or upload the unflattened file at no extra charge. Please note that any changes we make to your file will apply only to our Canon 60” printer at LightSource on the print material you chose, and will produce different results anywhere else it’s printed.

Even if your monitor is calibrated and you use our ICC profiles, for the print material you probably should have us make you a test print. It’s just a good idea to proof your file so you can see the results before committing to a big print.

Please upload your file to our server to have it printed.Even if your monitor is calibrated and you use our ICC profiles, for the print material you probably should have us make you a test print.

1. Calibrate your monitor. Check out our Monitor Profiling Page for details.
2. Remove all dust and scratches in Photoshop by zooming in to 100% to clearly see the dust that needs removal.
3. Flatten layers and remove any alpha channels.
4. Size your file between 180 & 300DPI. If you have a small digital capture and want to make a big print, you should be aware that it may not be possible to make it as large as you want without LightSource up-resing your file(s). If you are skilled at this, go for it. If not, we can do it for you.
5. Don’t sharpen your files for printing. We will do it for you.
6. Build borders into your file (if you need borders). By making a canvas size that includes them. For example: A 20×30 canvas and a 19×29 image size means you have  ½” borders on all 4 sides of your print.
7. Stroke a 2 pixel black border around the image so we know where to trim your image. To do this in Photoshop, go to “Select”  on the menu bar. Then “All”. Go to “Edit” then “Stroke”. Type in “2 pixels” and hit OK. Retain the “For images with no stroked border, we will trim to the image.
8. You can always send us a ganged file with all your images on it. We will print the file as-is and can trim it for you for a fee, or send it back to you un-cut. Make sure to flatten the file before sending it to us.
9. Files should be sent in as TIFF, PSD or RAW format for optimal quality.  We will print from JPG, but a degraded image quality may suffer. We welcome 16 Bit files as our Canon printer feels right at home with them. Or, you can send us 8 Bit. Your call.
10. You can send us your files on CDs or DVDs – please burn them for use on both PC and Mac.
11. You may also upload your files to us.