Retouching your photographs
Lacquering prints
Canvas on masonite or stretcher frame

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You might say that I am behind the times and am not ready to get into computer retouching of my photographs. Is there a book you would recommend that teaches about conventional retouching directly on the print.
Thanks for any suggestions,
Jane

Dear Jane:
Conventional retouching is still an important part of a professional photographers knowledge. Because I did my own print finishing and retouching, it was much easier for me to make the transition to computer retouching when the time came. To this day I still do dye work on prints to tweak them one last time before I call them totally finished. I recommend learning how to do conventional retouching because it will make you a better photographer. The more you know about finishing your images, the better you will be as a photographer. You will be able to achieve a higher level of professionalism when you have a more vast storehouse of knowledge and experience.

The book I recommend is actually one that I helped make. It was written by a special friend of mine and she asked me to do the photography for her book. As a teaching book for conventional retouching, I feel it is without equal. It is heavily illustrated with nearly 300 color photographs and has step by step instructions that make it very easy to learn from.

The book is called Retouching Your Photographs and the author is Jan Way Miller. You can find it in most book stores. For more information on this great book, click here.

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Is it really necessary to lacquer your prints?
Mary

Dear Mary:
While the quality of todays papers is very good, I still feel that at the very least the larger prints should be sprayed. There is a sizable investment in a wall size portrait and finger prints tend to show up easier on unlaquered prints than those that have been sprayed. Also, we tell our customers that if they should accidentally splash a cup of coffee onto their print that it will most likely survive. We just tell them to call us before
trying to clean it or better yet, bring it in and we will clean it for them. It's a nice selling point and in 20 years no one has had to bring one back yet. We use several different types of lacquer for different purposes. A basic print that is unmounted gets no lacquer. A print that is mounted and is 11 X 14 is sprayed with a luster or
semi-gloss. The wall portraits 16 X 20 and larger get a texture spray that I do with a splatter nozzle using the luster spray. It's really beautiful and I have been asked for years to do it on occasion for other photographers. It take quite a bit of practice to get it down. Canvas prints get high gloss unless the client prefers the semi-gloss. We use no matte spray for anything. It reduces the intensity of the blacks and other dark colors. We prefer to keep the colors looking vivid. The most important issue is to stay safe from the vapors and also the fire concerns when spraying your prints.

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I just sold my first large canvas print but I am not sure what is the best way to order it from my lab. They offer stretcher frame mounting and also masonite. Which is better?
Marie

Dear Marie:
Both methods are fine for your larger wall images but I do have a personal favorite. I always try to think long term about everything to avoid problems in the future. It is my feeling that a stretcher frame made out of wood with canvas stretched tightly across it, is a potential problem down the road. Yes I know, oil paintings are prepaired that way all the time. My concerns are not so much that the frame will warp under the tension of the canvas but one of concern that the image could accidentally be punctured because there is nothing behind the canvas. When a canvas mounted print is bonded to heavy masonite, it indeed gets heavier but this is no problem unless you plan to go jogging with your portrait! With a firm surface behind the entire image, I feel that the likelyhood of a puncture is reduced. If you hit it with something you might get a nick or dent but you probably won't be cutting entirely through the print or ripping a large hole in it.

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