Printing for Competitions

It’s the time of the year when competitions start to pile up one after another.  We have the Master Photography Awards,  which I’ve been a part of since 2007, Canon Creativeasia, WPPI and AIPP, spread out over the year.

IMO, photography competition should be a print competition, especially for wedding photography section.  My approach to photography is always about the print and print quality is such a neglected concept amongst wedding photographers, especially when most just want to deliver images on a CD.  Also, what looks good on screen, doesn’t necessary means it can be printed out nicely. Yesterday, I attended a workshop by

To be honest, print quality has never been in my vocabulary until I joined the Master Photographer Association (MPA) from UK.  And trust me, I learnt it the hard, hard way.  First lesson I learnt, you need time to do a good print; knowing how to prepare an image for printing requires discipline.  Before anything gets printed to 8″x10″ or 10″x12″ for the competition, the lab needs to print out a set of proofs on 4″x6″ on the paper of choice.  Choosing the right kind of paper is another hairy part of the print making process that even my own printers have problems grappling with.  Some of the prints are obvious candidates for Kodak Endura Metallic paper or Fuji Pearl paper, some are slightly more artsy that looks great printed on fine-art matt or textured paper, some are safer on lustre paper because of the high dynamic range compared to the former. Oh wait, don’t even bother about metallic or glossy paper for competitions like WPPI, having your prints viewed in a room lit by just 2 strong light source at 45 degrees to the print means you’re probably better off with matt paper…. these are power tips that are shared by veterans as well as judges from WPPI.

For example, this is one print that I did on metallic paper for MPA because of the shimmer in the image itself and the grass textures is brought out really nicely on it.  Matt or lustre paper somehow looked a little too safe for this.

The Missing Link

As well as this piece, Tangled

Tangled

 

The next one that I photographed in Morocco, entitled Hand-some, was printed on lustre paper.

 

Also, all these works were shot on my Hasselblad H4D-40, a digital medium format setup which gives incredible details and tonality when we print it.  It’s really about how effortless and how smooth the details are being drawn, and this is something that make me wish that all competitions are at least 16″x20″ in print size! 🙂

We have consolidated over 100 prints from 6 photographers to share out the freight cost.  Trust me, a 5.4kg parcel ain’t cheap, but sharing it among 6 photographers makes it really affordable at USD$17 per pax.  Good luck Team Singapore!

 

 

Post to Twitter

WPPI 2009 – Accolades of Excellence

The WPPI 16×20 is one of the international competitions that’s often regarded as the Oscars equivalent of wedding and portrait photography, and probably one of the very few competitions that the big guys and legends of wedding photography (folks like Jerry Ghonis, Yervant, David Oliver) take part in.  I’ve always wanted to attend the seminar but for the past few years, I’ve got to photoshoots in Singapore that tied me down.  Last week, I’ve received some well wishes from fella photographer, some even from Malaysia, who saw my prints hung up there, amongst the finalists, in the hall of fame.  What really sucks about not being there is, you have no idea which prints you’ve won…until this morning.

Just received the email from WPPI about 3 of my images being awarded Accolade of Excellence!  Not too bad for a first attempt, and considering I’ve only sent in 4 pieces (they do cost a lot of money to print, considering it’s 16×20, postage and all just adds on).

wppi_release

 

and the 3 pieces are…

sc376

Looks familiar eh? Ivy & Suan Hau must be very happy, this is the 3rd International award!

 080910-karen-ryan-prewedding0295_mpa_blue

The quirky image shot in Arab Street, and ….

 wppi3

Another of my familiar favourites, this photo taken in Melbourne has won it’s 3rd International Awards, along with AGWPJA and Contemporary Wedding Portrait during the MPA Singapore print competition last Nov 08.

5 years ago, I would not have imagined myself being able to compete in such gruelling competitions, and I really owe my couples and mentors for their constant support and encouragement. So a BIG thank you to all you out there! 🙂

Post to Twitter