Opinions/advice on putting a picture onto canvas

NightShadow

NightShadow

NightShadow

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I took this picture a couple of weeks ago and am thinking of putting it onto canvas.

canvas1.jpg


At the time I took 2 exposures and I have put the clock face in using layer masks in PhotoShop but wondered what improvements you would add before putting it onto canvas. I want to crop it slightly but I can't seem to make my mind up where I should crop. I hav'nt made any other changes apart from adding in the clock face and cloning out an airplane, original size is 3888x2592 and I am looking at putting it onto a canvas of around 36" wide, maybe slightly smaller.
 
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a1ex2001 said:
I'm not sure I would print it that big to be honest, it looks a little soft even at that size so will only look worse at a bigger one.
Click to expand...

You can tell...? By looking at a small web image? Wow.

OP: Nothing I would change really, although it's not the most exciting image, mainly because it's been done to death:)
 
I took this shot and I am still not happy with it enough to put it on a canvas. It could do with being a "little" bit sharper or put through photoshop another time to get better detail out of the raw file. There is nothing wrong with your shot or subject matter, there is just a lot of noise in the picture, the subject is ever so slightly soft and out of focus and you should take the picture maybe a bit earlier where you still have a bit of light left after sunset.

Regards seasaw

*edit* Just noticed you live in the same town as me op :)

4826377066_cf56d0bba7_b.jpg
 
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What format did you take the pictures in? Jpeg is rarely good enough for a large canvas print, RAW format should do though (camera dependant)

**edit**

Just seen you posted resolutions, Jpeg I assume? dont think their high enough for a 36" canvas to be honest mate
 
Whats the EXIF on your original shot. As the others have said it looks a bit soft in places, perhaps reshooting with an aperture around f16 will improve things. As for the shot itself I would probably lose about an inch off the bottom and almost an inch and a half off the top as its a lot of dead space. The reflections in the water only really start above this point apart from the wheel.
 
Agreed the shot is not in focus and any enlargement will highlight any deficencies. A re-shoot would be good methinks - also rather than cavas - consider a nice quality print behind glass - it will bring out the glow soooo much better than any canvas print will.
 
Thanks for all the replies, the shot was taken in RAW and was fairly late in the evening ~9pm. The shot is sharper than it looks in the above one, it's fairly heavily compressed with "save for web" in PS, might post a couple 100% crops later. Was shooting at F16 iirc with ISO at 200 or 400, will check when I get home. What sort of settings should I be aiming for? Also, at that resolution it would print around 100DPI on a 36" canvas, is that not enough?

Edit - I always hoped that by getting myself a DSLR I wouldn't limit printing capabilities but it appears you need a monster DSLR or stitched images for decent quality canvas, reading around have seen 100DPI MINIMUM, 200DPI+ for better quality :(
 
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There's so much misinformation in this thread:/

My camera does 8000 dpi

blabla

IT DOESN'T MATTER!

OP, as long as you nailed focus, that shot will be fine printed on canvas at the distances people should view canvases from. At f16, I'm going to guess that focus won't be a problem. Nobody here can tell if its sharp or not from a low res web image.

As for whether it should be printed, that's up to you. personally I'd like to see some interest in the sky and perhaps it would suit a panorama better, or a tighter crop. Reshooting at dusk might help.
 
Thanks for the re-assurance Stupot, I am also with the opinion that it is a little bland, was almost tempted to chop in the moon from another picture i took the same night but then I would have to get the reflections right aswell which would be a pain. Will try to get back there soon and re-shoot it to see what I can do, may try doing a pano and see how it comes out.
 
Did some 100% crops, these are exported as TIF and then save for web as JPG at 100% quality, the focus point was the farthest part of the wheel/eye.

crop1.jpg


crop2.jpg


I'm not particularly happy with them, was using center point focus as well so the wheel should be pin sharp in the crop above, especially at F16. What are your opinions?
 
Like Stupo has said, no one looks at canvas's from an inch away.

I work as a large format printer and deal with these sorts of things everyday, JPG's are perfectly fine for any artwork, unless your a perfectionist and it's going in an art gallery etc.

Also to add, you might camera might do 8000dpi, but theres no point if the printer can't print that.
The two main profiles i use (lowest and highest) is 540x1080 and 720x1440 and from a couple of feet away you will barely notice the difference, if at all.

As for the shot, looks like it could be a tad sharper and crop more off the bottom and top.
 
Hi all,

I took photos of my niece a few weeks back at resolution 2592 x 3888

I want to put this on a canvas for an xmas present to my brother and his gf/daughter


How can i get max quallity for this? & best place to go?




yeah browswer crash and then forgot to update again ... .
 
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