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Gardner Photography








Waterfall Posters

Well, if you like waterfall posters, you're probably like me and have dreamed of  trying to make your own.

Hopefully I can help you out. 

Here are some resources below, both for the do-it-yourselfer and for the ones who just want to buy it and be done.

Naturally your best resource is Gardner Photography.  Don't take my word for it, of course.  Check it out for yourself.

 

Buy a Waterfall Poster

AllPosters.com is where I always go to buy posters for the kids, whether it be a soccer poster or a movie poster.  Whatever you want they have it.  They are extremely fast and reliable.

 

DIY Waterfall Posters

Want to make your own awesome waterfall posters from waterfall pictures you've taken?

There are really only three steps:

  1. Take a great, high-resolution waterfall photo.

  2. Use photo editing software to touch it up as needed.

  3. Send your picture to a professional printing company.

Step 1 - Take A Great, High-Resolution Photo

Don't let the pros intimidate you.  You can do it.  Follow my waterfall photo tips and you'll be making your own eye-popping waterfall posters in no time!

One very important item to keep in mind is the picture resolution.  You should take your photos at the highest resolution (more pixels) offered by your camera.  Consult your camera's manual if needed but make sure to do this.

Why?  Because lower resolution photos printed at larger sizes will "stretch" the pixels beyond the point where the print looks clear and sharp.

Mpix.com recommends a minimum resolution of 100 pixels per inch (ppi), so a 4x6 print should be at least 400 x 600 pixels.  Other printing services agree with the 100 ppi value as a minimum, with 300 being optimal for print quality.  Most of these services will use software to increase the ppi (through interpolation) before printing if required.  If you're not sure, ask.

Here are some tables to help you out with this.

Camera Megapixels

Approx. Standard

Image Resolution

 Print Size Potential
2 megapixels 1600 x 1200 4x6 (best) 12x16 (marginal)
3 megapixels 2048 x 1536 5x7 (best) 16x20 (marginal)
5 megapixels 2560 x 1920 6x9 (best) 20x16 (marginal)
6 megapixels 2816 x 2112 6x9 (best) 16x24 (marginal)
7 megapixels 3072 x 2304 8x10 (best) 20x30 (marginal)
8 megapixels 3267 x 2450 8.5x11 (best) 20x30 (marginal)
12 megapixels 4288 x 2848 11x14 (best) 30x40 (marginal)

Another way to look at this is to look at standard print sizes and see what resolution is required.

Print Size

Best Resolution

 Minimum Resolution
3.5 x 5 1050 x 1500 350 x 500
4 x 6 1200 x 1500 400 x 600
4 x 12 1200 x 3600 400 x 1200
5 x 7 1500 x 2100 500 x 700
8 x 10 2400 x 3000 800 x 1000
8 x 12 2400 x 3600 800 x 1200
11 x 14 3300 x 4200 1100 x 1400
12 x 18 3600 x 5400 1200 x 1800
16 x 20 4800 x 6000 1600 x 2000
16 x 24 4800 x 7200 1600 x 2400
20 x 24 6000 x 7200 2000 x 2400
20 x 30 6000 x 9000 2000 x 3000
24 x 30 7200 x 9000 2400 x 3000
24 x 36 7200 x 10200 2400 x 3600

The bottom line?  Shoot with the highest possible resolution to make awesome, eye-popping waterfall posters.

Always.

 

Step 2 - Touch-up and Finalize

 

I generally like to do a little tweaking of my pictures in a photo editing software package like Photoshop.  Sometimes I only need to use the unsharp mask to sharpen the image (I know, it's counter-intuitive).  Sometimes I get a bluish color cast from the polarizer and default settings on my Canon so I have to do a little color correction.  Some people recommend using a warming filter in conjunction with the polarizer because of the color cast.  I don't like stacking that many filters together (I always leave a UV filter on bottom) so I do the color correction later.

 

And sometimes I'll increase the saturation of specific colors to get a more "eye-popping" photo like what the old Fuji slide films used to provide.

 

It's all up to you.

 

For poster prints you definitely want to make sure the image is in focus.  Any blur will show up in the big print.  Using your photo software, zoom in to 100% and check the details. 

 

If you have Photoshop, you can use the Unsharp Mask tool to sharpen your picture.  For starter settings, try

 

  • Amount:  150%

  • Radius:  1.5 pixels

  • Threshold:  5 levels

Photoshop CS2 has a new filter called Smart Sharpen.  I know nothing about it but you can browse online tutorials to learn more.  It is reported to be better than the old unsharp mask filter.

 

One other step you might want to control yourself is the resizing of the picture.  If you send in a 100 ppi photo the processing lab will probably resize it for you otherwise.  The Resize function is very powerful and does a great job.

 

 

Step 3 - Get Your Waterfall Posters Made

 

Ok, so you now have a spectacular waterfall picture.  How do you get it turned into a poster?  Again, you have three simple steps -

  1. Choose a processor

  2. Upload the file to their website

  3. Order the print

1 - Choose A Processor

 

Here is a list of several processors that will print "poster-size".  I'm defining that as anything over 16"x20".

 

  1. MPix is a company I have personally used and can recommend.  High quality prints and top-notch service.  Price may be a little higher than others but it's competitive.

    2.

  2. Snapfish offers prints up to 20"x30" and has a good reputation.

  3. Of course the first name in photography, Kodak, has an online service.

  4. Another well known name, Shutterfly, offers large prints.

  5. Two of the cheapest places I've run across is Clarkcolor.com and YorkPhoto.com.  I'll be trying one of them really soon.  They are worth a try.

  6. Imagers offers waterfall posters up to 59"x96".

  7. El-Co Color Labs prints up to 30"x60".

  8. PixelOutpost specializes in posters and producing quality prints from low resolution files.

 

2 - Upload Your File

 

Each processor will have specific guidelines for uploading your files.  Don't worry if you're new to this.  They understand and most of them provide simple instructions for even the novice.

 

3 - Order The Print

 

Here's the really easy part.  The processors want to "close the deal" - you know, take your money - so ordering waterfall posters is simple once the file is uploaded.  You will want to check out their paper and finishing options before ordering. 

 

 

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