{"id":11964,"date":"2026-10-18T05:02:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T03:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/2026\/10\/18\/what-i-learned-from-printing-a-photo-for-the-first-time\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T05:02:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T03:02:59","slug":"what-i-learned-from-printing-a-photo-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/2026\/10\/18\/what-i-learned-from-printing-a-photo-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"What I learned from printing a photo for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section class=\"alignfull wp-block-gearpatrol-article-header has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-gearpatrol-article-header-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-gearpatrol-dek\">\n\tAbby was kind enough to guide me on my inaugural darkroom journey<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?w=1920\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail not-transparent wp-post-image has-focal-point\" alt=\"Two people silhouetted under yellow light in a darkroom.\" style=\"--dominant-color: #2f1604;object-fit:cover;object-position: 50% 50%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png 3840w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=650,366 650w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=1920,1080 1920w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gi_mitchell_and_abby_in_darkroom.png?resize=1200,675 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" data-dominant-color=\"2f1604\"><span class=\"wp-block-image__credit\">Mitchell Clark<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"alignfull wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content-is-layout-constrained is-article-intro\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have something to admit: I\u2019ve never really printed my photos. Sure, I have some drugstore 4 x 6\u2033 prints of pictures taken with both digital and film cameras, as well as a few photo books and pieces of wall art, but I\u2019ve never done anything that would be considered a large print, nor have I ever actually been involved in the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"alignfull wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"ad-section--sidebar wp-block-gearpatrol-ad-slot\">\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I told my coworker Abby this, she was horrified. Making prints is an important part of her process, especially for work that ends up in a gallery. So, long ago (March 5th of this year, according to my Slack records), we decided that the next time we were in the same town, we should make a video where she teaches me how to print.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That opportunity didn\u2019t come quickly \u2013 we live on basically opposite sides of the US, after all \u2013 but the stars eventually aligned, and we were able to make the video, which you can watch below.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Teaching my coworker how to print photos\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z2Ms077C7oQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ever since our first conversation, I knew what image I wanted to print: a film photo I had taken of a baseball player signing autographs. It\u2019s one of my favorite shots, and having the negative meant we could make the video using the photochemical darkroom process. I\u2019ve developed almost all my own film, but that was done almost exclusively in my bathroom using a daylight tank. I figured the fully immersive experience would be far more interesting, and I was right, even if it did present some filming challenges<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-500-color\">*<\/mark>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"alignfull wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"ad-section--sidebar wp-block-gearpatrol-ad-slot\">\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While we didn\u2019t go through the full end-to-end process \u2013 I\u2019d already scanned the roll, so I knew exactly what picture to print, obviating the need to make a contact sheet \u2013 I feel like the few prints we did gave a lot of appreciation for printing as an art form. I\u2019ve seen my images blown up on a pretty big TV, and spent time laboring over some of them in Photoshop, but the physical printing process forced me to spend time with them in a way that I rarely do. I suspect I\u2019d have a very different relationship to photography if I were in an era where printing was an integral part of the process, rather than a novelty.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?original\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"686868\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #686868;\" decoding=\"async\" data-destinationlink=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?original\" data-event=\"clickable_image\" height=\"1158\" width=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?w=1920\" alt=\"Baseball player in a Flowers jersey signs autographs for a crowd of children in a stadium corridor.\" class=\"wp-image-676758 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg 6820w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?resize=300,181 300w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?resize=650,392 650w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?resize=768,463 768w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?resize=1920,1158 1920w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?resize=1536,927 1536w, https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flowers_crop.jpg?resize=2048,1236 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scan of the negative from which we printed.<\/figcaption><span class=\"wp-block-image__credit\">Mitchell Clark<\/span><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite having looked at the image on my monitor many times, I still noticed new things about it after printing it. It also helped me see past some of the flaws. Perhaps this is a bad habit, but when I\u2019m looking at photos on a computer, I often zoom in to 1:1. Doing that with my film photos is a recipe for disappointment; I can see that not everything is sharp, and that I may have used a shutter speed that was a touch slower than optimal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of that melts away when looking at the print, though, and I can focus on the photo itself. At the size we used, those \u201cissues\u201d aren\u2019t as obvious, and it can just be a picture that I can experience and enjoy. Looking at it from the other side, though, I can also see how printing could be a very educational process, since spending so much time with the image forces you to consider what you\u2019d do differently if you were shooting it again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"alignfull wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"ad-section--sidebar wp-block-gearpatrol-ad-slot\">\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Despite having looked at the image on my monitor many times, I still noticed new things about it after printing it<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abby was also kind enough to do a digital print with me too, though the process doesn\u2019t make for as good TV. (We have <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AxhRHVILbvI\">posted the lightly edited video of it<\/a>, though, if you\u2019re interested.) I personally enjoyed the darkroom experience a lot more, but almost all of my photography is digital these days, and I think I could still learn a lot by printing digitally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that I will. I don\u2019t really have room for a large photo printer, and I think I\u2019d struggle to spend the money on the ink for one even if I had a place to put it. And even if I were taking film photos worth printing, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anywhere I could do it in my local area. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, I\u2019m glad I had the opportunity to do a print, and feel like I learned a lot from the experience. I\u2019m interested to hear from our community, though. As Abby says in the video, we did a survey in our newsletter about printing habits and there were several responses from people who said they never printed. If that was you, why haven\u2019t you printed, or why don\u2019t you anymore? Lack of interest? Access? Let me know in the comments below. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"alignfull wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"ad-section--sidebar wp-block-gearpatrol-ad-slot\">\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-gearpatrol-article-content has-global-padding is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-500-color\">* \u2013 Yes, I probably should\u2019ve manually focused the camera\u2026 but then how would I have tested its autofocus in an extreme situation?<\/mark><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-biography\"><span class=\"wp-block-post-author-biography__label\">About the Author: <\/span>Mitchell started taking pictures at 10 and hasn\u2019t stopped since. It\u2019s been a wide-ranging adventure, spanning a wide variety of genres and locales, and occasionally dipping into fascinations with video and filmmaking. They honed their technical knowledge doing documentation, programing and QA, writing for The Verge, and just generally messing around on the computer to see what breaks.<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a20ee2 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"background-color:var(--wp--custom--color--grey-900);border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:10px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m);padding:var(--wp--preset--spacing--m)\">\n<p class=\"is-style-caption-1 wp-block-paragraph\">Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases?\u00a0Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" google-add-preferred-source-btn=\"\" data-theme=\"dark\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity\" id=\"comments\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/forums\/threads\/what-i-learned-from-printing-a-photo-for-the-first-time.4869547\/?embedded=1&amp;theme=auto\" data-embed-title=\"Forum discussion\" data-thread-id=\"4869547\" data-open=\"0\">\n\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__toggle view-comments\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"wayfinder-xf-embed-676757\"><br \/>\n\t\tView 5 comments\t<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__embed-wrap\" id=\"wayfinder-xf-embed-676757\" hidden>\n<div class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__header\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__title\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__forum-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/forums\/threads\/what-i-learned-from-printing-a-photo-for-the-first-time.4869547\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tForum View\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__embed-container\">\n<div class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__spinner\"><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wayfinder-xf-forum-activity__loading-text\">Loading comments\u2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>Author: Mitchell Clark<br \/>\nThis article comes from <i>DP Review<\/i> and can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dpreview.com\/photography\/mitchell-first-time-printing-darkroom\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>read on the original site.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abby was kind enough to guide me on my inaugural darkroom journey Mitchell Clark I have something to admit: I\u2019ve never really printed my photos.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[51,50,49,39,52],"class_list":["post-11964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-camera-review-and-news","tag-camcorder","tag-camera","tag-dp-review","tag-news","tag-review"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Brokenmount","author_link":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/author\/sysop\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/category\/camera-review-and-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Camera Reviews and News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Abby was kind enough to guide me on my inaugural darkroom journey Mitchell Clark I have something to admit: I\u2019ve never really printed my 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