It goes without saying that you MUST print your work! It’s amazing how many people don’t get around to printing their photographs, or if they do the fruits of their efforts often languish in an empty photo paper box.  Sad. So I’m hoping that you will carefully study your proof sheets and print the images that move you.

But printing isn’t the end of the line. Now you must mat the prints. I still dry mount my prints made on 8 X 10 paper (the size of my prints are never that large though) onto 14 X 17 4 ply mat boards.  Some people use hinges. Doesn’t matter. Then I study the prints for a while. The best way to do this is by standing them up on the strip of molding I have attached to one of the walls in my workroom just for this purpose.  This deceptively simple device works wonders!

One of two things will happen.  Either you will come to the decision that the prints you are studying are statements of what you saw in your mind’s eye and deserving of a place in your portfolio, or you will decide that they need more work or aren’t very good after all.  In any case you will have learned a lot and taken a major step to create what speaks to you and is only your best work!

Now 4 ply “picture frame” mats are cut and placed on top of the keepers to protect the image surfaces. I connect them to the bottom mat with archival tape, then a sheet of protective archival paper is placed between the mats for storage in an archival box for safe keeping.

But the ultimate goal is to see the results of all your work placed in a frame (I prefer black Nielson Style 15) and mounted on a wall, so you … and perhaps others … may see and enjoy them! It really doesn’t matter what wall it is. I’m not driven to show my work in galleries anymore.

The key is to get to the finish line and savor what you’ve accomplished … because you’ve accomplished a lot!  Knowing that matters … because it’s much more than what the vast amount of those who photograph will ever do in a lifetimes!

Stay well,

Michael