The Fine-Art Digital Print

In a world where millions of images are created every day, the question remains—how can I be different as a photographer? In the age of screen time and social media, what continues to stand out is a high-quality photographic print. 

This hands-on program in the Workshops state-of-the-art Digital Lab in Santa Fe is designed for photographers new to digital printing, as well as those who have been making prints for a while but know they need to improve their skills and expand their knowledge base in this ever-changing realm.

Photographer, printmaker, and long-time Workshops educator Cotton Miller begins this workshop by detailing printing theory and practice and how it reflects artistic expression. He guides you through the importance of color management and a proper printing workflow using Adobe Lightroom. You learn not only what it takes to make a great print, but more importantly how to make very consistent prints.

Cotton reviews the critical technical concepts that lead to high-quality, expressive prints: color management, monitor calibration, color theory, working with specific characteristics of different papers and ICC profiles, and provides different exercises for developing acute color vision. Developing your skills in these areas ultimately enhances your ability to evaluate your prints and make fine adjustments to create the beautiful color or black-and-white prints you envision.

Embracing the entire photographic process from image capture to print, this workshop explores the various qualities of a digital fine print and the development tools offered by Adobe Lightroom with supplemental adjustments in Photoshop. Cotton also introduces inkjet printing techniques on alternative substrates such as vellum and Pictorico. All the while, our focus throughout this inspiring week is on acquiring the necessary skills for producing excellent prints that you see in your mind’s eye on a consistent basis.