If you are a typical consumer, you probably haven’t ever thought about photography papers and the difference they could make to your equestrian images. For the purposes of this blog post, we are going to look at some of the available types of photo paper for horse pictures. These are papers that might be used for wall art framed prints, folio boxes and albums, and even gift prints.
When a horse photographer starts mentioning words to you like “Glossy”, “Lustre”, “Metallic”, “Silk”, and “Matte”, you are probably completely confused as to what they are talking about — and WHY they are talking about it.
Let’s face it, all you want is your image to look pretty on your wall or in a frame. You don’t care what paper is used. What difference could it possibly make?
The fact is that when it comes to equine photography, photo paper can make or break an image.
After all, we are talking about rich blacks, vibrant chestnuts, and beautiful blue roans. And, we are talking about not only the vibrant colors of the horse’s body, mane, and tail, but also the environment the horse is living in – the skies, fields, show rings, and more.
Photography paper can help to make the final images of your horse look not just ok but spectacular.
And, if you are going to pay for professional horse photography, it’s important that your final product absolutely shows off your beautiful horse at his best.
Glossy Photography Paper for Equine Images
If you go to a chain store like Walgreens, or Costco, to print your images, you are having your snapshots printed on glossy photo paper. After all, it is the most common paper. Here are some pros and cons to consider when having your professional horse photographer prepare your images for printing.
Glossy photo paper has some definite pros:
- Images are very realistic with sharp details and vibrant colors.
- Offers a very luminous appearance.
- Reflects a lot of light so a good choice for happy, joyous images
There are some pretty significant cons to glossy photography paper though.
- Not the best choice for images without a lot of colors.
- Not the best choice for black and white or sepia color images.
- Glossy photo paper is more likely to stick to glass.
- It is more likely to show fingerprints and fingerprints on your images are more difficult to remove.
- It is also more likely to scratch than other photography papers.
Your equine photographer should be able to give you samples of different types of paper to feel and touch. In fact, for Ride the Sky Equine Photography clients, I have a couple of sets of example papers that I printed the same exact same images. This allows clients to see – and feel – the differences between the papers on the same image.
Matte Photography Paper for Horse Images
The name “matte” comes from the lack of that super-glossy look that you find on glossy photo paper. A matte finish is a simple protective coating that is added to the image once it has been printed. If you aren’t a fan of a super shiny photo finish, matte might be something for you to look into.
Let’s look at some of the pros of Matte:
- Does a good job of protecting images from fingerprints
- Can be a good choice for black and white images
- Sepia tone images can look good on matte
- A good choice for images with non-living subject matters
- Gives an instant vintage photo feel
- Features a smooth and almost silky look for colors and printing
- The ink absorbs into the paper giving a soft fine look
- Eliminates the glare of light reflection
- Ideal for images that are going to be handled a lot
While Matte has a lot of things to recommend it, it does also have some cons.
- The finish can make pictures look dull, less rich, and less vibrant
- Not a good choice for images where the small details matter
When discussing your options with your equine photographer, it’s important to consider what is most important to you. Are you planning on handling your images a lot? Will they be on a wall under glass? Are details important? Is the color most important?
Your equestrian photographer should be able to give you samples of different types of paper to feel and touch.
For Ride the Sky Equine Photography clients, I have a couple of sets of example papers that I printed the same exact same images on. This allows clients to see the differences between the papers on the same image.
Lustre Photo Paper for Equestrian Images
The best way to describe luster paper is if glossy photo paper and matte photography paper made a baby. Lustre (or Luster) is a unique finish used by manufacturers in their professional range. It is most often described as being halfway between glossy and matte photography papers and has some of the best attributes of each. Because of that, it has a lot of attributes to recommend it.
Let’s look at some of the pros of Lustre:
- Resembles pearl in its visual appearance
- Produces vivid colors with sharp details
- Smooth tonality with rich blacks
- Has less glare than glossy photography paper; but more than matte
- Soft Texture feel helps reduce fingerprint marks
- Ink dries quickly
- If images are going to be handled a lot, this is a great choice
- More resistant to fading over time
- Show great color but not as vibrant as a glossy paper
Honestly, I had a hard time coming up with cons when it comes to lustre paper. It’s a good all-around choice for a wide variety of images. However, even though there aren’t a lot of cons, it doesn’t mean that luster paper is the best choice for ALL images.
Metallic Photo Paper for Equine Images
Let’s talk Metallic! if you are a typical consumer, and not a photography nerd like me, who prints snapshots at home or from a big box chain, you probably don’t even realize that metallic photo paper exists, much less what to use it for. That’s because metallic photo paper isn’t offered to the general public.
Metallic photo paper is available only to professional photographers from professional labs. It’s a favorite to many professional photographers for a variety of reasons. Metallic paper is cool…but it does have some limitations.
First, let’s talk about some of the pros of Metallic photo paper.
- Pearlescent effect embedded into the paper itself
- Luxurious brilliance to the images
- Almost creates a 3D effect which gives photos a depth that no other paper can
- Color is truly vibrant and tends to pop
- Very high gloss finish
- Often used for more artistic images
- Defined and Sharp Images
- Images with reflections and negative white space will look amazing on metallic
- Best when framed WITHOUT glass
- Black and White usually look great on metallic
- Paper is really durable; resistant to tearing and curling
- Much less likely to scratch
There are some cons to Metallic photo paper
- Fingerprints can be an issue
- Best for images not handled frequently
- More expensive
Learn More about Photography Papers
Knowing the difference between photography papers can help you see why some might be a better fit for your equine portrait images than other options.
For Ride the Sky Equine Photography clients, I have a couple of sets of example papers that I printed the same images on. This allows clients to see – and feel – the differences between the papers on the same image.
It allows them to see how glare looks, what fingerprints show up, and how they fade and handle over time.
Ready to see how beautiful your horse looks on photography paper? Send a message here.
Betsy Bird of Ride the Sky Equine Photography spends her days doing insane things to make horses look at her. Clearly, she’s desperate for attention. When she’s not celebrating the stories of the amazing horses in her clients’ lives, she invests time and energy into perfecting her equine photography skills and growing her business, hanging with her favorite rescue dog, Nitro, and planning her next big adventure. She also tries to spend some time educating and entertaining her fans and potential clients by blogging and posting on social media about whatever catches her fancy at the moment.
Betsy is a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) with the organization Professional Photographers of America (PPA). The CPP designation is held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and is a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry, and professionalism. Ride the Sky specializes in on-location photography for equines. Ride the Sky also has the option of bringing the studio to the stable. Based in Chattanooga, TN, Ride the Sky Equine Photography works on location in Tennessee, North Georgia, and beyond.