From @nikpenny on Instagram 2014.
I'm lucky because I saw my work printed very early in my journey, and from that moment on I wanted to keep getting work printed. In 2014 I got the cover and centerfold of a small local magazine with photos from our football team winning the 2013 state championship. The photos worked out, I was extremely excited, and I couldn’t have done it without my teacher, but after some time I realized that the physical printing of the photos is what was so exciting. Prints take your photos to a higher level of scrutiny and importance.
Last year, I had the audacity to think photos I take are not only worth space on your wall, but your money as well. Putting a price on the work made me double check some compositions and definitely stop taking drive by travel photos. In my opinion, it makes my work better everyday. I have run through a few different places to print, but haven’t yet invested in my own large printer to get the images done in shop. The price of these mammoth Canon or Epson printers can be astronomical, which doesn’t seem to lineup yet with there being almost no demand for prints sooner than I can get them shipped.
I order from Adorama, White Wall, Bay Photo, and a couple of local vendors. As far as quality goes, I float between all of them for what they are best at, there really isn’t one place where I could recommend all different formats from. If I have a longer shipping window for paper I go with White Wall. Metal prints have to be from Adorama in Brooklyn, and everything in between is from Bay Photo. I even made a video about it.
Print more of your work. It will elevate your quality, and the way you and others view your work. Not that anyone is in this for the money, but one day you could even sell your prints. One of my favorite memories or things I have ever gotten to do with photography ever is simply putting a photograph on someone else’s wall. For me, it feels like an unbelievable compliment, and I can use it as motivation to keep making more photos that hopefully will grace the walls of someone’s home.