I often think about my paper when taking the photograph. I sometimes know how I want it to look at the end based on what I’m seeing. Whether it behaves in accord to my vision is another thing.
I've struggled with similar questions when trying to decide how to display a series of infrared (wavelength > 720 nm) converted to B&W images. I decided to go with a matte paper to tone down some of the contrast, which seemed to be getting too high with platine or baryta papers. BUT (shout intended) the differences between the paper types were muted once the prints went behind glass.
I know some people who are playing with matting and framing the print without glass or plexiglas. That certainly allows the character of the paper to make a larger contribution. And it certainly lowers the cost! It also brings canvas into the conversation, although the range of canvas surfaces is much smaller than the range of paper surfaces.
Shipping photographs without glass probably requires coating the prints with varnish to protect them, introducing another variable. As the number of variables increases, so does the need for therapy...
We tend to mount prints on special and beautiful papers without glass. In most if not all cases we use Moab Desert spray which does not affect the appearance of matte papers in any way. If you need glass the only real choice if you want to show the paper's qualities is extremely expensive anti-reflective coated museum glass which is free from reflections and hard to tell is even there.
Adrian, there is no prohibition, but be careful here! First there is the element of consistency for the viewer. A mix of papers is often confusing and off-putting. Second, the papers bend far differently, making turning pages difficult. Then there is the issue of gloss papers clashing with more subtle matte papers.
I often think about my paper when taking the photograph. I sometimes know how I want it to look at the end based on what I’m seeing. Whether it behaves in accord to my vision is another thing.
I've struggled with similar questions when trying to decide how to display a series of infrared (wavelength > 720 nm) converted to B&W images. I decided to go with a matte paper to tone down some of the contrast, which seemed to be getting too high with platine or baryta papers. BUT (shout intended) the differences between the paper types were muted once the prints went behind glass.
I know some people who are playing with matting and framing the print without glass or plexiglas. That certainly allows the character of the paper to make a larger contribution. And it certainly lowers the cost! It also brings canvas into the conversation, although the range of canvas surfaces is much smaller than the range of paper surfaces.
Shipping photographs without glass probably requires coating the prints with varnish to protect them, introducing another variable. As the number of variables increases, so does the need for therapy...
We tend to mount prints on special and beautiful papers without glass. In most if not all cases we use Moab Desert spray which does not affect the appearance of matte papers in any way. If you need glass the only real choice if you want to show the paper's qualities is extremely expensive anti-reflective coated museum glass which is free from reflections and hard to tell is even there.
For a book, is there any prohibition on using gloss paper for some pages and matte for others?
Adrian, there is no prohibition, but be careful here! First there is the element of consistency for the viewer. A mix of papers is often confusing and off-putting. Second, the papers bend far differently, making turning pages difficult. Then there is the issue of gloss papers clashing with more subtle matte papers.