There’s no better way to add a touch of untamed beauty to our living spaces than with nature photography prints. Choosing the right medium for your prints is essential to ensure that they not only enhance the visual appeal of your home or office but also reflect your personal style.
In this article, we will explore the three main options: metal, paper, and canvas prints. By understanding the unique characteristics and advantages of each, you can make an informed decision and create a stunning display that enhances your home décor.
Table of Contents
Metal Prints: Modern, High-Definition with Vivid Colours
Image: “Grazing Elk” by Alberta nature photographer Steve McLaughlin
Metal prints are a relatively new and visually stunning printing technique. The printing process involves infusing dyes directly into specially coated aluminum sheets, resulting in a sleek, glossy surface that enhances the smallest details. Their thin profile creates a sleek and minimalist look, keeping the focus on the imagery without distraction. Printed on a vibrant white base, viewing images on metal is almost like seeing them on a computer screen!
With their high-definition details and vibrant colors, metal prints bring the images to life in a way that traditional mediums don’t. They are surprisingly lightweight, making them easy to hang and move around if needed. Our metal prints come with a foam backing to further minimize the weight while keeping prints durable and easy to hang. Small to medium sizes can safely hang on command strips to avoid your damaging your wall, but also include a sawtooth cut-out if you prefer to hang them from a nail.
Although sleek and thin, metal prints are also known for their durability. The aluminum is resistant to fading, moisture, and scratches, ensuring that your prints stay vibrant for years to come. Care is simple, needing only a wipe-down from time to time with a non-abrasive cloth to keep them free from dust and finger prints.
With their sleek and modern appearance, metal prints can complement a variety of interior styles and settings. They work especially well in modern and minimalist settings, but can also complement brick or wood interiors. The high quality and clarity of metal prints, as well as the metal they’re printed on is reflected in their price.
Canvas Prints: Rustic, Authentic and Textured
Image: “The Boss of Banff” by Canmore wildlife photographer Steve McLaughlin
Canvas prints are significantly less expensive than metal to print and ship, while still offering exceptional print quality. If you’re looking for a gift to yourself or someone who lives outside of North America, canvas prints may just be the perfect choice for you!
Printed directly on a textured canvas surface that adds depth, dimension and warmth to the artwork. Canvas prints have a rustic quality that complements wildlife and nature photography beautifully.
Our canvas prints are sold stretched across a sustainable wooden frame. They come with a sawtooth hanger already installed, with bumpers to keep the artwork steady on your wall.
You can display canvas prints straight on the wall without framing. Optionally, you can add a frame to canvas prints later down the road to add further depth and interest. Like our metal prints, they are lightweight and easy to hang. You can just wipe them down with a smooth cloth from time to time to keep them free from dust.
With their textured surface, rustic charm, and versatility in display options, canvas prints provide an enchanting way to showcase your love for nature and wildlife. Elevate the ambiance of your space and immerse yourself in the beauty of the natural world with these captivating prints.
Paper Prints: Accessibility and Versatility
Paper prints come in different finishes, including matte, lustre and glossy.
We chose a Kodak lustre paper for our prints. While matte prints can sometimes feel too “flat”, glossy prints are highly reflective and may attract finger prints that are difficult to wipe clean. Kodak lustre is the perfect compromise between the two, and has a warm, natural finish.
Paper prints arrive rolled, and will need to be matted and framed to display. This gives you the freedom to pick out the mat and frame that best suits your décor.
While we don’t offer framing at this time, we love playing with different mat colours and framing options. Wildlife and nature photography looks incredible with rustic wood frames, and even sleek, modern metal frames.
Choosing the Right Printer
The quality of photography prints can vary drastically from one printer to another. This is definitely a case of you get what you pay for! In the early days of our photography business, we went through a lot of trial and error before finding printing partners who could meet our criteria for image quality, consistency between prints, and reliability.
There’s no sense having a great camera if your print quality suffers! While it can be tempting to go for cheaper printers, low quality printing can degrade the final viewing resolution of your images, may come out with a smudgy look, or have strange colour casts that vary from one image to the next. With cheaper prints, the inks are often more prone to fading and can even look strange at different viewing angles.
Many factors go into producing a high quality print, including the printing technology itself, the printer’s knowledge of colour management and the quality of materials they use. Different printing techniques, using different inks on different mediums produce different results. While printing may seem fairly simple to most of us, it’s a skill that requires a lot of curiosity and attention to detail. This is where choosing a printer who truly cares about the results they produce can make all the difference to the final print. Printer technology, alongside camera technology is constantly improving and evolving.
It’s absolutely worth it to opt for the slightly higher costs of a high quality printing company with a great reputation. High quality prints last longer, are easy to care for and have the potential to become heirloom pieces.
Picking the medium that’s right for you
Metal prints offer modern elegance and durability, while paper prints exude classic charm and versatility. On the other hand, canvas prints provide an opportunity for artistic expression and texture. By understanding the distinct qualities and advantages of each medium, you can confidently choose the perfect option for your home or office.
We invite you to explore our collection of wildlife and landscape photography prints, available in each of the mediums covered here. Whether you prefer the sleekness of metal, the timeless appeal of lustre paper, or the texture of canvas, our prints are crafted with care and attention to detail. Elevate your space with captivating imagery that brings the beauty of nature to life.
