[Blurrr]

I listen to some great Podcasts at http://www.lenswork.com/index.html They are done by the Editor of Lenswork magazine, Brooks Jensen and I find them to be really thought provoking. One I listened to recently really made me think. He was talking about “The size that feels right” which was referring to how in different arts there are unwritten conventions about size – a pop song is usually 3.5 to 4 minutes long, a painting is around 3ft by 4ft etc etc. He then asks the question what feels right for a photograph. His answer is around an 8X10 print (or 5X7 or 11X14). I tend to agree with him – perhaps the upper end being no bigger than A3. What do other people think?

[adam]

I think the pop song is 3 to 4 minutes long to be radio friendly, so it can sell more and get more money.
I'm not familiar with painting sizes though.
As for photographs, all my prints are the small ones, I think 6 x 4, because it's the cheapest.. haha
If it was the same price to print it at A3, I'd print my pictures at A3 size, but then it might get too big!

Law for diminishing marginal utility! I gain less and less satisfaction each size larger, haha, you can tell I've been studying economics again But I also wouldn't mind mega huge picture.

Normally, when I look at peoples photo albums, there's no photographs that are very large. Just the common size 6x4

[mic]

Photography is very personal. Most images are shot for my veiwing pleasure and so I can remember where I've been. 10x15cm is good enough.

If I want to display my work on a wall 8x12 inches. Full 35mm format, never 8x10. Those extra two inches give me more satisfaction.

[Don Schaeffer]

It's hard to make judgments about print size when so much photography goes not on a wall but on a screen of some kind--mostly 17 inch monitors.

[Kombisaurus]

I agree with Don that it is a difficult question when it comes to electronic media. And to make matters worse, now it seems lots of manufacturers are moving away from the "standard" 4:3 ratio screens.

The three PC's I run at home all use different screen ratios - 5:4, 16:10, and 4:3!! So if I want a wallpaper for them, I have to do it at 1600x1200, and then crop and resample it down to a bunch of different sizes and resolutions.
Oh, and then if that's not bad enough, at least the aspect ratio of P&S digicams are 4:3 to suit most monitors... but DSLRS? no way, they follow the aspect ratio of 35mm film!
And I'm not even going to get into the "widescreen" issue with movies and TV's and the propoganda and misinformation pushed out by department store salespeople who have just enough intelligence to mis-quote a brochure their manager made them read during their break.

<takes a deep breath>

WHY? WHY! WHY! WHY!?!?!?? <breaks down in tears> :~(

Please... please world, can we all decide on an aspect ratio and just stick to it. I don't even care what it is any more!

<takes another deep breath>

Sorry, but I feel much better now.

As far as my own personal prints go, I don't print a lot out, but the ones I do, I print at mostly 8x10. I figure if an image is worth printing, then it should be big enough to give it some impact (ie not 6x4). I think images around 8x10 or 8x12 or A4 are big enough to hang nicely on a wall and be noticed across the room, but they don't take centre stage by themselves or scream for attention. I print out the occasional A4 print, but I find 8x10 is generally a lot more suitable for framing (I tend to use 11x13 frame and a matte to fit the 8x10 print).
I'd *love* the current wave of digital photography and printing to lead frame manufacturers to release a great variety of 11x15 frames and 8x12 mattes - I agree with mic that these extra 2 inches are valuable, and this size would be perfect for anyone with an A4 printer.
I've never printed anything at A3, and while I'd love to do some prints this big, I think it would only suit certain images (and look amazing).

As far as aspect ratio goes (which is probably more important than absolute size where digital images are concerned), I personally think the 4:3 aspect ratio is the best general purpose aspect ratio. It isn't perfect for all subjects, but I believe it is the most flexible and has the benefit of being widely used for TV screens. I really like the DSLR (35mm film) ratio a lot of the time but often for portraits it can be really annoying, while 4:3 might not be quite so good sometimes, but it also isn't as annoying. The 8x10 prints are actually squarer than 4:3 (they are 5:4) which can be irritating with landscapes and panoramas, but I think a cropped 8x10 with a nice matte and frame looks better than a 4:3 print in a dodgy frame with no matte.

I actually have a wall in my kitchen devoted to some of my current photos. There are a series of 5 frames on the wall that each hold an 8x10. Periodically I rotate the prints that are in them (a bit like a "picture of the month" kind of thing). I do this partly just to brighten the place up a bit, but also I find it useful when I'm in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil or whatever to stare at them and think of ways to improve my photography. It turns some of my "dead time" into useful critique time and makes standing in the kitchen a bit less boring.
I think its great to actually put photos out on display (and I'm sure most of you know that I'm not shy about posting photos here), and the greatest shame are fantastic photos that spend all their time locked away in a cupboard or hard drive somewhere never to be seen.

[shuttertalk]

Personally, I like 5x7's and - but only because I can fit two on an A4 page (similar to Letter size, all you other people). If I really like the picture, I print borderless full page A4...

[EnglishBob]

The majority of my prints are 14"*10, but only bacause with a 3" border that ends up 20*16 matted.

For personal use or to give to other people I mostly print 8*10. Occasionaly when I have an image I feel just can't be cropped I print at 19*13 (A3) and just mount it on Foam board.

[Kombisaurus]

I'm jealous of all you guys with A3 printers.

Those 14x10 prints in a 20x16 frame sound fantastic Bob. Shame that 14x10 is just a bit big for A4.

I never see A3 photo paper in the shops though (but I never look for it either). What sort of paper do you use? Can you get anything in between A4 and A3? And how does the cost compare to A4?

One of these days (when I get a couple of shots I'm really proud of), I'll get one or two photos lab-printed on a large scale and take them to a framer to have something made up for them - just to see how good a digital photo can look on the wall when given the right treatment.

[EnglishBob]

For 90% of my printing I use Ilford papers... and yes, there is a midsize paper, I print my 14*10 (actually I print 14.5*10.5 so the mat has some overlap) on Ilford 17*11 paper.

[Kombisaurus]

thanks for that info Bob. There's hope for me yet....

But please, nobody encourage me to buy an A3 printer! At this rate I'll end up selling my house to support my image habit!

[EnglishBob]

No need to sell, a second mortgage should do it