More than Photography

Simple inkjet transfer

This is one of the simplest and easiest ways to transfer an image, mainly because (1) the transfer is done without applying any transfer medium and (2) it is an instant process.

What you need:

• Inkjet Printer
• Standard Sheet Protector
• Receiving surface such as a photographic paper.

Inkjet or printer transfer is a very simple process. It works because the photo is printed on a nonabsorbent surface, like glassine or wax paper, the back side of the sticky labels paper or my favorite; a standard sheet
protector.
As you print your photo into a non-absorbent surface the ink will remain wet for a while. All you need to do now is transfer the image onto any type of photographic paper by pressing the print face down into the receiving paper.

Now, a few words of wisdom:
1) It is recommended, especially if you have text in the photo, to print a mirror image of your photo – otherwise the final transfer will appear to be backwards.
2) If the sheet protector does not go smoothly through your printer, try inserting a piece of standard printer paper inside the sheet protector before printing, and then try again.
3) You can set your printer to any of the paper/media type options available for your printer, but keep in mind that unless you wish to have the ink-smudge effect, the “plain paper” option will work quite well (not to mention it will help you economize the use of precious ink)…. Read More

Basic IMAGE TRANSFER (inkjet)

What you need:

Inkjet Printer
Standard weight printer paper
Transfer medium
Receiving surface
UV-resistant clear finish

After getting the hang of inkjet transfers, here is another method of transferring inkjet printouts from one surface to another. This method is a tad more complicated than the previous inkjet transfer, but yet fairly straightforward and quite enjoyable to do.

This method of transferring images is not what people usually refer to when they talk about image transfer which is actually a Polaroid transfer.
The technique discussed here has nothing to do with Polaroids and it requires different materials altogether:
An inkjet printer, standard weight paper, a transfer medium, and a surface to transfer the image to…  Read More

Adding a canvas background layer to your photo

This method is a quick and simple way to spice up any photo. The best photo choice to use with this technique is practically any photo you like and want to add a special touch to.
The first thing to do is make a quick painting on canvas, and if this part of the process leaves you feeling intimidated, all I can say is: don’t be. Since all you are doing is creating a background layer for your photo the painting does not need to be a masterpiece, just something that pleases your eye. If it makes you feel better I, myself, had never done any painting on canvas before and had quite a bit of fun experimenting with it.
It’s a good idea to use an unframed canvas panel at
8” X 10” so it will be easy to scan when it’s dry.
You can use any type of paints that work on canvas; I like to use acrylic paints since they
dry quite fast. … Read More

Aging a color photo is obviously more challenging than making a black and white or a sepia tone image look old – difficult, but not impossible.
Especially if you like coffee.
Now on to the details:
The first step is to un-vibrant (is this a word?) the image so it doesn’t look too vivid. You can do this during scanning or in your image editor by reducing the highlights, saturation, and contrast. Or you can just go for one of your unsuccessful washed-out photos (as you see, unsuccessful doesn’t necessarily mean failed).

The next step is to create an aged looking paper, which I did by using the leftovers of my morning coffee. Really! All you need to do is crumble a paper (I used watercolor paper), soak it in coffee, and let it dry in the sun. Now the same watercolor paper looks like it has seen many years of hardship… Read More

You can find these processes and many others in my new book:
So Much More than Photography
eBook edition Price: $10
Kindle edition Price: $10
Print edition (Amazon) Price: $35 $25.20
Black & White print edition Price: $20
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