Finding Your Affinity Photo Paper Profile

How to Find Your Specific Paper Profiles in Affinity Photo for Use with Your Specific Printer

I finally learned how to “develop,” to my satisfaction, an image in Affinity Photo. I carry some years of Photoshop and Lightroom experience. But when I tried to print, AP’s color management process was fairly well-hidden. Not in typical places, and no where could I find it in AP's documentation.

Note, I’m using Affinity Photo 1.5 on a MacBook Pro (MBP) with MacOS Yosemite 10.10.5. My monitor is calibrated with xrite’s Color Muniki Display software. Furthermore, I print with an Epson R2880. But these procedures should work with most mid-line and above inkjet printers. It might be similar to Affinity Photo 1.5 for Windows, but I have not tried it on that system.I use paper profile Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Matte for my test prints. This profile is in the Apple’s ColorSync system on my computer, and is the “default” for me. If that’s all I printed with, all would be fine. 

But I gravitate towards fine art papers like Epson Hot Press (or Cold Press) Natural White/Bright White papers.The standard menus don’t point to specific profiles for these papers. I know I have them on my MBP, as I’ve used them often on Lightroom and Photoshop.

How can I use other paper profiles in Affinity Photo? This is the focus of this note. Note, you need to load your own specific paper profiles to a specific Library subdirectory on your computer. Mine happen to be in the standard /Library/ColorSync/Profiles.

As a precursor to using a non-standard paper profile, I invite you to look at the Default Settings in the Print Dialog.

a. Select /File/Print

b. The typical Print Dialog appears: Press the Default Settings as shown by the arrow.

c. I direct you to the last item of the drop-down, Show Presets, below:

4. Open two items, Color Matching and Print Settings, below:

Yeah, you can’t select anything under either item. But note two things:

In Color Matching section, what you want is Color Matching. Most likely you’re on the default, Epson Color Controls (or whatever brand printer you’re using).

In Print Settings, my Media Type is Ultra Premium Presentation, which refers to the physical media (paper) itself, not the digital printer profile from Epson (or other paper manufacturer).

OK, enough for precursors of information.

Next we’ll see how we can select paper profiles.

1. Select Scaling and Artboards. 

Yeah, this doesn’t make any sense at all. But I will allow snarky comments from the Peanut gallery…

2. You get a eclectic dropdown list (all sorts of things, including the kitchen sink.) But if you can believe your eyes, see the option of Color Matching, above:

3. This is a critical find. Select ColorSync, and you will get the following selection. I show only the right-hand side of the Dialog (I got lazy…)

What happens when you select ColorSync?

Here’s what we all have been waiting for. A drop-down Profile (for paper profiles), and my default (Automatic): SPR2880 Ultra Premium Presentation Matte specified. Your default may be different. 

And before you click the drop down, remember you need to have previously populated the correct Library subdirectory with your particular paper profile(s). I already did. So here are my partial selection of profiles, below:

Whoops, my desired paper profile didn’t yet appear. Press Other Profiles, and…

Here’s the one I wanted. Obviously, there are more profiles, which the elevator bar allows you to view.

Once you select your desired profile, you will be returned to the previous menu. But this time with your desired profile:

Yup, there it is. Of course it's my desired profile. Yours will be different. I found these settings to be persistent. Which means the next time I print, it will be this printer profile. Different paper? Change to the corresponding profile.

BTW, don’t get too giddy over finding this. You still need to press the Print button to get a physical copy of your image...

New Year, New Directions

In anticipation of a bright new year, I posted splash screens of new art images. My goal is to post new images, photographic and arts, once a quarter, starting in 2017.

On the technical digital development side, I'm well into Affinity Photo, one of my new editing tools. As I have for almost a decade, Lightroom serves as my main organizing, sorting, selection, and RAW development tool. It's my main conduit to Affinity Photo, as well as plugins like the Nik Collection (primarily Silver Efex Pro 2), Topaz Family, Tonality Pro, and Luminar.

On the creative side I will post my Assignments from The Art of Photography by YouTuber Ted Forbes. See my First Assignment: Variations.

I want to really push my limits on Black and White digital photography, becoming much better in Composition on the capture side. And luminosity masking, bending options, and tonality on the development and printing side.

Cheap Way to Steady a Tripod

To Dennis Mook, Wandering Lensman,

Thank you for your tip for steadying a camera without a  tripod. For $1.30 I was able to add to my “kit.” I always wondered how I would attach the eye bolt so that it wouldn’t go through camera body.

I mention “kit” above, because prior to reading your article, I used my parachute cord with my Nite-Ize Figure 9 to steady my tripod. Since you already have a kit similar to mind, you might want to see what other things you can do with it.

When it’s windy and storm, my tripod cannot hold my camera steady. So I use the Nite-Ize, connect it to the tripod and camera bag, and use the Nite-Ize like a Boy Scout taut-line hitch (which is not as strong in shifting winds as the Nite-Ize).

Here’s my “kit,” which is almost the same as yours:

I first set up my tripod and attach an ample amount of cord so my Nite-Ize hangs about 18’-24” down from the bottom of the tripod head. That’s so when you pull the tripod and camera bag taut, the Nite-Ize has some room to not bind with the tripod:

Now wrap the cord around the bottom of the tripod’s head. Make sure the cord does not interfere with the tripod head horizontal movement.

You are really supposed to loop the cord around the center of the tripod head with a ⅜” eye bolt screwed into the bottom of the tripod head shaft—so the force is correctly centered. I tried it, but I didn’t want to carry still another piece of equipment. I’ve found that the method above works well for me.

Attach the cord through the camera bag handle (or rock, or log, or…). Make it taut (but, not overly tight).  The setup is much more solid that a tripod by itself. I only use this in very windy or stormy situations. Or when near something that vibrates a lot (like waterfalls).

Here’s what the setup looks like:

Comes apart quickly, stores nicely in the camera bag or pocket, and is simple to use, just like your original tip about steadying a camera.

Wei Chong

PS: BTW, I made a loop in my cord so that I could attach both the eye bolt and Nite-Ize quickly and easily:

AOP Assignment 1: Variations

The Assignment

Pick one scene and photography it 10 ways, like Bach’s Goldberg Variations ir Monet’s Haystacks. You want to be forced out of your usual algorithmic thinking.

What this Assignment is to Me

I’m exploring improvements to my capacity for Creative Thinking. From where I am photographically in my own skill and creativity skill set. So I’m not trying to compete with anyone. 

I took something that was something I see everyday, but never thought much about it: my front courtyard.

It turned out at the end that of the 10 shots I presented, the most meaningful shots were ones I learned the most from, and more importantly, had more curiosity and could visualize expanding possibilities after the assignment.

My Imposed Constraints

I will shoot B&W jpegs, as that is what I’m trying to improve. For the most part, completed assignments will be straight out of the camera. I know I can improve with LR6/plugins/Photoshop, as I’m fairly experienced in post-processing. But my challenge is in getting the image, not improving in post-processing what I’ve shot.

If I need to make post-processing improvements, it will be to make the image understandable to me. BASIC changes only, except for panoramas, and then only in LR6. I will not use HDR.

Normal ISO (100-800) and apertures (f2.8-f11) will be used, unless it will be very High ISO variations.

Learning How to Increase My Capacity to be Creative

Of the over 200 B&W shots I to make these images, here’s what I learned from trying to increase my capacity be creative:

a. View from My Eye Level, Walking Out the Front Door into my courtyard.

Picking an everyday scene was a good choice, rather than seeking a new place. It forced me to be more innovative, rather than shooting the newness of another scene.

Normal Front Garden View

b. Pano Vertical

I know how to do horizontal panos. I’ve always struggled with vertical panos. And struggle I did, from how to mount the camera to how to overlap pictures (vertically). Not only did I do one vertical Pano, but I had a double set of Panos, in order to capture the whole picture, without doing too wide angle, thus making the background too small (without pano). I spent most time with this item, and there’s a lot more to learn.

Double-stitch Vertical Pano

c. Depth of Field (DOF)

I’m fairly used to Near and Far DOF. But not with motion (changing focus while exposing image. And this led to a sub-assignment to shoot many DOF of self-portraits to understand by focal length, how much DOF each aperture lost. Work in progress for portraits.

Near Focus                                                                               Far Focus

d. Point of View (POV)

I’ve done low POV, but need to get lower. And not much high POV. May need to explore POV within and between objects.

Low POV

High POV

e. Very High ISO

I’ve never shot Very High ISO 25,600 in normal (or even very low light…). So I decided to combine this shot with multiple exposure. I loved the grain and halation of this Very High ISO. and the ability for the B&W to create great contrast (as opposed to color). I found I like overlapping images. Later I intend to combine images in Affinity Photo to overcome the limit of 3 multiple exposure in the Nikon D7200.

Very High ISO with Multiple Exposure & Movement

f. Multiple exposures with Movement

Most challenging. Never shot much, and was always confused about how to do it, and what scenes speak to this for me. I took many shoots to discover I needed a darker background than the foreground--and movement to make the shot more creative. Lots of desire to expand this area with portraits. Not much with landscapes, however.

Multiple Exposure Movement, side to side

Multiple Exposure Movement, up & down

g. Moving Focus with Slow Exposure

Not much, unless I can change exposure during the move. The image turned out to remind me of IR photos.

Moving Focus, Slow Exposure

h. Moving Zoom with Slow Exposures

Most challenging. Learned I like overlapping images that are grainy (using very high ISO’s).  See f. above. I also would like to shoot some portrait profiles that a offset a very small about—and shoot for 9-12 shots.

Moving Zoom, Slow Exposure

i. Time of Day (TOD)

Not much, except for night shots. Will be most challenging to get a different image. Early morning and mid-afternoon were pedestrian. Am looking forward to getting a picture in the night. Dark and mysterious, with some light in the courtyard.

Morning

Night

Night at Holiday Time (others weren't)

j. Creating Physical Changes in Photo by Tearing Out Image(s)

Moving Picture with a Torn Picture Pasted on.

J. Creating Physical Changes in Photo with separate photos (2nd Try)

9 picture composite of Front Garden Details

How To Make a (Real) Bookmark, Using Lightroom

The bookmarks I’m talking about are real ones, for real books, as opposed to digital bookmarks for ebooks. I’ve always liked bookmarks, but was too cheap to buy them. At $2 a pop, I didn’t think it was worth the money. And besides, I never liked commercial bookmarks. Their photos or designs or words weren't me. 

So I thought, “if I can’t find something in the market that I like, why not make my own?”

Starting on the Wrong Path

I began by using Affinity Photo, a Photoshop alternative. After a few hours, it became evident that I spent too much time designing and setting up templates for photos to “drop” in. And I was not used to the Print Module to achieve the look I wanted with the bookmarks. My initial bookmarks were “okay,” but I wanted something more than that. I wanted something that said “Pow, this is me!’

Lightroom 6

As I noodled what to do to make my task easier, I looked at the print presets of Lightroom. I’m using Version 6 standalone, but you can use Versions 3, 4, 5 or 6. 

I wanted to fill the page with bookmarks, so as not to waste paper. I wanted their initial size to be 1 ¼” wide, and experimented with lengths of 5’-7”. For me, that worked out to be 8 bookmarks (Template below, #3) on a letter-sized paper of 8 ½” x 11”. The template preset allows you to determine any of these numbers and dimensions. Of course, the wider or narrower the bookmark you choose, the more or fewer the number of bookmarks you’ll have.

Here’s how the template appears. You can select 8 different photos (check Zoom to Fill, Template below, #1), or 1 photo (additionally check Repeat One Photo per Page, Template below, #2), which will be repeated 8 times. For the former, select Zoom to Fill, and for the later, additionally select Repeat One Photo per Page:

LR6 Template, Print Module

Examples of 8 different selected photos:

Example of 1 photo, repeated 8 times:

How does the Template work with Photos in LR?

As you can see, the template is a horizontal slice of each photo. You need to decide whether to rotate the photo in LR—or not. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes not. 

You can rotate in the Develop Module, or directly in the Print module. Or crop, say at a 30 degree angle, in Develop Module. Or enlarge the photo to fill your bookmark. 

While you can move the photo slice up and down, you cannot move the slide sideways in Print. To change this “sideways move go to the Develop Crop mode, if you must get the exact cropping, right to left. Go to Develop/Crop (⌘-R on Mac,  or Cntl-R in Windows). The example below takes the first image and crops a virtual copy so that there’s less space on the left. Note, the size is different: you may need to play with cropping or bytes, if you must have the same size (of bee, for example).

Changing Dimensions of Bookmarks

If you don’t like my dimensions for bookmarks, you can change them in the Print Layout section. Just change the Cell Size (See Template above #4) to the size you desire for your bookmark. Move the Left and Right sliders to get the size you want. Of course, you may have to change the Page Grid Rows or Columns or Cell Spacing (#5 or #6) if you change the layout I’ve provided. You can play, and LR is quite amenable to many layouts. Do be careful that LR may create another page, if the bookmarks don’t quite fit on one page!

Paper Selection

I needed a bookmark that flexed, but not too floppy. I loved matte finish, rather than glossy plastic. I tried my favorite, Epson Hot Press Natural, 18 mil thickness. This paper, though expensive, costs about 12¢/bookmark, including ink. I can make 16 of these bookmarks for what it costs to buy 1 small Starbucks black coffee! I feel it makes a much better bookmark  than the cheaper, thiner, Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte, 10.3 mil thickness. I encourage you to try different finishes, like glossy, velvet, or satin. I’m not into printing on both sides, but that’s an option. As well as encapsulating the bookmark in plastic with a heat-sealer. But I’m not into preserving these forever. I’d rather use a variety of bookmarks to suit my mood and the book I’m reading.

Finishing

After printing, cut out the bookmarks with a rotary trimmer. 

With 8 bookmarks in my hand, I found enjoyment in selecting which bookmark to use for the book I’m reading. And if I don’t like what I have, I just make some more…which I did, this second time with 1 ½” x 7”.

Starting Again

After a sojourn of 2 years, I've decided to start blogging about photographic topics. My Family History blogs (See my previous 2014 note below) will have to wait, probably in a totally new blog sphere.

My next blog will show you how to Make (real) Bookmarks, Using Lightroom.