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CITYSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY: FIVE TIPS FOR CAPTURING URBAN MAGIC

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Landscape photography offers a serene escape, allowing you to immerse yourself in the calming beauty of nature. In stark contrast, urban photography presents an equally satisfying yet dynamic experience. The hustle and bustle of city life, the cacophony of sounds, and the vibrant streets all contribute to the distinctive character of each metropolis. The towering architecture shapes the city’s identity, while the streets pulse with energy like the veins of a living organism. Here are five essential tips to elevate your cityscape photography and help you capture the vibrant essence of urban life.

1.Embrace the Golden Hour

The golden hours, shortly after sunrise and before sunset, offer a magical light that can transform a mundane city scene into something extraordinary. During these times, the sunlight is softer and warmer, casting long shadows and highlighting the architectural details. Early morning also presents a rare opportunity to capture the city when it's less crowded, allowing for more thoughtful compositions. Plan your shoots around these times to harness the natural light and add a golden glow to your cityscapes.

2.Find the High Ground

Cities are a playground of perspectives, and finding a high vantage point can provide a fresh and dramatic view. Look for rooftops, observation decks, or even hills overlooking the city. These elevated positions offer a bird’s-eye view, allowing you to capture the vastness and complexity of the urban landscape. Remember to play with wide-angle lenses to incorporate as much of the scene as possible, showcasing the city in all its sprawling glory.

3.Play with Reflections

Urban environments are filled with reflective surfaces like glass buildings, puddles, and mirrors. Using reflections creatively can add depth and intrigue to your photographs. Look for interesting angles where the cityscape is mirrored, creating symmetrical compositions that draw the viewer in. Water reflections after a rainstorm or the sleek surfaces of modern architecture can provide unique and visually compelling images.

4.Capture the Human Element

While the architecture and layout of a city are fascinating, the people inhabiting it bring the scene to life. Incorporate the human element into your cityscapes to tell a more complete story. Whether it's commuters rushing to work, street performers entertaining a crowd, or quiet moments of solitude in a busy park, capturing these interactions adds a layer of relatability and emotion to your photos. Street photography techniques, such as candid shots and focusing on human expressions, can enhance the narrative of your urban photography.

5. Experiment with Night Photography

Cities truly come alive at night, transforming into a spectacle of lights and shadows. Night photography in an urban setting can be both challenging and rewarding. Use a tripod to keep your camera steady during long exposures and play with light trails from moving vehicles to add a dynamic element to your shots. Neon signs, illuminated buildings, and streetlamps provide ample light sources to create striking compositions. Adjust your settings to balance exposure and reduce noise, ensuring crisp and vibrant nighttime photos.

Cityscape photography, much like landscape photography, offers a unique blend of challenges and rewards. By embracing the city's energy and using these five tips, you can capture the essence of urban life in all its vibrant, chaotic beauty. So grab your camera, step into the streets, and let the city inspire your next photographic masterpiece. After all, in the heart of the concrete jungle lies a world waiting to be discovered through your lens.

Sell your art online with Pictorem


Team up with Pictorem to take advantage of an existing sales tool without needing to develop one yourself. 

We handle the e-commerce transactions, production & the logistics of fulfilling each order so you can focus on your art and your promotion.

Click on the video link below for more information
 
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If you’re an artist, graphic designer, or photographer looking to sell your art reproductions, the process is super simple: all you have to do is create an account, upload your art, & set your price. Then, just promote your gallery & Pictorem takes care of rest.
 
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Why choose us

We offer a variety of printing mediums such as acrylics, metals, murals, posters, photo paper, canvas & wood to be able to meet all your printing needs. Our team also reviews every order by hand and makes sure to give you the best print quality.

- Free, no monthly cost, no trial period.
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How to transform your image into a mural print.


This article is to help you understand how to transform your image into a mural print.

Yes, we're talking about huge prints  that will cover your entire wall for an immersive experience ! 

We are going to talk to you about all the options you'll have, the requirements  and installation, of course process.

There's no actual limit to the size that you can have your print

Since your peel and stick wall mural will be arriving in sections, you can get any amount of strips that you need to make for a very easy installation

To get things started, if you want a sharp image, you will preferably need a high resolution image.

Nowadays, most digital cameras can provide 5000 to 8000 pixels in a single shot

One good trick is called image stitching which is a process of combining multiple shots with overlapping fields to produce one massive panoramic image!

Of course, this is all based on how sharp you actually need your image and how close you're going to be from your print

Images for mural prints are processed at 150 dpi which means we'll most likely upscale your  image

Let's say, for a 10ft wall, you'll need at least 8000 pixels wide to get some sharp details

With new 40 megapixel+ cameras, this is easily achievable

If you need help figuring out if your image is large enough for a mural print,

look into our DPI calculator and our image size analyzer on our website.

https://www.pictorem.com/dpicalculator.html


https://www.pictorem.com/checkprintsize.html

All this being said, keep in mind that, in most cases, you'll be looking at your mural from at least 3 or 4 feet away from your wall so don't be too worried if your resolution is not quite on the mark

We take pride in offering the best possible results for your image.

To make that happen, we don't make any compromises in our hardware, our material and, most importantly, our customer service.

Every single order is important to us and we take the time to review every single image that comes in

So if we notice any needed fine tuning or optimization, you can have peace of mind that we'll always keep you in the loop

We use state-of-the-art 10-color printers which provides the best printing resolution and color range for mural prints and we are very proud to offer the most vibrant color reproduction in the industry.  

As for the material, we use a sturdy, repositionable peel-and-stick vinyl

It has a subtle, matte, linen texture to it which helps absorb light and cover any imperfections on your wall, it's extremely easy to install and it's very forgiving

Installation

If you have a long wall, we suggest that you start from the center which will ensure the straightest installation

Peel and stick wall mural can be installed on a wide variety of smooth surfaces such

as gypsum boards, wood, glass, metal and some plastic panels.

The surface has to be clean, smooth, dry, and free of moisture


Peel down about 6" from the top of your Panel.

To minimize any deformation, apply the wall mural with minimal tension

and remove the protective paper about a foot and make sure not to remove too much at one time

Smooth out the wall mural by using the plastic scraper (which we will be provided with your order) starting from the center and working your way towards the edges of the panel

As I mentioned earlier, the peel and stick wall mural is very forgiving

So if you made a mistake, went a bit crooked or see an air bubble you can peel the mural back at reapply it with ease

And don't forget to apply a good pressure to insure adherence, especially towards the edges of each panel

Mural prints arrive in 50" inch sections, and each section has a half an inch with a guideline to help you with your installation

Once all the panels are installed you can cut off  the excess with a utility knife.

With our imaging processing service, our state of the art printing equipment and easy to install wall vinyl, we are convinced we will be able to provide the best impact for your project. 

Get Creative with your next Acrylic print


This article is all about acrylics prints.

If you want to bring a contemporary look, to your home, your office or any other space you want to "dress up",  this is the choice for you ,and we are going to guide you through all the different options available.

We print on the back of an optically pure acrylic sheet using the latest flatbed printer and we print right up to the edges of the acrylic, to provide a very neat finish.

Size

First up - Size. We can print any custom size you want - ranging from a small 8x8 all the way up to a majestic 96x48.  So if you want a large panoramic picture, or to even create a multi panel print, the only limit is your imagination.

Mounting options

We also offer different mounting options.

The most popular configuration is a back mount frame. We have a black layer at the back of the acrylic print and this option will give your print a frame with a wire, so it's ready for easy hanging. It will also give the impression that your acrylic is floating slightly away from the wall.

You can also display your acrylic print with Aluminum Stand offs. It will be at the same distance from the wall, about 3/4 of an inch.  They are installed on each corner, so be sure to double check that we don't cut off any signature or crucial visual elements on your image. If you have a large acrylic, we suggest that you install more than 4 stand offs for a maximum distance between each stand off of about 40 inches. This will prevent your acrylic from bending.

Thickness

We offer 2 different thicknesses. You have the choice between 1/8" inch and 3/16".  

The 1/8 is already a great choice. It's very light and will remain flat if you are using a back mount frame.

The 3/16 thickness is a good option if you want to provide a greater optical depth, or when you have a large print to prevent the acrylic from bending between the stand offs, but it does add more weight.

Transparency

You can really explore your creativity with transparency.   We can print on specific areas only, and you can even go with a multi layer effect.  If you want to print your logo, or any other background-free visual, it's simple. Just provide us with a PNG or Photoshop file with a transparent area.  

You can create very interesting lighting effects with partial transparency like this "frost" effect. We will partially print the white layer so only the colors are fully printed.This looks absolutely stunning in natural light.

And if you want to use the acrylic on a lightbox with LEDs on the back, we can make a (backlit)  print . All these printing options are available on our website.

Shape

We can also cut the acrylic any way you want.  For example we can create rounded corners.

... or even  a circular print. Again, these options are all available on our website.

https://www.pictorem.com/acrylic-print.html


Choosing the right type of Canvas for your art.


Let's talk about the different type finishes that you can choose for your canvas prints!

The choice of your finish will have a big impact in the overall result and effect that you’re going for, so choosing the right one is an important first step!

MATTE

This canvas has a weight of 410 grams per meter. It’s a pure white, polyester cotton blend. It’s very strong, durable and natural feel to it.

The matte finish of this canvas provides a fine art look that works extremely well for photography, abstract paintings and everything else in between. It is a great all around canvas!

MATTE VARNISH

The matte varnish canvas is also called “satin canvas” because of the subtle shine that runs through it.

The matte varnish finish adds an extra layer of protection to resist scratches and fingerprints so if your reproducing an image that has lots of black in it, this product is and ideal choice and one that you might want to consider!

SEMI-GLOSS

On top of adding an extra layer of protection, colors will come out more vibrant so you can expect richer blacks and very vivid colors with this finish! Depending on the lighting, you can really see the texture of the canvas which can give an awesome complimentary effect to your artwork. Great choice if you want your colors to pop with an extra glossy look!

Semi-gloss canvas adds an extra layer of protection and the colors will appear more vibrant, so you can expect richer blacks and very vivid colors with this finish!

Depending on the lighting, you can really see the texture of the canvas which can give an awesome complimentary effect to your artwork. It is an exceptional choice if you want your colors to pop with an extra glossy look!

SILVER CANVAS

Silver canvas comes with a silver color base coat embedded into it. This means that all the white that you would normally see on a regular canvas will become silver, and all the other colors will come out looking metallic. We’ve seen some amazing photography and illustrations printed on this material that are simply mind-blowing!

KNIFE VARNISH

We call this canvas option the knife varnish process. With this technique, we can mimic or create paint strokes to give a more authentic look to a painting or simply add an extra textured look to a photograph.

EPOXY COATING

This process is the "showstopper". The epoxy coating will give your print a very luxurious, ultra high gloss finish.

This is the showstopper! The epoxy coating will give your print a very luxurious, ultra high-gloss finish.

This finish adds extra weight to the canvas so to make sure that the canvas doesn't buckle when adding the resin coat, we attach a masonite board behind the canvas. A canvas print with an epoxy coating requires more time and effort to produce, however, the results are totally worth it!



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