How to Acquire an Image

Most of my images are available to either license as a digital image to re-use or to purchase as a hardcopy print. Licensing a digital image is dependent on several variables so please contact me via email at paumalinowskiphotography@gmail.com to start the process. If you’d like to purchase a print please email me at paulmalinowskiphotography@gmail.com.

Tips for ordering prints

I am, of course, always honored when I get an email with the magic words, “I’d like to order a print”. Some folks know exactly what print medium they want at exactly the right size but that is rare. Most of us just know we love a piece of art but don’t really know where to start. I wrote this to hopefully help you figure out the best print medium for you.

There are two overall decisions to make first: the print medium and the print size. By print medium I mean do you want the image printed on paper (the most common and a standard way to get your piece of art shown) or on a specialty product such as metal, canvas, wood or acrylic? Every image I sell will look good on paper; not everyone looks good on every other medium, though. For example, I feel detailed, colorful images work well on acrylic whereas a moody, almost “Impressionistic” image is best suited for canvas. If you’re intrigued by a specialty product, let me know and I’ll tell you if I think it will look good or not on the particular medium, you’re interested in. Since I am only interested in your satisfaction, I will be totally honest if I feel something won’t work, even if it leaves us both disappointed.

I shoot almost exclusively in a 2:3 aspect ratio. That means that for every 2” of height, there will be 3” of width. So, for any images that are in a 2:3 ratio, it can be printed in dimensions that meet that ratio, such as 8”x12”, 12”x18”, 16”x24”, 20”x30”, etc. without losing any of the content of the original image. To print in any other ratio, I would have to “crop” something out of the image. Sometimes this is perfectly fine as, for example, my images of birds in flight that have nothing but sky around them. But other times this removes a key element of the photo and I won’t print it in that ratio because it alters the actual artwork too much. Again, I will let you know what ratio the image you select comes in.

Just a word about custom framing vs. off-the-shelf standard frames. In custom framing, you get to pick the mat and the frame to go with your print in a wide variety of styles and materials. Also, the size of both the mat and the frame can be cut to exactly whatever size you’d like (that the print fits into). You will also have the option to decide if you want glass or acrylic (or neither) protecting your print. And within that choice, you can go with standard glass or acrylic or you can use a non-glare version of either, generally called “museum” or Masterpiece” glass/acrylic. Of course, all this flexibility in custom framing comes with a price – price. A high-quality frame with a textured mat and “masterpiece glass” at Michael’s for instance for a 12’x18” print can quickly add up to $200+, even with their myriad selection of coupons.

I want you to be 100% satisfied with your final print and enjoy it for years to come so please reach out to me if you have any questions before your order. Contact me to discuss options by either using the contact form on the “Contact” page, or email me at paulmalinowskiphotography@gmail.com.