Glossy vs. Matte

[ImageMogul]

I'll be displaying (for the first time) about 15-17 prints in a local art gallery. For this purpose does matte work better than glossy? Orrrr??? Thanks.

Mark

[drisley]

Just posted:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=8244226

[Maureen Souza]

Neither, I love Luster paper.

[drisley]

Neither, I love Luster paper.
Yeah, that sounds like the best of both worlds!
I use Metallic, it has a 3D look to the colours, and lasts a long time.

[Rankinia]

Metallic can produce an unbelievable print. Absolutely gorgeous. But needs to be the right print as well and the right subject.

[drisley]

Metallic can produce an unbelievable print. Absolutely gorgeous. But needs to be the right print as well and the right subject.
I agree.

[ImageMogul]

All replies are most appreciated. Thanks for the sister link, drisley. I'm new enough to printing-for-display that I haven't had any experimentation time (and probably won't get much before the show). I didn't even realize that certain types of paper work with some subjects better than others, but it certainly makes sense. I'll be showing landscapes/still lifes/abstracts/automotive/B&W, etc. so there's ample opportunity to try several different papers, but I wouldn't know which to assign to what paper. Perhaps, I'll just make my best guess and mark it all down to experience & experimentation. I'm not stressing over it, but since I've never shown my work before, I just wanted to make sure there were no major "no-no's" with respect to prepping them for gallery lights. I'm fairly new at photography (about 2 years or so) so I don't know all the tricks yet. My gallery link is in my sig line.

Thanks again,
Mark

[tracknut]

I did a poll of my customers (dog pics) last year, and luster/semi-gloss won by a HUGE margin over matte or glossy. I was quite surprised, as it's my least favorite, but now I only sell prints on luster. If I had to make a general statement, I'm a fan of B&W on matte, and glossy for color.

Dave

[drisley]

Well, it sounds like when I'm not using metallic, I will be using luster/semi-gloss from now on! :)

[zagiace]

IMO...
When displaying images in a gallery a big factor is the lighting.
Are the images going to by lit with track lighting, spot lights, fluorescent, skylight or incandescent? I would visit the gallery and judge the lighting first. highly reflective surfaces can be a distraction with some angles of lighting causing a viewer to crick their neck to be able to see the work.
Typically images are displayed under fairly high watt spot lights, they should be printed darker then you would expect. If the images are vibrant in color I would lean toward glossier prints, if they are low contrast images I like to either get matte surface prints or matte spray.
Mid toned images go well with a lustre surface.

[ImageMogul]

Some fantastic, useful tips. Thank you very much. By the way the prints will be lit using track lighting in a dimmed room.

Regards,
Mark