Guelph Grad Photos · Prints
Prints Worth Framing.
A practical guide to printing your grad photos: which sizes our full-resolution files support, canvas versus framed paper versus metal, matte versus glossy, and where each size actually hangs at home.
Your full gallery arrives within seven days of your session, and every file in it is yours to download and keep. Most of those photos will live on phones. The best ones deserve a wall. This guide covers what our files can handle, which print surfaces suit which photos, and where a print actually looks good in a real home, whether that home is a first apartment or the house you grew up in.
What your files can handle.
We deliver full-resolution files, not compressed social-media copies. In practice, that means every standard print size from 8×10 up to 24×36 prints cleanly from your gallery.
The print industry’s rule of thumb is 300 pixels per inch for prints you hold in your hands, easing to around 150 for large pieces viewed from a few feet away. An 8×10 gift print sits at the strict end of that math. A 24×36 statement piece hangs across the room, where the same file has resolution to spare. The short version: pick the size the wall needs, not the size you think the file can survive.
Flip each photo below for the print size it suits best.
Canvas, framed paper, or metal.
Canvas.
Soft texture, no glass, no glare. Canvas is forgiving of viewing angles and window light, which makes it the safe choice for big pieces above a sofa or bed. The image wraps around the frame edges, so pick a photo with room around the subject and keep faces away from the border.
Framed paper.
The classic, and the most flexible. A mat and frame let you match any room, and a good paper print carries detail no other surface matches. It is the right call for formal portraits, gallery walls, and anything a grandparent will hang. Mind window glare when you choose the wall.
Metal.
Saturated, modern, and durable. Metal makes bold colour and golden-hour contrast glow, wipes clean, and shrugs off humidity, so it works in kitchens, offices, and bathrooms where paper would not. Less suited to soft, muted portraits, which can read cooler than intended.
Matte or glossy for portraits.
For portraits, matte wins almost every time. Skin tones look natural, there is no glare under ceiling lights or window sun, and fingerprints do not show when the print gets passed around the dinner table. Glossy adds punch to colour and contrast, but it turns into a mirror under the wrong light, and behind frame glass the gloss is redundant anyway. If your print shop offers lustre (sometimes called pearl or satin), it is the happy middle: a hint of depth without the reflections.
Where each size lives at home.
Parents ask us this more than anyone, so here is the honest map of where grad prints actually end up.
- 8×10, the gift size. Grandparents, desks, and the frame the family already owns.
- 11×14, the hallway and stairwell size. It also anchors a gallery wall of smaller frames.
- 16×20, the mantel and entryway size. Big enough to greet visitors, formal enough to belong there.
- 20×30 and 24×36, the above-the-sofa sizes, usually on canvas. One strong photo, not a collage.
- The stair wall, a running series of 8x10s from kindergarten to convocation. If your family keeps one, this session is its next frame.
Use any good print shop.
The files are yours, with no watermarks and no lock-in. Take them to a local print shop, a professional online lab, or a same-day photo counter for gift prints. A few tips that save money and disappointment:
- Order one 8×10 test before committing to a 24×36. Colour and crop surprises are cheap at small sizes.
- Our files are delivered in sRGB, the colour space print labs expect, so you can upload them as-is.
- Watch the crop preview. Print sizes have different shapes: an 8×10 trims more from the long edge of a photo than a 4×6 does, so make sure heads and hands stay inside the lines.
- Choose the photo for the room, not the ranking. The fifth-favourite photo with calm colours often hangs better than the number-one favourite with a busy background.
First the session, then the wall.
Every print in this guide starts with an hour on campus. We photograph at Johnston Hall, the Portico, the Gryphon statue and beyond, and your full gallery is ready to download within seven days. A $50 deposit holds your date.