Survey says! Which content for cool or WT paper? Matt or glossy

[greg zinselmeier]

Please state your preference on which type of content ( specific or generally) works best on cool tone gloss, cool tone Matt, warm tone gloss, warm tone Matt.

 

[gone]

I think it depends on the lighting, composition, and the look you want to achieve. It's probably not just about one thing like subject matter.

 

[MattKing]

No offense, but I prefer "cool tone matte", rather than "cool tone Matt".
You can probably guess why I am sensitive about that .
One of my favorite papers is Ilford Cooltone RC.
It tends to suit images that have hard surfaces, and/or reflective surfaces, or (literally) cold subjects, like ice. Selenium toning enhances the cool tone.
Ironically, it actually tones well with warm tone toners, so it is quite flexible.
Prints of this negative look good on Cooltone - either glossy or satin:

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[lantau]

I have a discontinued Fomatone Paper, with a cream coloured fibre base sans Baryta. Neither glossy, nor matte. You can see the smooth paper texture. Perhaps a bit like offset printing on high quality paper, but without the dots.

The warmtone, made even warmer through the cream base really suits environmental portraits made at reenactments of the baroque Thirty Year War period. Any historical dress would probably work.

 

[Lachlan Young]

What answer are you fishing for that couldn't be answered better by buying a 10 sheet box of each and trying them? There are no magic didactic answers (and if you believe there are, then you're operating somewhere below a paint-by-numbers level).

 

[Rick A]

Normally I print cool tone either mat or pearl finish, but there are times only a warm tone will get the message across, it has nothing to do with specifics just gut feeling and emotion.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

I print on Ilford Warmtone FB and Multigrade FB, which is neutral but can be adjusted towards cool tone with the appropriate developer.

What I like about WT is the amount of shadow detail I can get, so I like it for fairly soft images, when you want very gradual contrasts. I found it useful for nature photography, especially forest scenes where you have a big lighting ratio.

Cooltones I like for the sharp contrasts of the built environment. Machines, houses, streets.

 

[Nige]

I take photos then print them, not buy paper and find a subject.

 

[greg zinselmeier]

I am not per say fishing for a difinitive answer. I was/am looking for an informal conversation of what APUGER's "feel" is the right choice for the right subject matter. That being said, evryone is different in their choices.

for me:
1.cool tone glossy tends to work best with Architecture, modern, abstract. In most cases the sense of detachment, and coldness enhances the already "obtuse" content. Cool glossy IMO, tends to work best with strong blacks and crisp highlight.

2.when strong blacks and crisp highlights are NOT in the scene cool matte and the semi-matte, are in consideration. Here,subtlely nuanced content as well as a "smooth stretch of greys" seem to match well.

3. Warm tone images tend to more sentimental/nastalgia. Matt ( a big shout out to MattKIng for catching my typo above) smiley face! anyway, MATTE always tend to "enhance" such things as time, moreover of "time has passed/ or prior to"

4. WT glossy. I tend to like in portraits. More brown/blacks than reddish brown as hue. ( broadly understood)


I believe that the aforementioned is probably, in line with, or close to, representing a plurality of photographers who print their own images. and even if this isn't true, , , , ,then that being said, I am curious to hear from people who do not share this point of view, and more importantly why you don't. And if you could please, share some names and names of images from photographers who have used different appraoches to hue as an element that was supportive or ironic.