Guides
Everything about contact sheets, from darkroom to PDF.
Practical, tested advice on making, printing and sending contact sheets, proof sheets, film contact prints and comp cards.
Basics
What Is a Contact Sheet? Meaning, History and Uses
What a contact sheet is, why it is called that, how photographers used them in the darkroom and how they are used today for culling, client selects and archives.
6 min read
Workflow
How to Print a Contact Sheet: Paper, Grid, Resolution and Settings
Print a sharp, readable contact sheet: which paper size and grid to choose, what resolution to export at, the print dialog settings that matter and which paper to use.
7 min read
Basics
Contact Sheet Templates: 8 Layouts and When to Use Each
Eight contact sheet layouts with their grid sizes and captions: client selects, proof sheets, editorial 6 × 8, archive 8 × 10, darkroom black, fibre paper and photo grids.
6 min read
Workflow
How to Get Clients to Pick Their Favourite Photos (Without an Email Thread)
A simple proofing workflow: cull first, number every frame, send a contact sheet with clear instructions and a deadline, and turn the client's reply into a set of files.
7 min read
Software
How to Make a Contact Sheet in Photoshop (Contact Sheet II)
Step-by-step instructions for Photoshop's Contact Sheet II: source folder, page size, columns and rows, captions and saving a PDF, plus its limits and a faster alternative.
6 min read
Software
How to Make a Contact Sheet in Lightroom Classic
Make a contact sheet in Lightroom Classic's Print module: choose a contact sheet template, set the grid and cells, add filenames and page info, and export a PDF or JPEG.
6 min read
Film
How to Make a Contact Sheet from Film Negatives
Two ways to make a film contact sheet: a traditional contact print in the darkroom, or a digital sheet from scans, with frames per strip for 35mm, 120 and 4 × 5.
7 min read
Models
How to Make a Model Comp Card: Size, Photos and Stats
What to put on a model comp card: standard US and A5 sizes, which photos to use on the front and back, the stats agencies expect, and how to print with bleed.
6 min read