Matte vs. Glossy vs. Lustre vs. Metallic......What paper should I use for my prints?!

It's nice that there are so many types of papers out there for us to choose from for our prints, but in reality, I think we like to keep things as simple as we can and spend our energy on more important parts of our life.  A quick explanation of various choices of paper should help in making the decision when ordering your prints.

Glossy Paper:  Glossy paper is coated and has a very smooth, high-contrast appearance in your photos.  The upside - it's great for showing off color and contrast in images (also works great for black and white prints).  The downside - fingerprints and glare!

Matte Paper:  Matte papers have a non-glare finish, with lower-contrast.  The upside - looks great in photos that may have some texture to them (landscapes, architecture for example), and leaves virtually no fingerprints - it's also good for framing as there is no glare.  The downside:  I think using matte paper loses some of the sharpness in the photo, and definitely loses some contrast.

Lustre Paper:  This is a professional grade paper that will not be available at places like Walgreens and Walmart.  It is utilized by the pro labs, as the quality is unmatched.  The finish of this paper falls somewhere between matte and glossy with lovely contrast and color saturation, but no big issues with fingerprints.  The texture of the paper has been described as "pearl-like".  It's definitely my choice for many of my prints.

With all that being said, I just have to give a shout-out to my favorite - metallic paper.  Metallic paper is a type of laminated paper that gives the print a slight metallic look.  It reminds me of those trading cards we used to get as kids that, if held certain ways in the light would change the image.  Metallic paper will give the right image a 3D quality.  Color images seem to really pop, as well as high contrast black and white.  The one thing to remember about metallic paper is that it will blow out your whites, so you have to be careful when using it or you could lose important detail in your image.

Happy snapping!