Join Leica Store Miami for an intensive, hands-on fine art printing experience in New Orleans with master photographer and printer Richard Sexton. Designed for a small group of just six participants, this workshop offers rare, direct access to one of the most respected fine art printers working today.
In a world where most photographs live only on screens, printing remains the true culmination of the photographic process. A photograph is not fully realized until it exists as a physical object, crafted with intention, nuance, and care. This workshop is dedicated to helping you bridge that gap between digital capture and the finished print, guiding you through the complete creative arc from file to final print.
Capture & File Integrity
We begin at the source: your image file. Richard will discuss how to create strong, printable files in-camera, focusing on exposure discipline and tonal integrity that translate beautifully to paper.
Image Optimization
Working in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop, you’ll refine your RAW files for print. Topics include tonal control, color management, soft proofing, sharpening for output, and preparing files for different paper types and sizes.
Paper Selection & Aesthetic Choices
Fine art printing is as much about material as it is about image. You’ll explore a curated selection of fine art papers, from baryta to smooth matte and textured matte surfaces, learning how paper choice influences mood, depth, and presentation. You’ll see and feel the differences firsthand.
Printing & Craftsmanship
Each participant will produce multiple color and black & white prints on a range of papers and sizes up to 20″x24″. Under Richard’s guidance, you’ll evaluate test prints, make refinements, and experience the subtle decisions that elevate a print from good to exceptional. You’ll leave with several finished, gallery-quality prints of your own work.
This workshop is ideal for photographers who want to move beyond the screen and fully realize their images as fine art prints. Whether you are new to printing or looking to refine your technique, you will gain practical skills, aesthetic insight, and a deeper understanding of how to produce exhibition-quality work.
Richard’s live/workspace is located in the St. Claude neighborhood of New Orleans. We recommend Hotel Peter & Paul, a unique hotel that was recently renovated and the closest option to Richard’s studio. Another close option is the brand new Hampton Inn on Elysian Fields. AirBnBs are also readily available in that neighborhood.
If you’d like to stay elsewhere, we would recommend that you look near Frenchmen St.in the nearby Marigny neighborhood. It’s a lively area with a lot of restaurants, music venues, bars and it’s also a great place for street photography.
Here are some hotel and b&b recommendations should you need them:
http://www.royalfrenchmenhotel.com/
https://www.lerichelieuhotel.com/
http://www.maisondubois.net/
http://www.hoteldelamonnaie.com/
http://www.lanauxmansion.com/
No hotel
We will mainly be working out of Richard Sexton’s studio off of St. Roch Avenue in New Orleans. Uber, Lyft, or taxis are easily accessible but you are certainly welcome to rent a car if you choose.
This workshop is designed to be print-focused and hands-on. The more prepared you are when you arrive, the more time you’ll spend at the printer, and the more finished prints you’ll take home.
Participants who arrive with fully processed (or close to it), print-ready files will be able to move quickly into paper testing, refinement, and final output. If you bring only RAW, unedited files, you will need to spend a significant portion of the workshop preparing and optimizing those images before they can be printed. While we will absolutely assist you with that process, it will reduce the total number of images you’re able to print.
Equally important is arriving with intention. We strongly encourage you to come with a curated selection of images you are excited to see in print. Participants who arrive without having considered which images they want to print often lose valuable time reviewing and selecting work during the workshop.
In short: Prepared files + Clear image selections = More prints and a more rewarding experience.
We’re happy to provide guidance in advance of the workshop to help you prepare your files and make the most of your time in New Orleans.
4:00pm – We will meet at a local gallery (location TBD) to look at prints and get to know one another. Afterwards, we’ll head to a local restaurant to go over the workshop itinerary, drink wine and have a group dinner.
Richard Sexton is a widely published and exhibited photographer, who is also a lifelong Leica photographer, beginning with a used M4 in the 1970s and continuing to the present day with the M10 Monochrom. His most recent project, Enigmatic Stream: Photographs of the Industrial Landscape of the Lower Mississippi River was shot with the Monochrom. He is also a master digital printer utilizing a post-production workflow in Lightroom and Photoshop to optimize files for printing. He uses Imageprint RIP for archival monochromatic printing on 100% rag papers.
Kirsten Vignes Martin has been with Leica Store Miami since 2012. After working as a Leica Specialist in our Coral Gables Store for 7 years, she moved back home to Minneapolis and began working remotely as our full-time marketing manager. Kirsten also leads several of our workshops and serves on the board of Leica Society International.
When she’s not doing Leica things, you can find her paddling one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, hiking with her husband, or playing trivia at at local dive bar.