When do i know wich one suits better? How do i determine? Lately i picked normal paper over shiny because i got sick of looking at it,lol..school me please..
I usually go with pearl. I find that it is the most forgiving and can work with almost any shot. I have some glossy, but it can really ruin a shot. I typically used it for night landscapes, ect. The dark areas of glossy paper will seem darker, therefore appearing to have more contrast. It seems to show more detail in it as well, however I also notice the noise more as well. Also, the reflection can be very distracting. I would recommend having some some sheets of each, becasue the right or wrong paper can make or break the shot.
Use yer eyeballs. Most of the time my eyeballs like glossy for FB, and pearl for RC. Glossy FB looks more like pearl RC than glossy RC. Framed behind glass it's amazing how the differences between paper surfaces can seem to dissappear anyway.
I agree with Matt - it's going to be personal choice, what you like to see. And by "normal" do you mean a true matte surface, or a semi-matte such as pearl? There are so many paper choices, each with subtle variations, that the average viewer won't discern. You will learn by using and comparing what results you prefer. You might also pay attention to the paper base, too - some boast a very high white, some more cream. It helps to experiment, since that base color will be what color your highlights will be, and its importance will vary from image to image, of course. There is also the tone of the paper to consider - some cold tone papers will give blue/blacks, while a warm toned paper will give more of a brown/black. Again, these differences are subtle and, until you view prints from both side by side, you can't always tell.
Depneds on your purpose, if your going to pin the photo up on a cork board use a gloss, but if your going to frame it use a matte. Also realize if you ever plan to scan one of the images into a computer the gloss finish will produce an inaccurate scan.
Matt makes a good point, if you're going to frame it behind glass, it doesn't really make that much diference, IMHO
I can't stand glossy paper it makes thing look artificial to me but I know lots of people like it so that's only my opinion.
This is where the esthetic part of the process comes in. You will have to develop your own judgment as to what surface best goes with which image. If you follow the advice of others beyond extracting a few general 'rules', you are using someone else's esthetic judgment -- not your own.
