For home photo printing, one of the most important choices you can make is the type of photo paper to use. The media on which you print makes a huge difference to the quality of the final output, and if you’ve only ever tried printing out photos on cheap, standard A4 or similar, you’ll likely be quite shocked when you first see the difference.
There are quite a few technical terms around printer paper for photos, but none of it is too complicated. The two main types of paper for photography are matte and glossy, and the differences are what you’d expect from the names. Glossy paper has a shiny finish, and is best used for prints you want to have plenty of pop, with punchy and vivid colours.