Not so good prints...why??

[husky_mom]

I took a couple school pics for my kid´s school... took them with the highest resolution posible in my S3... they turned out gret IMO... in PP I just used a cooling filter as some were a bit too warm a slight curve and a border... that was it... saved them as psp... than as jpg (as biggest resolution also).... and I have two problems

1.- I wanted to print 5x7´s but they get cut a lil from top and bottom...not sure why.. perhaps the machine where they print them...
even right from memory card I have to have them "chopped" even in 4x6...why?? if I resize they get a white border on both sides

2.- they came out kinda grainy...my ISO was low and I used proper shutter and aperture speeds... they were shot in daylight so no flash... hence the cooling filter some got a bit warm because the time of day...

what can I do to correct this?? ...

are all my pics gonna print like that or was it just from the PP?.. or was it the saving to jpg.... or why??

thanks for any help

 

[RyanLilly]

Most P&S cameras have an aspect ratio of 4:3 so some cropping will be required you can crop first in PP or do it at the printers.

 

[Big Mike]

4x6"...5x7"...8x10"...they are all different ratios. As mentioned, your camera probably shoots in 4:3.

Before you send/bring images for printing, you should crop them to the ratio of the prints you want. That way, you don't have any space on the sides or don't have any unexpected things chopped off.

 

[bigalbest]

Photoshops crop tool has a drop down menu where you can select custom crop sizes. I believe 5x7 is one of the preset sizes. Also I would try custom white balance settings and shooting in raw if your camera has the capability. Also all printers output differently and color profiles will vary from printer to printer slightly, so adjustments after initial prints are common.

 

[husky_mom]

I think I just assumed that they would print just as they were taken and /or PP´ed... with my previous easyshare *shivers*... I just printed them normally without the need to crop or resize... so I thought it would be just like a regular film take the shot and print which ever size..... but wasn´t sure if P had a deal in the chopped parts or if the way of saving had a thing to do...

also why would it get grainy... not much.. but still noticeable by me ... coudl it be the kodak booth??

and about the RAW thing.. I have to check as I have no clue.. but I do know I have a software installed called RAW something and it came with teh camera...

 

[Sw1tchFX]

In a nutshell:

P&S cameras have always been noisy even at low ISO's like 200, it's the nature of their design, way too small of sensor with way too many pixels in it. It needs too much amplification, which in turn brings in noise.

most P&S's don't shoot at a 3:2 Ratio like 35mm or most digital SLR's, thus, they need to be cropped.

 

[husky_mom]

I´m kinda dissapointed... I shot with max resolution , lowest iso I don´t even think I had 200... did minor PP, saved as biggest as I could and I still got unacceptable pics..IMO (the other parents loved them).. I thought doing this would give me more outstanding results....

in the comp all pics look great but once printed I´m not 100% satisfied.....


so that got me thinking... the rest of my pics which I´ve shot at lower res... are gonna be worse??... :´(

 

[reg]

WTH were you doing taking school pictures? I don't mean this in a rude way, we all start somewhere, but you shouldn't begin with school pictures.

 

[husky_mom]

it was my kid pics.. nothing fancy.. just a memento for me, but all parents wanted some and they loved them..

 

[reg]

Oh okay... well then. I thought you meant you were doing pics of the whole school... that's what I think of when I think school pictures. Okay then.

Sorry, continue w/ your business.

 

[Jon0807]

Another factor, where did you have them printed? Home, store, online, etc?

 

[Rachelsne]

alot of places are starting to offer cropping of your reg photos straight out camera so no software needed-I know walmart gives you the optin, it shows yolu how your pictures will be cropped so you can decide if its ok or not

 

[husky_mom]

I went to a place that has this Kodak booth... it prints on another machine..(not the ones where you print right there on the spot)....

this booth had the option of cropping so when I choose it, it only said closer or further.. so I chose further and that left me with white on the sides about 6 mm ea. side... if I chose normal it would chop about 2.5 - 3mm from top and bottom ea.

 

[andrew99]

I've noticed some shops do some processing on their own -- adding sharpness, saturation, contrast, etc. If they look good on your screen, you might want to try printing them somewhere else to see if they come out better. Also maybe on your screen they are a bit underexposed, and the shop is trying to brighten them before printing, which could bring out the noise.

 

[flygning]

All of my pictures are 72 dpi by default. In order to print I change to about 300-- did you use this to resize?

Also, I would shoot max resolution in camera all the time. You never know when you might get that amazing shot that you want to print out.