Where to develop photos.

arodrigz

TPF Noob!
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
28
Reaction score
1
Location
Tipton, IN
Hi all, just picked up a new canon T3i and took some pictures of the kids to mail out in the Christmas cards. Thought I'd try the quick route and sent them over to the CVS down the street but the picture quality on their prints is awful. In fact, I put printer paper in my portable Canon ip100 and printed a picture myself to take to them so that I could get reimbursed. So now I'm trying to figure out where to print pictures out and have them look like what they do on my macbookpro. Can y'all point me in the right direction?

Thanks
Alex
 
In the days of film developing a lot of post processing, like color balancing and some other basic things got done by the print lab the print custoner was unaware of.

While digital seems to cost a lot less, the customer now has to do most of the post processing tasks before shipping the photos off to the print lab.

Actually, most people just shoot the JPEG file type, and that post processing happens right in the camera. The JPEG file type is designed to be a ready-to-print file type.

By the way, JPEG stands for - Joint Photographic Experts Group. The only trouble is that group of experts never saw, nor will see, your photos.

So JPEG is a one-size-fits-all file type. Oops! Not every photo is the same.
 
Last edited:
I had cleaned up the photo where it had some dark areas in a bricked alcove wood stove area that I had posed the kids in front of. I was able to lighten that alcove up a bit and then sent it off to be printed but the photo came back dark and dull with a grayish tone. Not anything like my macbookpro and Imac showed.

I just placed an order using blue cube imaging so hope it turns out better.


In the days of film developing a lot of post processing, like color balancing and some other basic things got done by the print lab the print custoner was unaware of.

While digital seems to cost a lot less, the customer now has to do most of the post processing tasks before shipping the photos off to the print lab.

Actually, most people just shoot the JPEG file type, and that post processing happens right in the camera. The JPEG file type is designed to be a ready-to-print file type.

By the way, JPEG strnds for - Joint Photographic Experts Group. The only trouble is that group of experts never saw, nor wiill see, your photos.

So JPEG is a one-size-fits-all file type. Oops! Not every photo is the same.
 
Ok, I was going to upload the before and after pictures to ask what else I should do to this photo but can't figure out how to load a photo on this forum. How about some hints?
 
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...forum-functions-pictoral-guide-using-tpf.html

No print will look like your computer display, and the photos are developed at your end, before they go the to print lab. http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adob...ly/prophotographer/pdfs/pscs3_renderprint.pdf

Your computer display is back lit, needs to be calibrated for the ambient light falling on it during image editing, and uses the RGB color model.

The print is made using the CMYK color model and is viewed using ambient/available lighting. With a properly calibrated display (the gamma setting is fairly critical) and the ICC profile of the print device, you can use some image editing applications to soft-proof so you see on your computer display a close approximation of what the print will actually look like.

But it never gets better than that, a close approximation.
 
Thanks for the info, I'll read up on some of this. Here are the photos I'm working with. Can you recommend an application for soft proofing?

IMG_0775.jpg


IMG_0775_2.jpg
 
WHCC has given me and my wife really good prints.
 
Good to hear. I really like their customer service. I was called once on a metallic print I ordered and he wanted to make sure the info I requested was accurate. I was very impressed.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top