You spend hours choosing the perfect photographer, the perfect location, the perfect outfits. Your session goes better than you ever imagined. After some initial nerves about being in front of the camera, your photographer put you at ease and you leave feeling amazing. The full gallery arrives and you are over the moon. It is everything you hoped for and more. You quickly upload your images to your favorite online lab, order your favorites and eagerly wait for them to arrive. Days pass and when they finally arrive you rip open the package excited to see the images in your hand. Your excitement quickly fades when you realize the prints in your hand look nothing like the images you posted online. What went wrong? To help you make sure your prints look amazing, I want to share five tips for printing your professional photos.
1. Make sure to choose a reputable pro lab
I regularly color calibrate my monitors and can only gurantee prints made through a professional lab. Professional labs use high-end photo paper that will not color change over time and that promises color accuracy. Quick print consumer labs like Walgreens, Walmart, and Shutterfly are budget friendly, but rarely calibrate their printers, use cheap paper that causes colors to bleed or fade, and are often operated by employees with little training. This often results in inaccurate colors and skin tones. My favorite consumer lab is Mpix. As the consumer side of their pro lab parent company, Miller’s Professional Imaging, they are more budget friendly than a pro lab, but still have excellent photo quality.
2. Check the crop
Most photographers, including myself, choose to shoot in 3:2 aspect ratio in camera. What does that mean for you as the consumer? Depending on the size you choose to print, you may be required to crop your image. If you want to print without cropping you’ll want to print in the following sizes: 4×6, 6×9, 10×15, 12×18, 16×24, and 20×30. When choosing a size that requires cropping, check to ensure that you’re not cropping anything important. Some labs have terrible default cropping. When taking “must have” images I do my best to allow for a little more padding in my composition to allow printing at any size.
3. Ensure color correction is turned off
Print labs have an option to elect for color correction. Some have it selected by default, and others you have to opt into. It can be in the settings for each image, or as you are preparing to finalize your order. Take the time to find it, and ensure that it is turned off before you order. As I previously mentioned, I regularly calibrate my monitor to match pro labs. You chose your photographer based on their style, and they likely agonized over making sure the colors were perfect. Allowing a computer to change the colors will result in an image far different than the photographer (and you) intended.
4. Understand that different materials and finishes will slightly change the colors
If you are printing onto paper, remember that not all paper is the same. You can choose from a variety of textures like glossy and matte. Try to choose a style of paper that matches the image. Certain finishes will make colors pop off the page, while others will subdue the colors. Above all, select high-quality paper as it will make a big difference to the quality and longevity of your print.
5. Use high resolution files for printing
When you upload your images to your favorite print lab, make sure you are uploading the high resolution image from your computer. Web-sized images are great for posting online, but are not high enough quality to print most sizes with clarity. Likewise, uploading images from a phone or tablet will compress even full resolution images resulting in poor print quality.
Bonus: Make sure to have your print release handy
Some print labs will require a print release from your photographer to ensure you have the authority to print images. I send a release with all of my sessions so you will always be able to print your images as often as you like.
Using these five tips for printing your professional photos will ensure your images will look great for years and generations to come!
If you want more tips on taking, organizing, and printing your images, check out the Heritage Series!
How to take, organize, and print your personal photographs: Heritage Series Part 1
Capture your memories: Heritage Series Part 2
Organizing and Storing Digital Photographs: Heritage Series Part 3