DLTA48 Loc: pittsburgh

I don't like how my photo prints look after I have them printed out. I've tried Ritz, Sam's, Costco's, and Walgreens. The colors look very nice on my computer after I finish editing the photos with PS Elements10 and lightroom 4. But when I pick them up from the store they do not look very good.

Is there a professional lab that I can send my photos so that they can be printed with quality. It cost a lot of money for me, and I take many hours working on portraits then pick them up and its looks like a enlargment from a point and shoot (no offense to those who take nice pictures with point and shoot because I know it can be done) or cell phone camera. I know that I do a good job with taking pictures. I want quality prints of senior pictures, baby, maternity and family portraits printed with quality.

Can someone PLEASE recommend a professional lab to use for printing my photos? It would really be appreciated. Thank you very much.

dfcredo Loc: Grand Rapids,Michigan

I use MPIX online. You can even choose to have them printed as submitted WITHOUT color corrections. The e-paper prints look great.

Is your monitor calibrated?

DLTA48 Loc: pittsburgh

I will try MPIX. No my monitor is not calibrated. How do I do that.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I second MPix.

To calibrate your monitor, you need to buy a calibration tool. You can pick one up for about $100 at Amazon. Not sure if you can calibrate a laptop screen though.

One trick I found helpful is to turn the brightness down on my monitor. Paper isn't backlit, and I tend to have photos come back underexposed if I have the monitor set too bright.

JohnCadellPhotography

All of the places you have talked about are for consumer-level printing. The only thing you could try with Ritz is their metallic printing - which will give you the 'pop' in your images. Are you using Noise Ninja to clean things up before you go to print? It would be a worthwhile investment. Another one is Portrait Professional.
If you want to invest time and funds in true professional lab work, Miller's is recognized as about the best in the United States...
Miller's Professional Lab: www.millerslab.com
Mpix: www.mpix.com
White House is another, and there are several more. Check in Professional Photographer's Magazine (PPA) or Shutterbug (any Barnes & Noble) for other labs. Check their ratings. If they have recommendation from the PPA or NPPA (National Press Photographers Assoc.) or NANPA (North American Nature Photographers Assoc.) then you have a very good reference from which to choose. When you choose a major lab like Miller's or Mpix, they use the ROES system - it's an application that you will have to download to enable processing of files. The folks in the customer service depts of the labs are very friendly and will patiently guide you. They know you are a photographer, not an applications fanatic!!

If you want others, check www.adoramapix.com (Adorama in NYC) .

If you are in Southern California - go to the nearest Samy's Camera (Several in Los Angeles, I go to the one in Pasadena, also in Santa Ana, and elsewhere around LA).

slecht Loc: texas

Thanks! Good tip!

slecht Loc: texas

Thanks good tip!

Jim Peters Loc: Pittsburgh

We Sware By Millers Photo Lab In Pittsburg Kansas.Remote The Images to Them,Back The Next Day. If you Don't like Them They will Reprint Free.
Matalic Prints Up to Size 30 By 40
Prices Are Very Good For A Pro Lab

shall1585 Loc: Prichard, WV

I sent some pictures from my OLD p&s to Nations Photo lab (nationsphotolab.com) just to see what they would look like. They'll let you send in 5 different pictures and they'll send you 4 different copies of them in an 8x10 for what they call "evaluation prints" the only thing they charge for those is $7 shipping and you get them in less than a week normally. They send you an NON color corrected copy on regular paper and metallic paper, and then a copy that IS color corrected on the regular paper and the metallic. They use Kodak Endura paper and they're prices are pretty good too. They print from mini wallet size up to 30x40, plus they have all kinds of other products. I liked what I saw with the eval prints, especially considering the pictures were from a 10mp p&s..

Jim Peters Loc: Pittsburgh

That's A Good Idea. Millers Photo Lab Also Offers That Servce

joe_flippin Loc: Texan living in Brazil, SA

I have a laptop and would like to know how to calibrate my LP monitor.

jackinkc Loc: Kansas City

I also use MPIX. Very fast processing and shipment. I've never been unhappy with the color. But, then, my monitors are all calibrated with Eye One.

Grizzly Loc: USA

Check out http://www.hdphotolab.com/stanly.htm

They are very good, very fast and back up their work. Our Photoclub toured their facility and we were all impressed!

normsImages Loc: Alabama for now

Calibrating a laptop is the same as a desktop. I use Spider Pro to calibrate my mac and external monitor. They both match perfect. As “bkyser” said you will need to turn down the brightness down on your laptop. Once you calibrate your monitor have a print made and use this to compare with your monitor to adjust your brightness. If you are using LR4 you can also use the Soft proofing in the development module to adjust for different paper.

tayco Loc: Wisconsin

I use MPIX or White House, both online, and have never been dissappointed. Fast service too.