my wedding proofs came back terrible!

[jkloef]

The skin tones made them all look like corpses! I know that I still have a good bit of PP skills to learn yet but there is just no way I was THAT off. I have a pantone huey on my monitor but my monitor had to have been off! The images looked great until I saw the actual prints. I was able to rush an order of color corrected proofs before my meeting with the B&G but I don't want to have to pay for that every time. I am using a lcd monitor right now but I was under the impression that with the huey it would be ok...should I hook my old monitor up instead? I'm posting in here since this is the only section I am ever on... What to you think?

[SuzyView]

Well, it is good to print a few pictures before sending them out just to see what they look like in print. That's what I do to check on the exposures of the proofs. Really, I am more than careful about this, because I print on two different printers for about 10 shots or more just to make sure what I send to the lab is accurate. That has worked well for me. For a 300 image job, I print about 50 on my own printer just to make sure and I do use a Spyder II on the LCD's so I do both. Sorry about the problem, just thought I'd share my strategy.

[cdifoto]

Were the proofs printed with or without color correction by the lab?

See if you can't get a soft proof profile from them so you can preview your results.

[Big Mike]

Were the proofs printed with or without color correction by the lab?
That's what I thought of...It could just as easily be the lab/printer as it could be your error.

[jkloef]

They were printed without color correction by the lab. I used a different lab for the second set (color corrected) and they turned out great. The preview is a good idea, I'll ask them about that. Yeah I ordered 450 of them...

[SuzyView]

It's really sad to pay twice for proofs. Live and learn, I guess.

[cdifoto]

Every lab is different. Try a set of, say, 6 from that 2nd lab, NOT color corrected. Using the 2nd lab AND having them color correct did little more than add another variable, making it more difficult to figure out the cause of the problem.

But tell me this. Do the 2nd lab's color corrected images look like what you see on your monitor? If so, your monitor isn't properly calibrated. You should be able to get proper colors WITHOUT their corrections if your monitor is calibrated correctly - assuming the skin tones are accurate on your monitor.

[jamiewexler]

Honestly, I tend to trust the color correctors at the lab and leave corrections set to: on. With a good lab it is part of their job to be experts at color correction, and I tend to trust the experts... Maybe try a run with color correction at the original lab and see what they send you.

[jkloef]

Honestly, I tend to trust the color correctors at the lab and leave corrections set to: on. With a good lab it is part of their job to be experts at color correction, and I tend to trust the experts... Maybe try a run with color correction at the original lab and see what they send you.


So when you upload to you lab to have them do the color corrections what do you need to do to the photos to get them ready? Just WB and exposure...and let them do the rest? That sounds pretty great to me right about now if that's the case!

[jamiewexler]

Yep, that's pretty much what I do - WB and exposure with a little bit of contrast and sharpening for kick and let them make sure they look good in print. I say that with this caveat, however...my processing is very simple. I don't put a lot of time into making an artwork out of a photo in PS like some friends of mine do. I have a very good friend that will spend hours on a single photo to make it look exactly the way he wants. Folks that spend that much time making art probably won't be happy with the auto corrections that the lab does...

[jkloef]

Which do you find to be better to edit on...lcd or non-lcd (both would have huey calibration)?

[jamiewexler]

I'm the wrong guy to ask - I don't own a Huey and use my (very expensive but still a) laptop for editing! The lab does a very good job on my prints!

[tim]

LCD's are fine, if you have it calibrated and set up right. I use an LCD and use a pro lab with no corrections for most prints, color and brightness are how I expect. Can you put one of the full size files on a web server for us to have a look at? We can tell you if it's you or the lab that made the mistake. Also check to see if the images are in Adobe RGB, the lab might expect sRgb.

[strmrdr]

Also check to see if the images are in Adobe RGB, the lab might expect sRgb.
That happened too me.
That would also tend too make the skin tone look like a corpse too.

[suecassidy]

Your lab can make or break you. I have worked in a film photo lab before and know that some people are better at printing then others. Some labs push their chemicals longer than they should. Sometimes the chemistry gets contaminated. Sometimes the person setting the density on the machine in the morning doesn't really know what they are doing and most customers won't notice the subtle differences in quality that result from that. Those issues are in a film lab, but I'm sure it is similar in a digital lab. Some lab workers have a good eye for color correction, others don't and they don't care. Don't always assume it is your fault....

[sapearl]

Hi Jamie - now perhaps I'm wrong here, but I figure that if your doing a good WB, exposure and contrast, then you are pretty much doing a good job of color correcting your shots. At least that's the understanding I have after talking to the head tech at my lab. Get the whites right and everything else pretty much falls into place.

So if you're doing all that work up front - careful WB efforts - why have the lab color correct what you already have corrected to your tastes? Or perhaps I misunderstood what you said....:rolleyes:


Yep, that's pretty much what I do - WB and exposure with a little bit of contrast and sharpening for kick and let them make sure they look good in print. I say that with this caveat, however...my processing is very simple. I don't put a lot of time into making an artwork out of a photo in PS like some friends of mine do. I have a very good friend that will spend hours on a single photo to make it look exactly the way he wants. Folks that spend that much time making art probably won't be happy with the auto corrections that the lab does...

[jamiewexler]

Good point...maybe I just don't trust myself completely (or my laptop monitor)!

[sapearl]

Well, it actually sounds like you're putting a lot of care and effort into getting things right prior to sending the files to the lab. I'm just replaying the conversation I had with my lab guy :D. You might be paying them a little bit extra to fix things that don't need fixin' (if they do charge for that).

Good point...maybe I just don't trust myself completely (or my laptop monitor)!

[tim]

It's really a choice of taking the time to do the color correction yourself, or having the lab do it for you. How much is your time worth? If you have to supply digital files then you have to do it yourself, or at least get it pretty close.

I color correct my own images in RAW, then design the album from them. Once the album's designed I take a final look and sometimes tweak the colors a little in the layout. If i'm happy I send it to be printed with no corrections, if the color or brightness aren't quite right I have the lab do the final corrections. Having the lab do color correction for the album costs me US$60-$120, if i'm not happy with my color it's worth paying that given how long it takes.

[jkloef]

I am struck with colorcorrectionaphobia! lol I went out and bought some more books to improve but I have 3 events in the next 4 weeks that need to be done! My lab color corrects any prints ordered as well as the proof book but they don't offer it for cd archival. I have already told these clients that they would be getting their files on cd... Anyone know of a place that will color correct to a cd without ordering prints?

[sapearl]

That's quite interesting the lab won't offer to burn the CC files to disk for you. Do they explain why?

[mediamst]

Ok, So which lab do yall use for your color correction. Which labs have you tried and do the best job with color correction?

[GertS]

Anyone know of a place that will color correct to a cd without ordering prints?

I don't believe that a lab will do this. It's normally not the job of a lab correcting files and burn them back on CD. Their software is designed to "improve" the prints regarding certain conditions and forward the data to their printing process.

What you are looking for is outsourcing the correction process. Some offer it but it cost you money.


Myself I really happy that the lab I'm using for printing now is not correcting these. The work of other labs was for me a nightmare, as colors were odd. :( :( :( At the frontdesk of the shop they agreed that the lab didn't do a good job after checking the original files.
It costs me more, but the quality and colors are this worth. On the long run I'm saving too, as I can do it by the net and I have the prints in one or two days in the mailbox.

[song4themoon]

I use MPix and usually the prints look great. The other day I sent a large order from two weddings and both sets were SOOOOO messed up. In one the blue sky (which I had made blue in PS) was really purple, not even near blue. And on my screen and my husbands PC it was no doubt blue without even a hint of purple.

On the other set the was a extremely strong yellow cast in the indoor shots when my originals werent even a touch yellow. I contacted the lab and they had me send the bad ones back and they will reprint them. No clue what happened.

I usually have color correction off because I am afraid that they will change it to something I didnt want, but maybe I should leave it on and see what happens

[JimAskew]

I use MPix and usually the prints look great. The other day I sent a large order from two weddings and both sets were SOOOOO messed up. In one the blue sky (which I had made blue in PS) was really purple, not even near blue. And on my screen and my husbands PC it was no doubt blue without even a hint of purple.

On the other set the was a extremely strong yellow cast in the indoor shots when my originals werent even a touch yellow. I contacted the lab and they had me send the bad ones back and they will reprint them. No clue what happened.

I usually have color correction off because I am afraid that they will change it to something I didnt want, but maybe I should leave it on and see what happens

Song,

I used MPIX to print some of Suzie's son's wedding photos...I used Color Correction On and I couldn't see a difference from the ones I printed on my EPSON R800. I used matte paper in both cases. You might check with Suzie and see if she noticed any difference...she has all the copies including the duplicates from MPIX and my own EPSON R800.

Bottom line is I use MPIX a lot and I am well satisfied with their results.

[jkloef]

Sorry not to reply more quickly, I was out of town...
So my lab says that they only burn cc images if you order a print of each image you want burned... Mpix doesn't offer cc cd's either, they burn them directly from the orig files (love their prints though;)). Does anyone know of a company that offers something like this? I realize it may cost but I would like to have the option just in case I need it again.

[sapearl]

I use Buckeye Color Lab in Canton, Ohio. They're a full service lab and will pretty much do anything you ask of them:

http://www.buckeyecolor.com/

I've been using them for about 4 years now after switching from a local ma and pa that didn't offer their extensive services.

[mkuriger]

yay for online proofs!