UPDATE to Huge Color problem: HELP

SOOOOO, now that the printers are all coming up with orange pics so far I decided to duplicate the picture that printed in my photoshop and here's the steps i had to take to make what printed look exactly like what i see on my screen:

Contrast : +62
Adjust hue/saturation: Master: Saturation+16
Adjust hue/saturation: Red: Saturation +10
Shadow/highlights: Darken Highlights: +2
Levels: Under Output Level:right/white set to 218

All that gave me this: and this is what is printing out .. Looks orange and dark right?????? The picture underneath was my original edit and now i see that that color is even off a little.. but you can see how dark and orange it printed compared to what i did.... soooo how do i go back and edit these pics so that my pics will match the printer????

What is the correct way to download pictures to this site? i had to change the ppi and the image size like crazy to get it to load or else it was saying it was too big.. i am guessing the picture is going to be pretty blurry...

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Make your photos 800 pixels on the longest side for the forum, and save for web Q7 or so.

The top photo is horribly orange, and too bright. The bottom is ok, a color isn't quite right but not bad. His shirt is partly blown, skin's ok, and it lacks contrast. I'm not on a color managed system right now but it's not too bad.

What hardware are you using to calibrate your monitor? What lab are you using to print?

THE top picture was me trying to duplicate what printed out from walgreens and walmart!!! extremely orange!!! and the bottom picture was my original edit that i sent to walgreens and walmart... Does that make sense now???? I know the top is horrible, that is what they printed me from what i sent them below!! so that's my whole problem...

I do not have anything to callibrate my monitor but if you say the bottom picture looks alright and not orange them my monitor is good.. I can see the blown shirt, no contrast, and skin color (thank goodness) being okay .. my problem is that i print to stores and they come back super orange just like the top picture i posted... (walgreens and walmart)

OH, i did run quickgamma and then went to a site another poster mentioned to go to.. so i did do that, but as far as purchasing any hardware to callibrate, i have not

Well put it this way, I wouldn't send that file for print. The shirt is blown, and the color's not right.

When using cheap labs you often have to tell them to "turn off auto corrections". But if you haven't calibrated your monitor you should use a good lab and have them do the color correction for critical or customer prints.

Tim I totally agree... thanks! I actually chose like the first 3 pictures in the pile that my aunt chose that she liked and did a tiny bit of edit and sent them off to 2 places to print to check color so my problem started before i even got to start editing really...

(a little background if you didn't read my last post: This couple was not hiring a photographer, my aunt was going to just bring her Point and shoot camera and take pics.. I do NOT do wedding photography, only have seen 2 weddings my whole life-1 being my own.. I don't do professional photography to begin with! i just have a blog that ive posted pics to for the last 3 yrs daily of my kids and just recently got my DSLR camera, but because this was my aunts best friend I offered to come and take pictures... over 700 at that.. They knew that i was not a professional ahead of time etc.. and i think were just really thankful that someone would be able to take pictures for them.. This wedding was at the couple's house in front of about 40 close friends/relatives in the backyard very nontraditional, no cake, no throwing of a bouquet, no walking down the aisle, etc... Just a very sweet fast wedding at home.. and i am doing this for the couple for FREE.. so i am sure they are going to be happy with whatever they get and i am sure they won't notice the things that you all notice and can pick out in pictures! The inside of the house was sooo dark with no ceiling lights and the outside had harsh light shadows as this was all around noon... SO, it was tough on me to begin with! But this honestly is not one of my chosen pics of the bunch.. My aunt picked out about 120 pictures she fell in love with from the 700 or so and so i think that's not too shabby I did not use flash with these outdoor pictures and I actually had them standing in as much shade as i could because it was sooo dang sunny and everywhere else made everyone squint! So this little nook of trees between the dumpster and neighbors house was about my only choice... I don't ever plan to do a wedding again nor do i plan to do professional photography.. I just don't get why these pics were turning out soo orange when i have printed pics of my kids in the past without any of that??? confusing
I really do appreciate the C&C though.. I probably will post some pics later on in the wedding section when i finally do get my favs. edited.. I really did get some nice shots during the ceremony and prior that i am proud of including a picture of the husband and his 3 siblings.. they have never had a picture together due to an ugly divorce and a bitter mother and so this is the first time they've ever gotten to have a family picture... and i took some great maternity shots of the bride's daughter and her DH, she is 9mo preggo and about to burst.. I just pray that they will print nice!!! It was a great experience that i hope to not have to do again!!! I dont know how you all do it, my back was killing me afterwards and i'm used to being on my feet for hours as i am a nurse.. but going up and down this huge hill in the backyard about 100 times that day about did me in! i was on my feet photographing from 10am-5pm, at least i got a great meal out of it

becky_us wrote in post #7945882
THE top picture was me trying to duplicate what printed out from walgreens and walmart!!! extremely orange!!! and the bottom picture was my original edit that i sent to walgreens and walmart...

This is why I never send my photos to any of these generic labs. Ugh. What's the point of wasting time editing if the lab is going to crap it up anyway? I prefer local or reputable online labs that can send you an ICC profile to work with. That way, you know exactly what should come out instead of playing the guessing game.