Labs & Workflow - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

12/28/2006 12:27:04 AM · #1

I have been shopping around for a lab to use, and am impressed with several....however... many seem to expect all shots to be edited within their own online applications after you have uploaded shots and Photoshop is never mentioned in the work flows. One lab specifically mentioned not to sharpen images. Is this standard fare for labs? I have shot two events, and have processed all shots in PS and now am feeling stuck... either they will get overprocessed by the labs or, I have to go back and start from scratch with originals. Those who have trod this path and work with labs, would you share your thoughts / experience on this thought for me? My thanks in advance.

asimchoudhri

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

12/28/2006 12:55:58 AM · #2

how soon do you need your output? if you have time, i would run some test shots processed in different ways.

one thing i did was came up with a dozen or so different test shots, including portraits, nature, still-lifes (including different versions of the same shot) and sent them to a bunch of different places, compared the output. you can get free prints at many labs using the following link. in addition to these labs, i also used adorama and iprintfromhome.com as part of my test. this allowed me to compare output, as well as ease of use and speed of delivery (i ordered all at the same time).

doing this you will realize what results YOU like. there is no one-size fits all way of image processing...

12/28/2006 09:52:37 PM · #3

Asim, thank you, any others with experience in using labs care to chime in?

Prof_Fate

12/28/2006 10:41:17 PM · #4

There are many pro labs out there - many things to consider when choosing one -
What is their turn around and ship time? my two labs are within a 45 minute drive, so UPS (is how they both ship) is next day at no extra cost. and i can drive there if things are too nasty.
One offers training at their facility for free - PS, fotofusion for wed albums, ROES (the software almost all pro labs use for ordering).

What do you want to sell? My one lab does prints up to 30x40, does any kind of canvas you can think of, and lots more - like wedding albums, sprots stuff, acrylic stuff and offers discounts on studio samples. They wil mount to 8 different materials if I need it. The other lab is mostly sports stuff - they have color order forms for my use that help me sell more. they offer more trinkets than you can imagine, but don't do large or canvas stuff. they cost a little more, but for sports they rock.

either can color correct or not - not is cheaper for me, so i do the CC bit.
sharpening? workflow? it's up to you what you want your end prints to look like. continous tone prints (what most labs do) is pretty forgiving stuff - 150DPI is plenty ( i try for 200). Over 200DPI is not noticeable in portrait work, perhaps in landscapes it might be.

sharpening...i shoot RAW on a 30D, portrait pic style, with sharpness pushed to 4 and do not sharpen any more. I may try pushing that to 5... for some things (pet close ups) I will do a bit of USM in PS, but it's not really needed. Look at your image at 50% in PS, and that's about how it will look printed.

watch the high and low tones - you can blow out at 250 or more, so clip the highs to that. the lows...if you want detail in shadows stay above 25. at least for my lab that works best.

labs...my one charges NO SHIPPING but a $2 handling fee, $10 min order (not a problem most of the time). the other has no handling fee, but charge UPS shipping ($5-10 usually). These will affect your costs! My regular lab charges $1 / unit (8x10, 2-5x7, 4-5x4, 8 wallets) - in December I spent $900 with them - most labs charge $1.80 per unit - so that $900 would have been $1620, and i places about 12 orders - the cost of shipping at $2/order vs $6 saved me $48.

a pro lab wants you to make money - if you succeed they succeed. they support the industry, the photographer.

profilmet.com is my main lab
tpiphoto.com is my sports lab.

other good ones...
whcc.com, buckeye, burrel, h&h, mpix/miller

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

12/29/2006 01:28:15 AM · #5

Good stuff Chris, thanks for the reply and pointers.

General

Kodak Z7590

12/29/2006 03:33:43 AM · #6

great info

SaraR

Sony Alpha a7R III

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

12/29/2006 05:59:44 AM · #7

Prof, that was a realy useful post - I have only done a few paid shoots, mainly parties and one wedding, and have done all my printing at home, but that has proved crazily, ridiculously time-consuming, as well as on the expensive side. Does anyone have recommendations for a prolab in the UK? The only one approaching is Peak Imaging, but I have had a bad experience with them reliability wise.