Question For The Pros

Brett9917

Brett9917

New member
Hello all,

Recently I have been having people ask me if I sell my photos. While I am not sure if I am ready to make the leap in selling my photos; if I were, where would be a good place to get them printed? I have had my photos printed at online places like Snapfish and Shutterfly. They do a really good job for just having them my personal albums, but are they good enough for selling prints? Would some place like my local Ritz photo work? Are there any specific qualities I should be looking for when doing my research for printing labs? Such as equipment used or anything like that?

Any guidance for any of these questions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Brett
 
I like to use:

http://www.adorama.com/pro

I use this for portfolio albums and my high quality prints. I also use shutterfly for all the pictures the wife makes me put in photo albums.

The hardest part is getting proper color rendition, but you can upload color profiles and what not.

I am not a professional so YMMV.
 
I will have to check that place out! Thanks!

And I wasn't asking specifically to the pros, but I know there are enough on here that I figured one of them would know.
 
really doesn't matter where you go as long as they use proper color management techniques and you soft proof for the paper you'll use. They of course need to use a paper that you like. It's been long time since I outsourced since I got the Epson 4000 for my home. How big are you going? When I go big I usually take a crop or two from the large image and see what that area looks like on an 8x10. Sometimes in a larger print you need to tweak it verse a small print. The way we precieve it changes due to the contrast and colors being spread out over a bigger canvas (IMO at least).

I know some photographers use Costco and say the results are good. I am going to have some large images done soon (20x30) and I will be using a local shop. I know the paper they use, I will soft proof in PS, then make a test print. If I ike I will drop of the file and I'm done.

There are lots of greta places, but I can't think of any right now off the top of my head. Some will do all the postprocessing for you (or color match a hard proof you give them ) but the charge high dollars for that.

Hope some of that helps. BTW, places like altex, and Red river sell "sample packs" of paper so you can see what look you like. That is a very personalized choice. I personally like a Luster finish but some of that depends on the image too. I recently got some new papers that I have yet to experiment with.
 
I've been struggling with this for a while as well. I've been asked if I sell photos regularly or shoot events. I've shrugged it off for the most part but now it's become so frequent that I need to start looking at things more seriously.

Costco for the most part does a really really nice job with my prints at least. My most popular size was 12" by 18" and the photos come out really nice. I've sold some of those framed and matted for about $150. It depends who your selling to. Recently I've started using a print lab in Santa Cruz CA called Bay photo and they have some nice printing options. I just had a print there made on Kodak metallic paper which came out out kind of nice (the paper reminds me a little of my Peter lik print). A VP Marissa Mayer at Google just inquired about purchasing a print of mine and I'm having difficultly deciding on a price to sell her as well.

As for event work... I just got hired to photograph a wedding reception for a lively couple in the Mexican Riviera ( travel and hotel paid for!). I usually wouldn't commit to something like this but the nature of the couple and the type of photos they want were in line with my fun/silly approach to photographing parties.

SO i'd say i'm in the same boat!
 
Costco eh?? I would never have thought to go there for professional quality prints. Unfortunately I am not a member at one, mainly because the closest one is 45 minutes to an hour away.

Most of my work will be commissioned, and not freelance. Mainly it would be sessions with an owner's car, so I am not sure if something like smugmug would work, unless they have a privacy option where each set or gallery has a different password or what have you.

As far as printing size and other option go, I would imagine that would be left to what the customer wants.

On a similar note, if anyone wants canvas as their printing options, canvasondemand.com does a great job! Wonderful customer service, and fantastic quality.
 
Brett9917 said:
Costco eh?? I would never have thought to go there for professional quality prints. Unfortunately I am not a member at one, mainly because the closest one is 45 minutes to an hour away.

Most of my work will be commissioned, and not freelance. Mainly it would be sessions with an owner's car, so I am not sure if something like smugmug would work, unless they have a privacy option where each set or gallery has a different password or what have you.

As far as printing size and other option go, I would imagine that would be left to what the customer wants.

On a similar note, if anyone wants canvas as their printing options, canvasondemand.com does a great job! Wonderful customer service, and fantastic quality.
Click to expand...


If you purchase a membership you can submit photos and have prints mailed to you. Might be worth one trip!
 
yeah when you checkout online you can pick them up at your "local" warehouse or have them mailed direct to you. I've been very satisfied with their enlargements all the way up to 20" by 30". You can calibrate to meet the color profiles of your exact Costco/ printers as well. Also make sure to turn off their Auto Correct option so that your images are unaltered.
 
Costco is actually very good. For images smaller than 8.5 x 11 they used to use a "wet" process; not sure if they still do.

Mpix and Bayphoto are both good. If you're looking for some more professional options, you can also check out Miller's and WHCC.

In all cases, unless you've hardware calibrated your monitor and are familiar with ICC profiles and their use, you should let the lab do color correction/management for you.
 
Alrighty guys, thanks so much!! It looks like with so many suggestions, I will have to go out and try a few places before I decide on one!
 
Ok, so instead of making a new thread, I figured I would just bump this one and start a new topic since it still a question for the pros ;) :D

So I just bought an iPad2, (more for my own personal use and portable Mac since the iMac doesn't move too well) and was wondering what apps for photography would you guys recommend?

I don't intend to take too many photos with the iPad's camera, so I don't can't imagine needing "in tablet" editing, but what about showcasing photos, using it as a digital portfolio. Is the photo app sufficient enough or do you recommend something such as "pad folio"?

Lastly, if you guys want to thrown in your favorite apps non photography related, I am open to suggestions lol.

PS: Doug, didn't you say you made an app for ND filters and determining exposure? Is that available to the public?
 
Sorry man, I've been traveling and have been dealing with some other issues and I missed your last question.

I did use to have an app called "FilterCalc." It isn't for sale any longer due to me not having time for it. That said, I use a few iPad apps that are pretty cool:

SpyderGallery - If you already calibrate your computer with a Spyder3 you can use it to calibrate the display on your iPad so your photos look as you expect.

PhotoshopExpress - Really nice basic edit application. Pay extra and get the noise reduction tool.

Photosmith - Works with Lightroom. You can upload your images to the iPad (on a trip or whatever) sort, rate, cull, keyword, whatever.....when you return home those images (an all of the meta data work that you've done) get uploaded directly into Lightroom. The only caveat is getting those images from the camera to the iPad. You'll need Apple's Camera connection kit.
 
No worries! I would be a little concerned if all you did was sit on RC waiting to read every new post lol. Unfortunately I don't use any calibration system, but Spyder does seem like the way to go. I did get photoshop express, that does look like a nice little app and I will get the noise reduction app. I don't have the connection kit, so I will hold off on the Photosmith app, but it does sound really useful.
Thanks Doug!
 
If you're printing, and want any kind of consistent accuracy, calibration using some form of colorimeter isn't optional. Buy one and learn how to incorporate it into your workflow. It'll change your life. (okay, maybe not but it's very important)
 
Hmmm, well if it is life changing, then I guess I should look into one. I have looked at the Spyder series, and have read the difference between their different packages, but I don't understand what they are saying, haha. Is it really a big difference or necessity to have the premium versions, or can I get away with the basic version?
 
The basic version is a good start. I have the 'Elite' version because I need to calibrate my projector as well. The hardware is the same, it's just the software that changes.
 
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