Prints, Prints, Prints

As a client myself, the most important thing I look for when I'm choosing a photographer is digital images.  I don't do much printing, and all I really want is to have my images so I can look at them whenever I like.  And sometimes, I (my husband) may decide to print a few to update our frames around the house. So when I started this business, I wanted to serve moms like me, and make sure all my packages always included all the best digital images.  I do not offer prints.

This model goes against what the best, most experienced photographers tend to do.  And they have good reason.  When a photographer gives or sells their digital images, they risk giving up control of their work. Which explains why some may charge such a high price for them.  I myself have had the unfortunate experience of seeing my work posted online, after clients have added their own filters, or tried to turn it B&W on their own. (It's not as simple as just pushing a B&W option.)  Photographers spend a lot of time editing their work to make it look a certain way, and the finished product is their art.  Altering their work in any way not only butchers it (in their eyes), but it also misrepresents their talent and their style. 

Another way to unintentionally misrepresent a photographers work is to have them printed poorly.  WHERE you get your images printed matters, a lot.  And forget about the photographer for a second, don't YOU want to get all your session's money's worth? 

Before I got into photography myself, I was guilty of printing at some of the terrible places I'm going to discuss below.  They always seemed fine to me, but I never actually went back to COMPARE them to the original image.  And I obviously never had the same image printed at multiple places.  Until now. 

Below, you will see four different images, each with something different to represent.  I chose a mostly white-ish studio image, a colored-background studio image, a beach image, and a sunset field image. I printed all four at the following places: Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Shutterfly, Mpix, and Nations Photo Lab.  

Keep in mind: these are pictures of pictures, so they may not look EXACTLY like the physical print, but they are close enough to make an accurate and effective comparison. Just LOOK at how different they all are, and how much a difference the printer makes.  Even I was shocked at what I got back.  Secondly, I often refer to something known as "banding."  This refers to the digital noise that can sometimes occur in digital images, showing up as patterns of lines.  They are most commonly seen in the images with solid backgrounds (the studio shots).  First up is the white-ish studio image:

Here is my original digital image I provided to the client.

Walgreens

Oh my gosh. Awful. Look how different the color is from the original.  It's green. It's dark. The background has visible banding and more easily seen in person, it's got streaks. Just awful.

Costco

Yikes.  I had heard a lot of good things about Costco and I know a lot of my clients print here, but look how dark and gray it is. I would not be happy with this.

Target

Ack! It's yellow. It's super grainy (more easily seen in person), and the banding is so bad you can actually see the blue/gray marks in the background. Seriously awful. 

CVS

Not quite as disastrous as the first few, but it's still very grainy, and the color is still off. The hue is still way more green than the original. 

Shutterfly

This one's a little better, especially the lighting. But the main issue I had with this one was the visible banding in the background, like the others though, it's a little harder to see on the screen.

Mpix

I actually use and recommend Mpix myself.  Without comparing to the original, the quality is significantly better than all the rest. There's no grain, and the smooth baby skin of the original is still in tact. It IS a tad on the dull side compared to the original, but I'd still recommend Mpix for sure. 

Nations Photo Lab

I thought this one came out the best.  Not only did it have the same smooth quality as Mpix, but I thought it retained the original colors the best.  I'd recommend Nations Photo Lab as well.

Next up: the colored-background studio image.  Here is my original.

Walgreens

Omg Walgreens, you make me want to cry. It's yellow. The lighting looks so harsh there are bright spots on their faces. Plus the clarity has been increased so baby's face is no longer baby smooth, and mom's face almost looks blotchy to me. Once again, Walgreens is the worst.

Costco

Yet again, Costco disappointed me.  At first glance this might not look dreadful, but scroll back up to the original.  In comparison, this one is dark, and super gray.

CVS

CVS. Again with the pumped up clarity, which takes away the smoothness of their faces, and shows some harsh banding on the background. Plus, this is yellow. Yuck.

Target

Gosh, why is it so hard to replicate color correctly?  Again, this one is yellow/green. And just like CVS, the clarity is increased making their faces look super rough.  It's much more visible in person.

Shutterfly

I'm not sure you can see it here, but there were a couple gray dots on baby's face, on her right eyelid. What the heck, Shutterfly? The banding on this one was also a little too much for me, especially in the shadows on the right.  But the coloring is getting a little closer.

Mpix

Mpix again impressed with quality. Nice smooth faces. Minimal banding on the background.

Nations Photo Lab

Good job, Nations Photo Lab. Good quality just like Mpix, but again I think NPL got the colors a smidge closer.

The beach photo.  Here's my original.

Costco

Oh, Costco. You're the worst this time.  It's so dark, you actually lose the detail in the waves on the right. You look nothing like the original.

Walgreens

Not quite as dark as Costco, but the color is green. Look at that sand, yuck.

CVS

In addition to being grainy, look at those streaks on the right side of the image. What's going on, CVS?

Target

Again Target seemed to pump up the clarity, making it look super grainy.  I think this issue is better seen in person. Not good. 

Shutterfly

Shutterfly seemed to have the opposite problem as Target and CVS.  Instead of extra grainy, the focus is soft, so much so that her face now looks blurry, when I definitely worked hard to get it in focus.  Boo, Shutterfly.  At least the coloring is better.

Mpix

Definitely not as vibrant as my original image, I'm not sure any of them are.  But looking at this physical print, making no comparisons, it's still very good quality.

Nations Photo Lab

Just like in the others, Nations Photo Lab is great quality, and does the best job matching to the original color. 

Last but not least, sunset in the field.  Here is my original.

Walgreens

Congratulations, Walgreens.  You've turned my gorgeous, glowing friend into a zombie.  Her face looks dark, and greenish gray. Ew.

Costco

Again, this doesn't look awful if you're not making any comparisons. (Probably why a lot of you are usually satisfied with Costco prints.) But scroll back up to the original.  All of my original vibrance is gone, and this just looks drab and gray.

CVS

Oy. The color is super yellow/green, plus the clarity has been increased so it looks grainy, and her face doesn't look as smooth and perfect as it did in my original.

Target

Just like the other Target images, this is again super grainy.

Shutterfly

This isn't super terrible, but it's definitely lighter, and less vibrant than it should be.

Mpix

Once again, Mpix impresses with quality and is pretty close to the original colors.

Nations Photo Lab

NPL again has the most accurate portrayal of my vibrant colors. Woohoo!

Whew!  If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time.  After all of that, here are my conclusions:

1. If you are lucky enough to use a photographer who offers prints, use them.  A professional photographer will most likely be using a professional lab, yielding results better than anything you've seen here.
2. If you use me, or another photographer who leaves the printing up to you, Nations Photo Lab and Mpix are your best bets.  Their quality is undeniably better, ordering is simple, they are reasonably-priced, and can be done right here:

Nations Photo Lab

Mpix

     3. Don't ever use Walgreens. Actually, I wouldn't recommend using any of the other places I            showed you here, but they were by far the worst. Oy.

That's all for now!  Please share this with anyone you know who orders prints. #FriendsDon'tLetFriendsPrintAtWalgreens. ;-)