Acceptable on screen -- yellowish cast in prints?

[NathanReed]

A dear friend of mine recently had a baby, and I've been snapping hundreds of photos... The new mom asked me for some prints of a few, and I ordered both from a lab and from snapfish...

I chose the "color corrected" option when ordering from the lab, and the prints came back nice, but without the "pop" that the photos have on screen.. and to my eye, they have a slight yellowish cast to them... not bad, but not great when compared to how the image appears on screen..

The snapfish prints have a severe yellowish cast...

I am definitely an amateur, but I want to take beautiful pictures (and to produce beautiful prints!). I've attached originals (scaled down just a bit, but otherwise SOOC), and at least on my screen, the lighting is pretty close to the actual lighting when I snapped the pics.

The photos look fine when I preview on the camera, fine on screen, at least to my eye. Is my eye deficient? Can I trust it? Are there adjustments I can make before sending them off? Should I adjust the WB on the camera (Canon XTi)?

Thanks so much for any advice!

[LeeR]

Color labs work with a lot of images and have come up with a formula that works pretty well for people who only point and shoot. For those of us who have learned to work with images those settings can spell disaster. In most cases you will find that you are much better off if you do your own color corrections and sharpening and tell the lab NOT to make any corrections. Eventually you may develop a working relationship with a lab and have some heart to heart conversations with them about what they consider the ideal image for printing and ways you can help deliver that as often as possible...but even then, you are most likely going to be better off making your own corrections.

[natek313]

In addition to what Lee has said, you may be experiencing some issues due to monitor calibration.

You see, labs print according to specific color profiles. If the monitor you're finishing/viewing the photos on is not calibrated to the lab's color profile, you will see a difference between what shows on your screen and the physical print.

However, your photos do look on the warm side. I would adjust the white balance to see what that does for your prints.

[OsmosisStudios]

Are we looking at the same images Those things are practically orange.

[NathanReed]

Originally Posted by natek313

In addition to what Lee has said, you may be experiencing some issues due to monitor calibration.

You see, labs print according to specific color profiles. If the monitor you're finishing/viewing the photos on is not calibrated to the lab's color profile, you will see a difference between what shows on your screen and the physical print.

However, your photos do look on the warm side. I would adjust the white balance to see what that does for your prints.

They appear a bit warm on my screen But not really orange -- I suspect my monitor isn't giving me a true representation of the image.

I need to figure out some way to calibrate the LCD screen on this laptop (LCDs are apparently more difficult due to the different viewing angles?). I will adjust the white balance, but I'm afraid I'll be scared to do any post-production editing for fear of my eyes lying to me (of course, if I'm capturing good images, as an amateur, I shouldn't worry too much about post, right?).

Thanks all for the advice.

[NathanReed]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Are we looking at the same images Those things are practically orange.

That's the problem ... they don't appear orange on my screen... Would you say the snapfish prints are likely a true (or truer) representation of the image? They weren't color corrected (lab photos were) and are orange.

[ttosifa]

Originally Posted by NathanReed

They appear a bit warm on my screen But not really orange -- I suspect my monitor isn't giving me a true representation of the image.

I need to figure out some way to calibrate the LCD screen on this laptop (LCDs are apparently more difficult due to the different viewing angles?). I will adjust the white balance, but I'm afraid I'll be scared to do any post-production editing for fear of my eyes lying to me (of course, if I'm capturing good images, as an amateur, I shouldn't worry too much about post, right?).

Thanks all for the advice.

While it is useful to calibrate your monitor, you can also learn to use color channel numbers to avoid having your eyes lie to you. I always refer people interested in such topics to Dan Margulis's books (Professional Photoshop 5ed, e.g.) to learn techniques related to this. He discusses how completely color-blind people can color-correct photos, and how monitor calibration is not a necessity (although it may be helpful).

Your photos above definitely fall outside the "normal" range for Caucasian skin tones. Very orange. A very simple color correction of using a white eyedropper on the seemingly white blanket will bring the colors much closer to normal. I have done so on your first image. This is not necessarily the best correction, or even a really good one, but it will show you the difference. There are other problems related to exposure that I have not addressed.

Yes, you can get white balance correct in camera, or you can use gray cards to make color correction easier in post. Don't be scared -- it's not that big of a deal.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by NathanReed

That's the problem ... they don't appear orange on my screen... Would you say the snapfish prints are likely a true (or truer) representation of the image? They weren't color corrected (lab photos were) and are orange.

If it's how they are on your "calibrated" monitor, you did it wrong. They're TERRIBLY orange.

ttosifa has posted an example that is considerably more accurate.

[Benji]

You get what you pay for. I would NEVER EVER EVER trust any of my work to a Wal-Mart type of lab. The name of their game is production and if the print happens to look good that is a plus but that is not their main goal, their main goal is $$$. YOUR main goal is to produce an image that is so beautiful that your client will want to brag to everyone she knows how great of a photographer you are as she shows your image of her child. If it is orange guess who's fault it is (hint, it ain't the lab.)

Some tips on getting a good color balance.

1. Shoot in Raw only.
2. Shoot a grey card immediately before the session using the exact same lights you will be using in the session and take careful meter readings.
3. In ACR take the White Balance eyedropper and click it on the gray card, then click on Select All. Now you have perfect white balance.
4. Get a good professional lab to do your printing. I use H & H Color in Kansas City.

Benji

[peeperita]

Originally Posted by natek313

In addition to what Lee has said, you may be experiencing some issues due to monitor calibration.

You see, labs print according to specific color profiles. If the monitor you're finishing/viewing the photos on is not calibrated to the lab's color profile, you will see a difference between what shows on your screen and the physical print.

However, your photos do look on the warm side. I would adjust the white balance to see what that does for your prints.

i agree with nate that you are probably experiencing problems with your monitor's color calibration....i use spyder now.....once monthly......to keep my post work truer to the print.....

if price is an issue, you might want to ask someone in your area if they have a calibrator and ask to borrow it for an evening.....then save that calibration to a folder for later.....

peeper