My prints tend to be grainy, is it because I am new to the digital photo world?

[A.Ward]

I am totally new to this forum, so hello. I am also new to photography really. I use a Panasonic Lumix, nothing fancy. My subjects generally are my kids and dogs. However I do like to try and shoot other things. Recently, my grandmother died and had given me a scarf. I wanted to have it framed for my bedroom wall as it is quite beautiful. The cost however was crazy. So I took a picture of it and found a company online, called Great Wall Custom Coverings that could print it large enough, it's 3' x 3'. They did a great job. They were really reasonable too. Now I have my art on my bedroom wall. I highly recommend them. I hope it is OK to put their link here; www.greatwallonline.com. They do all kinds of custom wall art. My printer couldn't have made it that big and I don't think I could have printed it that well as I still can't seem to get even my 8" x 10" pictures to stop looking a little grainy. I'll keep working on it though. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

[stitchbug]

i dont know anything about panasonic, but if yo ucan change your ISO, then lower it.

[A.Ward]

Thanks, I have so much to learn.

[nicotine]

I'm not sure which model Lumix you have but I checked out the Lumix on wikipedia to see what sensor size it has (smaller sensor = more noise) and read this:

he FZ30 has a reputation for taking noisy pictures, especially at higher ISO settings and indoors and when compared to digital cameras and dSLRs of comparable price.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC-FZ30

So you can mess around with settings all you want but it may be a futile effort.

[stitchbug]

just keep at it! i am by no means a pro, or anything close to it, but i just read a lot and practice practice practice!

[A.Ward]

So noisy pictures = grainy prints, right? Figures! This will be frustrating for me but I guess, it will make me learn more. Thanks for looking into it for me. Guess, I should do some research of my own. I feel a little overwhelmed, my last kid just entered kindergarten and I think I forgot how to do anything but parent them. Big learning process for me.

[glyphon]

well, you've got a great resource here. lots of knowledgeable people to help you out.

question, did the print that you ordered turn out grainy? also, what kind of printer are you using at home? photo printer? inkjet? laser?

[A.Ward]

The print I ordered turned out Great. It looks just like the scarf, that was originally given to me. I should take a picture and try to post it. If I can figure it out. I'll probably have to ask my husband or more sadly my kids for help. Don't laugh at me.

[leveup2]

I am glad to read it here.