ok i have been getting my pics developed at a local 1 hour place ( mainly because its very close and all my shot are practice ( cuz yall know that i need alot of that ) ). Of i take my pics to a regular lab am i going to get " better " looking pics?
I guess what i am trying to say is there a " big " difference . all the shots are for " practice" anyway.
The reason that i ask is i have a project due pretty soon and it wont be for practice anymore.
Thanks Shawn......
You might see different results but better would have to be determined. Sometimes it can be a matter of preference but one would think that the photos from Wallmart would be of lesser quality than say, Millers but I've seen the exact opposite. If you are just getting practice shots then it shouldn't be a big issue but once you start getting photos that you feel are winners you might want to go to a more professional outlet. Of course you are going to want your photos to look the way they do on your computer as they do on print. Now what we need to get into is calibration of your computer and the lab that is printing your images. There's a lot of info available on this issue. There are labs that use a Kodak calibrating software and make it available to the public to buy. I have looked into this vaguely but have not pursued it too far. I'm sure there will be some more members here with more info on the subject.
When I was shooting film, I found I could appreciate the photos more if they were developed properly. Even though I shot at anything that moved, and was still learning, I found that good quality results encouraged me to go out and shoot more and improve my shots.
Conversely, on the odd occasion that I used any old minilab, the prints were lacklustre and I got discouraged. Especially if the operators just left the machines on auto and the resulting exposure is just out of whack.
Try and find a lab with knowledgable and helpful staff, which you can get to know (and they can get to know you too) so they know your needs...
I recently took some digital images to a bulk processing lab that had 10 booths there and after adjusting the images to look right on their system I submitted them to their system and wandered off for a coffee. Their monitors are NOT calibrated in any way so the shots were dark, contrasty and very orange. So be careful
I mostly take my stuff to a real lab. When I am printing for the gallery or for a job, I usually print a copy to my liking on regular paper on my bubblejet, and take the picture in as a reference for the lab. They can't match colors exactly off a bubble jet, but they can match it as far as too dark / too light - which I think is the problem I get most often when getting photos developed by others.