The Design & Publishing Center and &FOTOgraphic is proud to present this essay
which is part of the ACE Index FAQ. Information about camera equipment,
photo equipment and digital imaging equipment.
Avoiding Problems
with Photo Labs
Even the best labs make mistakes. Here are several suggestions which will increase your chances of getting satisfactory results from all photo labs. Underexposure . . . What's
on the Film . . . Choosing a Lab . . . One
Roll Please Even the best labs make mistakes. Here are several suggestions which will increase your chances of getting satisfactory results from all photo labs. Make Sure You Expose the Film Correctly |
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Underexposed |
Correctly Exposed |
Overexposed |
There are several reasons underexposure happens: Know Precisely What is on the Film If you can't provide a precise description of what's on the roll of film, the photo lab will never be able to locate your processing. Choosing a Lab Mini-labs are appearing everywhere. People love the convenience and instant gratification from getting their photos back in an hour or the following day. Can mini-labs do good work? Absolutely! It all boils down to the human factor, the skill, training and color-sense of the person operating the equipment. Often, you can talk with the mini-lab operator, and request special cropping on an enlargement or ask that a reprint be made lighter or darker than the original. 35mm and medium format users should choose a lab which sleeves negatives for protection against dust and scratches. For processing slide and black and white film, custom photo labs are usually your best choice. Custom labs can be expensive when prints and enlargements are needed. With negative films have them process your film and provide a contact sheet of the images. Using a loupe, examine the contact sheet and choose which images you want printed or enlarged. Most custom labs make light tables and loupes available for customer use. Determine the cost of machine prints before you ask them to print an entire roll. Slides are processed, mounted and are often ready for pickup in a few hours. If you have irreplaceable photos, such as that once-in-a-lifetime photo of Elvis at the local Burger King or your best friend's wedding, a custom lab should be your choice. If you're budget-minded, you can always have reprints made elsewhere. Custom photo labs offer all kinds of specialized services you can't find elsewhere, including copy negatives, slide duplicating, digital imaging services and much more. There are also mail order custom labs which cater to professionals, wedding and sports photographers. The bottom line is to find a photo lab you have confidence in and stick with them. ACE has an excellent index of photo labs in the US, Canada and abroad. One Roll of Film Per Envelope It makes sense to follow this rule even when dropping off your film at the local grocery or drug store. Whether you choose the nearest convenient film drop-off or a mail order photofinisher, one roll of film per envelope means more work but aren't your memories worth it? All Photo Labs Have Bad Days Almost as bad, workers can sometimes get one roll out of sequence, stuffing each finished roll in the subsequent envelope - this means everyone will be getting someone else's photos. This nightmare can happen at any high volume photo lab. Someone we know got back pictures of a family celebrating their Native American heritage, posing solemnly for portraits in their ancestral graveyard; someone else got our friend's female nudes. How embarrassing! Going On Vacation? Make sure your camera is working okay before you take the vacation. Never take along a brand new piece of equipment without testing it first and familiarizing yourself with its features before leaving town. Avoid exposing your film to airport x-ray machines. Never leave your camera in a hot car for any length of time; the film will fog
and the camera may be permanently damaged. Staying in one location for a few days?
Find a local mini-lab to process your film. This way you'll know the camera is working
fine, and you'll have a chance to reshoot any pictures which didn't meet your expectations. |
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