Need enlargement suggestions...

[Earth_First]

Good day, folks!

My wife and I need a suggestions on an enlargement of a wedding photograph (that we still haven't decided on...)

We are looking to have a 16"x20" enlargement done for a wedding frame which we had our guests sign the matted portion from a photograph taken by our professional photographers.

We have full rights to all of our wedding photographs as part of our contract, so we have the highest quality files available to us as given to us by our photographer.

Any ideas?

Is this something that should be done locally or are their online retail options which we would be satisfied with...?

Thanks for your input!

[Major Nikon]

1. How you should procede really depends on what you have

When you say "highest quality files available" this really can mean one of two things (or perhaps both). It can mean you have what is known as the raw files, which are produced more or less straight out of the sensor in the camera with no post processing done either in the camera or externally by post processing software. It can also mean you have the processed files the photographer used to make your original prints. Or it can mean you have both.

If you have the post processed files, there are a number of excellent on-line professional grade printers out there which can serve you well and offer you lots of options for printing. These printers can also do your post processing for you if all you have are the raw files, however if you are particular about how the post processing is done you may want to go to a local printer (most large cities will have a good professional grade printer available locally). The great thing about this method is you can take your original prints to that printer and tell them "this is what we want". Any other approach will probably yield slightly different results and may not be what you expect. Another option would be to post process the files yourself (not recommended unless you know what you're doing and have a monitor that's calibrated to your printing service).

If you like the prints you already have, your best bet is probably to ask your photographer where he had his done and use them.

[Earth_First]

2. A few notes...

The photogrpahs that we have were all post-processed by the photographer. Every photograph that we have (save for a few colors that I'd like to see in b&w) have been edited to our liking.

We had, and I would imagine still have access to the raw files, but I do not see that as being necessary given we are satisfied with all our photographs.

Do you have a particular retailer in mind that you could reccommend?

I just don't want to get stuck with an expensive enlargement that comes back to us grainy, cropped, etc. where we expect sharp results.

Thanks again!

[Major Nikon]

3. Here's the thing with post processed files

A good post processor will process the raw file with a specific format and size in mind. If you want to change the format and size, the processing will be different. A 5x7 requires different cropping than an 8x10 and while you can certainly take an 8x10 file and print it as a 16x20, a good post processor would not process those two formats the same. You may or may not notice the difference, but someone who knows the difference certainly would. The advantage to having the raw files is you can have them processed for whatever size you want and still retain the highest quality possible.

The online printer I like is Bay photo. You have to download their Roes software which basically allows you to upload your files and select the options you want. There's a bit of a learning curve to figuring it out their application, but it's not too bad. Their prices are higher than a consumer grade printer, but they aren't all that bad and you get a lot more printing options. Even if you have the post processed files, I suggest you go with their full color correction option. The no correction option is really for professionals and serious amateurs that take the time and have the equipment to calibrate their monitor to bay photo's printers. Full color correction means a person looks at your files and applies the color correction necessary for their particular printers. It only costs a little more. No color correction means whatever you send them, that's how they print it. This can produce unpredictable results unless you have a calibrated monitor and even then it takes a bit of knowledge and experience to get what you want.

A local professional printer that sits down with you and gives you a higher level of customized service will be considerably more expensive, but if you go with a good one can provide you with the highest level of quality so long as you can provide them with high quality raw files.

[Earth_First]

4. Perfect.

Makes absolute sense.

Thank you for taking the time to explain it.

What I'm thinking is that at this point we will decide what photograph we want, and pay our photog to do the legwork and printing. We enjoyed working with them so much, a bit more business would be appriciated I'm sure...

Thanks again!

[Major Nikon]

5. That's the option I'd recommend in your situation

If you were happy with the results once, chances are you'll be happy with them again and if you're wanting something as big as a 16x20, chances are you're not going to want too many of them so you're probably only going to save a few bucks on reprints for something that you plan on cherishing for a very long time. For smaller prints, books, etc., go with Bay Photo. I think you'll like them. I use them for the executive head shots that I do for the company I work for and so far everyone has been quite pleased with the results.