printed images too dark?

lexie

lexie

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keith
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hi guys i was wondering if someone could help me out with a quick question. i had some pictures(6x4) printed at jessops as a test before sending them off to dscl for larger(a4) prints. they came back from jessops looking too dark whereas on my laptop monitor(uncalibrated) they didn't look half as dark.

is it a case of the monitor being backlit and giving me a false sense of brightness?


here's one of the images in question with all the exif intact:


hair shoot 3 by keith_r_rutherford, on Flickr


i vaguely remember reading that by increasing the 'gamma' slider in the 'exposure' tab in cs4 i can avoid the darkness i'm seeing at the minute. i've tried applying this to the above image and it seems to be working, but i'd love to hear other peoples opinions on this.

keith
 
Keith
Yes it could be a case of the monitor being backlit and giving youe a false sense of brightness. I had the same problem with my desktop and printing my own for a time. I took the route of printing my own and matched the printer to the computer, at least that way you can get better results in my opinion.

Realspeed
 
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Your uncalibrated monitor is the place to start, ambient lighting can also effect it - I calibrate and work in the same lighting conditions to try and keep some consistency

Simon
 
You could simply reduce the brightness on your laptop screen until t matches the print. Not the ideal way of doing it but would give you some degree of control. I would then repeat the exercise of getting the images printed , to see if you now get a good match.

As suggested try to work in consistent lighting conditions as this can effect the way you view prints and the laptop screen.
 
apart from having the uncalibrated monitor which is a major issue - many instore labs like jessops/asda/tesco/boots sometimes use a system on their labs that try to correct the image so it looks better.

It works like an exposure meter in a camera - so it has the same flaws. The image you have above has a large white background - which can fool the system into thinking its too bright, so it darkens it.

Also the image above looks like you've clipped the red channel - so you'll get skintones that look quite glowing.....
 
been on this myself.

Mu monitor is calibrated with brightness set to near 100% as instructed by eye-one.
Doesn't work, sample print from DSCL too dark.
Cut the brightness by 50%, monitor looked dark - uncomfortably dark. Even studio product shoot with light meter reading showing dark. But then it forces me to boost the raw exposure half a stop arggggggh.
Anyhow the print turn out to be fine.
I think human eyes are more tolerated to over-exposure than under-exposure.
 
your eye is adaptive - the longer you look the better the image gets.

Eye-one ask for the contrast to be set to the maximum - then the brightness is adjusted to the amount they specify - normally 120 or 140cdm2

This is almost always too bright - most people find the best for them is 100 - 110cdm2

You will think your screen is dark - as you are used to it being that way. Or you might be working in a very bright enviroment.

Do you have a monitor hood - if not, make one out of a cardboard box (just to see if it helps)

The other thing - how are you lighting your print? The ICC standard assumes a lot of light on the print - far more than the normal domestic enviroment - another reason why prints can look dark - and another reason to darken your screen to compensate!
 
You got good answers here, from guys who know their stuff
 
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