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A few weeks ago I ordered my 2nd ever gallery wrapped canvas. Years ago I got my 1st one and it was 16×20 from a company that just makes canvases. I loved the color and image but the quality was not amazing (the back was not finished and it just looked incomplete).
Well this time I decided to give my digital photo lab Color Inc a try. I picked the photo of my twins from the post I did about “getting both eyes in focus when shooting wide open.” I ordered a 24×36″ canvas. I never realized how huge that woud be in person, especially since I did a closeup. The canvas came packaged to perfection. I LOVE it. The quality was incredible, the color rich and vibrant. The details and finishing touches… Just amazing. Here is a blog it board showing some of the details.
Everything was perfect except one thing that was 100% my fault. It is kinda hard to admit this considering what I do for a living. But I am human and I made a mistake. I never zoomed in at 100% around the photo. The thing is when you print a canvas big like this, especially a closeup shot, you cannot have even minor problems or they get magnified. So on Ellie’s face I never paid attention to what appears to be flaking skin as shown below between her chin and cheek, and also lips kind of chapped with Popsicle stains. I had printed this 4×6 prior but it was not noticeable in that small a size. So when the canvas came I was excited and then bummed (once I noticed this). How could I make this mistake. So please learn from my mistake. Promise me? Here is the closeup so you can see zoomed probably at 200% on the actual photo of the canvas what I somehow neglected…
Color Inc is after all my favorite lab, not just for quality but for customer service. So I called them and as usual they helped me out. They said they would reprint it.
So I edited my heart out to fix this, but I was too worried even with the retouching that it was not perfect enough for this big size. I will have to live with the issue (which my husband thinks I am crazy for even caring about in the 1st place).
The great news is that Color Inc. allowed me to send a new image to get printed. And it turned out fabulous! On the left is the whole canvas hanging on my wall – and on the right is a closeup. The color is as vivid and perfect as the photo I uploaded to them.
Now for the good news… Tomorrow I will be doing 2 posts. One will have tips from Color Inc on preparing your images for canvas. They will allow you to post questions about preping and canvases in general. The second post will be announcing a contest – with 3 canvases as prizes (one is a 20×30). So 3 lucky and talented people will win this photo contest. So check back tomorrow for more details and also to find out how you can get a great deal (BOGO 1/2 off once the contest ends).
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That second canvas shot is amazing.. Cannot wait for the contest!!
These are absolutely beautiful, Jodi! Your girls are so sweet. Thanks for the tips on zooming in to check for boo boos. Now I want to order a big canvas, too!
They both look great…but the color on that second one totally rocks!!! I am needing to order a canvas for a wedding customer so this information was so helpful….thanks!!!!
bummer about the flaking skin, but they are such gorgeous girls and the size of their eyes and great expressions – most people will not even see that! second canvas is just amazing, great shot! colorinc is the BEST, looking forward to their post!
Thank you Kim, Cindy and Aimee. Remember tomorrow a CONTEST with 3 canvas prizes will be announced! So check back then.
I love Color Inc’s GWC. Mine have been spot on! And I agree about their CS…it’s fabulous! Beautiful Jodi!
THe sunset canvas is stunning! Love it.
Oh Jodi! These are AMAZING! Thank you for sharing your talent. And more importantly….your mistakes (even the teeny tiny ones). Color Inc sounds like a fabulous company and I love that they are getting involved with your followers to share their tips as well! Now THAT is the way a company gets a great reputation and name.
Think both pictures are amazing, but love the 2nd especially (I’m a sucker for sunset/sunrise pics). How do you achieve the silhouette w/out having the subject looking grainy? I tried some maternity shots w/ back light and the parts of the face/body you could see from the light didn’t look right. Any suggestions? Also, any good teaching book suggestions for how to achieve proper exposure in photos?
Katy G – yes – for proper exposure – there is ONE BOOK you must have. In fact I feel every photographer should read it when starting out or learning to get exposure right. It is called “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson. Here is a link for you: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)Silhouettes – I did a few tutorials this past summer on them – how to take and edit. Here is a link to each – Part 1: https://mcpactions.com/blog/2008/07/07/how-to-photograph-and-edit-silhouettes-part-1/ and Part 2: https://mcpactions.com/blog/2008/07/09/how-to-photograph-and-edit-silhouettes-part-2/
Stunning! Stunning! Stunning! Love the sunset canvas, and it gives so much warmth.
The colors on the sunset canvas are gorgeous!! And I understand how you feel when you find a tiny flaw in your own work…it’s all you can focus on! However, your girls are just precious. Thanks for the tips when ordering canvases!
OMG beaufiful canvases and awesome post!! Looking forward to tomorrow’s!! I really do love the first photo of your girls as well and even though i’m obviously not seeing it in person, i would probably agree with your husband and forego “the perfect print” just because it’s such a beautiful photo to the two of them…and my eyes pretty much just stay on their eyes when i look at it anyway!
I’m so glad you’re doing another post on preparing for canvas! I’ve been thinking about these for some time!!!
Wow, thanks for sharing this with us, it really helps and I will always check and zoom up on my images before sending them out for canvases now. They are both beautiful though, and there is nothing like a canvas or two or four or ten,lol hanging on your wall, it literally takes your breath away, and the bigger the better.I’m totally excited about the contest, as winning a canvas is such an awesome prize.
I love the sunset one, it turned out so beautiful!
I have bought a canvas from them and it’s gorgeous! I’ll be back tomorrow! I so love the prints I get from them!
I wish I had a shot like that of my twin girls…you know what though, I would probably never have notices the flaky skin and the popsicle stain kind of makes them kids…regardless, both shots are beautiful! Looking forward to tomorrows post!
I wouldn’t have thought of that either…thanks so much for the tip!Also, that second canvas is STUNNING!
im so excited, I can’t wait
“I am human and I made a mistake.”Nothing out of focus in that refreshing sentence.
Thanks so much for the advice Jodi…that was actually one of the books I had looked at but wasn’t sure it was what I needed (just ordered it from Amazon). Look forward to reading your tutorials too.
First (Raising right hand) “I promise to zoom in before ordering a canvas.” Thanks for that piece of advice although I too agree with your hubby.I just recently ordered a bunch of 8×10’s from ColorInc and am very happy with them! They DO rock!
Great tip! I recently ordered a large print from ColorInc and had the same thing happen! I had used the spot healing brush and it looked fine as a small print, but it was sure noticeable in the large print. I decided to let it go since it’s only for my kitchen, but it was a great learning experience for next time.Your canvas is beautiful!!