In most cases, the pictures you see on our web site are not the same as the prints you receive when you place an order with us - the prints are even better! That's because Great Lakes Action Photography carefully examines every photo order to see what type of digital post-processing can be done to ensure that you receive the best quality prints possible.

We like to think that we take good photographs, but honestly, every photograph can benefit from some post-processing to make a really great print. If we can, we'll zoom in on the action as much as possible and/or remove extraneous items from the photo to make the subject "pop".

Here's an example of a photograph as taken right out of the camera:

We knew the customer was #54's mom, so we wanted to zoom in on him. We didn't think that the two outside players really added any important context to this particular play so we cropped them out. There's a lot of extra turf in the lower third of the photo so we cropped that out, and this left a bit too much tree line/skyline in the top third of the photo so we cropped that out too. Our customer received this print:

We may also change the orientation of the photo to best fit the action. For example; the following photograph was originally shot in "landscape" mode e.g. the longest side runs horizontally:

Note the on-field coach in the background, and the back of the player on the left. Neither adds anything to this photo - so we cropped these out and printed it in portrait mode (e.g. the longest side runs vertically). Our customer received this print:

The size of the print that you order also affects the final product. The images on our web site are all a 4x6 aspect ratio. If you order a 5x7 or 8x10, something has to give. We try to shoot loose enough so that nothing important ever needs to be removed regardless of the print size ordered, but there may be times when a part of a photo must be cropped out to make it fit the final print size. Here's an example of an original image, shot very tight:

The customer ordered an 8x10 of this image. Remember the original image is a 4x6. If you double 4x6 you get 8x12 so if the customer had ordered an 8x12 they would have gotten the same original image. But the customer ordered an 8x10, so we had to crop out some of the bottom of the clarinet, as well as part of the top of the hat. Our customer received this print:

We work very hard to provide you with the best possible print, but please understand that when you order a photo product that is not an exact multiple of 4x6, something has to be removed from the image to make it fit.

If there is a compelling reason that you don't want us to crop anything out of a photograph and/or change it's orientation just let us know. Perhaps there's a family member in the background, or you've got a side-by-side frame that requires the prints to be a specific orientation to fit the frame. That's fine - just contact us immediately after you've placed your order so that we can be sure to get you the product you want. And if you are dissatisfied with any photo product that you receive from Great Lakes Action Photography, contact us for a no-cost replacement, or a full refund.