Quote Originally Posted by newbie21
Hello,

My question... When enlargements are made from negatives, is some of the clarity of the photo lost in the enlargement process? Or should the enlargements look just like the proofs, but larger? Any thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated! As you can see, photography is very new to me!

Thanks in advance...
Yes, there is a loss in image quality involved when enlarging from a negative. The smaller the negative, the more obvious it is. That is why most wedding photogs use medium format cameras. That is why prints from a 110 camera don't look as sharp as those taken with a 35mm camera - the negative on 110 is much smaller.
I have also noticed however, that some one - hour photo places raise the temp of their developer to reduce the time it takes to develop prints. This can degrade the print quality in my opinion. I have gotten some very disappointing 8x10 enlargements that could have been much better if printed by a pro.