transferring indoor plants outside

i have 4 6 week old plants in between 8 - 11 inches tall . they arent that bushy becuz i had them on 24/0 light for their 1st 2 weeks that are lookin great . the only thing worrying me at the moment is that i transplanted them to 3 gal pots and 2 of them r starting to droop . i just want to no if i cud send them outside asap bcuz , well u no how the light bills get lol , and on top of that they are outgrowing their space inside . i have heard that you need to "harden" them but i also heard u have to gradually drop their light cycle inside until it matches the outside schedule . what is the most i cud drop the lights a day/week/w.e to b able to keep them healthy n happy ?? pic on the rite is just the 1 being blocked by the light . its also the tallest

ehh those other pics were from like 2 days ago i just took these

Put them in filtered sunlight and they should be fine then in a few days just move them into direct sunlight. I personally don't see the need to step them down in their light cycle, I did that this run slowly over two weeks going from 18/6 to 12/12. So far I haven't seen a difference other than they stretched more this way. I grow a combination type grow partly outside and partly underlights depending on the weather. So since they popped out of their shells or sprouted roots from clone they get to outside and in the sun. Good Luck

alrite thanx cane ! so there wouldnt b any damage sending it outside right off the bat ? i am just trying to be precautionary i want my 1st grow 2 b successful

No harm that I can see, just don't throw it out in direct sunlight the first few days, nice filtered light.

ohhhh alrite then thats a relief !! i dont want to hurt them lol !