Home › Forums › Photography Q&A › Monitor Settings
- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by James Staddon.
-
AuthorPosts
-
June 4, 2018 at 6:37 pm #31211Josiah WaldnerParticipant
Hello,
Does anyone have advice on calibrating a monitor for photo editing? From what I have read, IPS (in-plane switching) monitors are the best for this king of work, and I was wondering if anyone has any insight into the mater. I have a plain 27inch gaming monitor, and I had some pictures printed that I had edited on that screen. They were very dark, and I felt that some of the colors were not accurate either. After that, I ran a calibration wizard on my computer that seemed to help a lot, but still some of my pictures look a different on another screen. I am not sure if I should just buy a good IPS monitor or if there is some way to be sure that mine is correct.June 7, 2018 at 9:16 pm #31251David FrazerParticipantIt looks like nobody here has experience calibrating their monitors (myself included). Getting the “correct” colour is rather tricky.
In general, grey should look grey (gray will do, too) and white should look white. But that changes depending on what kind of lights you have around your computer, too. A white paper sitting in front of your computer will always look white to you, whether you are reading by tungsten light, fluorescent light, daylight, or overcast skies. The actual amount of each colour of light that is being reflected by the paper is really quite different. The screen does not change colours with the surrounding light, so you should technically re-calibrate every time the type of light around you changes. 🙂
Having said that, flat screens have always been notorious for not having good colour, and most newer screens will show up brighter than a printed picture. Just to see, try putting a solid colour on your monitor and viewing it form different angles and see if the colour seems to change or if it looks more like a gradient than a solid colour. Even good screens will do this some.
Don’t base your monitor on a single printed picture. Printers also have to be calibrated, and I know some professional photo printers in town that are notorious for getting the colours wrong. Even the better ones suffer from some slight nuances. Some of the less good ones will automatically try to compensate for common problems, and end up creating other problems.
If that reply was too long and ambiguous, try this reply:
There are various kits you can get to help you calibrate your screen. Or you can do it manually, like you did.
I don’t know if that helped any…
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
June 7, 2018 at 9:30 pm #31253Josiah WaldnerParticipantThat is a good point that the light surrounding the monitor will affect color- I just read that elsewhere, and I sometimes work with the light off, relying only on my screen light. Coupled with lights on sessions, I think I have discovered why my results are inconsistent. Thanks!
June 16, 2018 at 5:21 pm #31418James StaddonKeymasterOne-hour photo places like Walmart and Walgreens will turn out strange colors regardless of how your screen is calibrated.
If you really want to get good printing, find a consistent printer (at least a place that specializes in printing).
If you don’t want to get the calibrating kit, try running some test prints (at a consistent printer!) and then tweak the settings on your screen until the screen matches your prints. It’s not perfect, but it will at least get you in the ballpark for cheapskates. 🙂
-
AuthorPosts
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.