Module 5B: Monitor Selection and Calibration

B.    Monitor Selection and Calibration

 

 

 

There are many considerations that go into selecting a monitor for image editing such as monitor size, resolution, screen type and color space. 

Larger monitors and higher resolution will allow photographers to see details more easily.  

Monitors that utilize Adobe RGB color space will provide richer color than those that utilize sRGB. It is also important to read the specifications of the monitor to see if the monitor provides the full spectrum of the given color space.  Consider monitors that provide 100% of sRGB color space or a high percentage of the Adobe RGB color space.

Have you ever noticed an inconsistency in the brightness, contrast, and color of a laptop screen when you tilt it up or down? It can be difficult to be sure you are viewing it at just the right angle when you begin editing. These screens are known as TN (Twisted Nematic) panels and may not be the best choice when it comes to the certainty of your editing.

 

IPS or In-Plane Switching panels are not impacted by viewing angle. These screens will provide the photographer with a more consistent image editing experience. While these types of monitors have a slower refresh rate compared to the TN monitors, this should not be much concern to photographers editing still images.

 

Calibration is the process of setting up a monitor to ensure you are seeing an accurate rendition of the colors within your images on your computer screen. This also helps to increase the likelihood that the images you receive from the lab will look like you anticipated.

 

The principle is that calibrated monitors should all render almost the same appearance of an image across all monitors. Quite simply, you want the lab to see an image on their monitor the same way you see it on your monitor.

 Monitor calibration is a two-step process which includes calibration and profiling.

 Monitor calibration is done by setting a monitor to a set of standards which have known values for settings such as:

 

· Brightness

· Contrast

· White point

· Black point

· Gamma - how quickly shades change from black to white

· Luminance - the amount of light emitted from the monitor

 

Profiling

Color Profiling is a process in which your monitor is measured against a standardized set of colors. A hardware profiler runs the monitor through a series of swatches that have a known value and adjusts the screen to predefined standards of color and brightness. 

A Monitor Profile is created and embedded into the digital file to enable color-managed software, such as Photoshop and Lightroom, to make suitable translations of color from one device to the next.

 Monitor calibration should be done at least monthly to maintain accurate settings.