Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Enhance Your Internet Viewing Experience: Calibrate your Computer Monitor

The management of color for digital photography is an extremely complex subject, of which most amateur photographers have little or no understanding. Basically, color management has to do with the whole process of color digital photography, including how photos are processed and viewed. For most amateur photographers, a thorough understanding and application of this process is not practical. However, there is one part of the process that could be practical for non-professionals and would greatly serve the medium of digital photography: calibration of computer monitors. 

The brightness and color rendition of computer monitors changes over time, and the stock monitor brightness and color/contrast monitor settings are generally not ideal for viewing photographic images. Furthermore, the ambient lighting conditions under which a monitor is viewed will have an effect on the viewer's perception of the image (applies to viewing printed images as well). Conscientious professional photographers will calibrate their computer monitors with special software and hardware that enables them to achieve a more consistent and accurate view of photos on their monitors. This specialized software and hardware is not necessarily terribly expensive (although more elaborate and versatile versions can be), nor is it difficult to use for someone who is at least moderately comfortable with installing and using various kinds of computer software.  Here are a couple of examples of monitor calibration tools that are reasonably accessible for the average computer user: Colormunki and Pantone Huey.  Both of these products can be had for under $200.

Ideally, for best viewing of images, the monitor calibration should take into account the nature of the ambient room light. However, even calibrating a monitor without regard to the ambient room lighting can make for a much more accurate photo viewing experience than simply using the stock monitor settings, or, even worse, badly manipulated monitor settings.

Some professional photographers will occasionally go to the extent of calibrating their clients' monitors. However, this is not practical in all cases. Furthermore, serious photographers are interested in disseminating their work to the widest possible audience, in a manner that represents their work as accurately as possible. Since the Internet has now become the preeminent medium for viewing photographs, it makes sense to try to ensure that the photo viewing medium enables viewers to have the best possible viewing experience.


2 comments:

  1. You have some outstanding pictures, David. Question: What len(s) do you use for most of your pictures (indoor and outdoor)? I'm getting ready to buy a Canon 17mm T/S lens for real estate photography and possibly some architectural photography, but am naturally concerned if the 24 T/S lens would be more versatile. Could I take multiple exposures with that and accomplish the same thing? What lens do you favor? Thanks! Bill

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  2. Hi Bill,

    Glad you like the photos.

    What lenses I use depends upon the type of job. For most real estate photography I use the Canon 17-40mm zoom. I find the zoom lens more efficient for this type of work, since it saves time relative to changing prime lenses all the time, and the quality is quite satisfactory for this type of work. For some luxury real estate photography and for architectural/interiors work, Canon perspective correction lenses are my main lenses, though I may still use a zoom lens for longer focal lengths, or for focal lengths in between the perspective correction lenses, for shots that don't need the movements.

    I am not sure what you mean about taking multiple exposures relative to focal length. Are you talking about doing flat stitches with a pc lens? Whether that can work depends upon your capture techniques. With some forms of compositing that might not work at all or might be extremely complex to do if it can work.

    By the way, the Canon 1.4x teleconverter can be used with their 24mm and 17mm perspective correction lenses, with very good quality.

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