Why you should make sure your monitor is atleast somewhat calibrated...

[Antithesis]

I just found out my monitor was all out of whack, and just for comparison, here's what happens when you don't realize how oversaturated every image your editing looks because of improper monitor correction:

Before calibration:

After calibration:

I posted a portrait of my girlfriend that looked pretty normal (albeit a little saturated, because I like bright colors), and after basic calibration it was like neon. I sent the picture to her mom and she probably thought I was insane. I'm so glad I haven't started to put my portfolio together like that, I'd be hopelessly screwed.

Anyways, double check those monitors people!

 

[Antithesis]

Oh, and if they still look out of whack, for the love of God, tell me.

 

[Ajay]

I actually kind of like the more saturated one better. Or maybe somewhere inbetween the two.

 

[evo5gsr]

I actually kind of like the more saturated one better.

Same here.

 

[Antithesis]

Yeah, but if you look at the reds they are starting to run together, and the cyan in the ocean is bordering neon. I was trying to say that the oversaturated one looked like the undersaturated one on my monitor.

 

[JIP]

I don't know man I think you are making an arguement against calibration. I mean why go through all th trouble when it makes so little difference in the 2 images you presented.

 

[Ajay]

Doesn't look neon at all to me...

Maybe its just a matter of taste.

 

[Antithesis]

I don't know man I think you are making an arguement against calibration. I mean why go through all th trouble when it makes so little difference in the 2 images you presented.

This image wasn't the worst case. I had one other that the skin tones had literally gone neon. I was just thinking how retarded it is to spend thousands of dollars on equipment just to have poor looking images because my monitor isn't calibrated. Luckily, I have Macpros at school to use with massive calibrated monitors and even better printers. Hopefully I don't get stuck editing on this laptop monitor for the rest of my days.

I just used the Mac basic monitor calibration tool thingy, so I didn't go the full nine yards.

And yes, I was calling myself a retard for posting images that looked like fuzzy blacklight posters.

 

[deudeu]

I think that there is quite a bit of difference between those two pictures...

 

[v1001]

I see quite a bit of difference too. The top one looks very off. I like the bottom one.

Sadly most people not in the field have monitors they just plugged in and went with it. 99 percent of the monitors out there are made to be to bright and not enough contrast out of the box. They do this so that their monitor stands out in the store more than the rest. TV's are the same.

When I go over to a girl friends house her monitor is ridiculously bright and washed out. They all differ though and really need to be calibrated either way.

 

[Antithesis]

I think that there is quite a bit of difference between those two pictures...

Yeah, I was pretty surprised some people weren't noticing how different they look.

I just think if I were to edit a bunch of stuff down for a wedding or something, send it off to print and get a bunch of cartoony images, I'd be pretty bummed. I have a couple things lined up this summer, and I'll definetely consider a better computer than this and calibration.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I agree with you fully, good calibration is a must. Even if you enjoy hyper-saturation (it is a popular look these days) it needs to be done in a controlled fashion. For instance, you can individually saturate colors, it doesn't have to be the whole image.

The first image makes my teeth hurt, it's so saturated... the visual equivalent of Lucky Charm cereal!

v1001 is right - monitors and cameras come with their saturation, contrast and brightness cranked up (but sharpness set to low so mom doesn't look wrinkly!) Same as stereo systems, with treble and bass at 90%.

 

[Double H]

Get an Eye One spectrophotometer. It hangs on the front of the monitor, accounts for ambient lighting, and creates a linear profile. It's the only way to be sure.

 

[Helen B]

When I glanced through the list of new posts, I thought this one was

Why you should make sure your mother is at least somewhat calibrated...

No chance. I gave up on that years ago.