Laptop Computer Shopping...HELP!

aimcpix · Dec 28, 2013

I'm in desperate need of some advice! I would like to run my business solely from a laptop: Photoshop editing, accounting etc. But I'm not real savvy at knowing what specs I need or if it's even a smart move/possible.

Are there any computer whiz Photography lovers who can send me words of wisdom???!!! I currently have a desktop but I know it's nearing a point where it needs replacing or an overhaul so I want to check out potential options before I'm in a jam.

My goal is to be 100% and be able to do portrait selection appointments in the comfort of a clients home if they wish to: new mommies being my goal demographic.

Thank you for ANY help!! Aimee

derita · Dec 28, 2013

Hi Aimee, I'm very new to this, but I am in the opposite boat at the moment.

I'm solely on a laptop right now, but am looking for a good monitor. I ran into an issue with one of my photos not coming out the way I thought it would (meaning when it came back from the printer, the colors were way off), so I started looking into monitor calibration, etc. From what I've been able to research, laptop monitors are very hard to calibrate and if you intend to print the photos, it is best to deal with the actual monitor (not the laptop screen).
My goal is to have a newborn/family photo business and I'm paranoid that I can't trust my laptop screen when adjusting colors, etc. Another thing I've learned is that for photo purposes, you want to make sure the monitor has an IPS matrix (so it would be an IPS Monitor). I actually posted a question about the monitors, so I'm hoping someone can give me a good advice, but I thought I'd share what I've learned so far.
Good luck!
- Olga

Ysarex · Dec 28, 2013

Yep, laptop for photo editing is generally a bad idea. There are numerous reasons.

Most laptop displays are TN technology displays. By most that would be 90+%. There are some exceptions. The Macbook with the retina display is an IPS panel as are the new Surface Pro laptops.

A TN display is unsuitable for photo editing because:
1. It changes with the slightest change in viewing angle. To use it you would need to mount your head in a clamp to prevent your eyes from changing position.
2. It is physically incapable of displaying as much as 70% of the color content of your photos. Calibrating it won't fix that in any way. Think hard about that; you're trying to edit your photo and you can't actually see 70% of it correctly rendered.

Even if your laptop does have a usable display you have other problems.
1. It's just too small. Even a 17 inch laptop is just too bleepin' small.
2. Every time you move it to a new location the ambient light changes. This is really bad unless you plan to re-calibrate it every time you move it. That's a pain.

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IPS panel technology is one good option. PVA is also fine. They're basically variants on the same thing from different manufacturers. IPS is LG and PVA is Samsung. They allow for a wider viewing angle and can be nearly 100% color capable depending on which $$$ model you get. They're all a whopping lot more color capable than a TN display. All computers equipped with TN displays should come with builtin software that senses when you're trying to display a photo -- a big red circle with a diagonal line should appear and a warning: "This display is unsuitable for viewing photographs. Do you want to proceed?" Photography is about seeing. If you can't see? Seriously?

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You can buy a laptop for portability and when you get it home plug it into a good display. I'm typing this right now on my Toshiba laptop which I use all the time in the classroom where I teach photo. I would never dream of editing a photo on this laptop unless it was plugged into my desktop display. I have an HDMI cable plugged into my desktop display waiting for this laptop. Only then would I edit a photo with this computer.

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All displays must be calibrated and that requires a hardware device. Minimally you can get a colorimeter for around $100.00 that will calibrate your display. I recommend X-rite products.

Joe

derita · Dec 29, 2013

Joe, so I have to ask... what are your thoughts on LCD vs LED? Have you had any bad/good experience calibrating an LED monitor (I was looking at LG IPS LED monitors)? I've heard the problems with these is that the white is not truly white, so the rest of the colors get thrown off and they are hard to calibrate. Any truth to that?
Thank you so much!
- Olga

imagemaker46 · Dec 29, 2013

I do almost 100% of my photo editing from a laptop and have no issues at all. The main reason is that a lot of my shooting is on the road and it is the only option I have. I got used to how the images look, if I send a couple to a client and they say they look a little dark, then I make the changes and know that chances are all the images should be a little brighter.

I have never calibrated this laptop or any of the laptops I've used. I expect that it all depends on what kind of work is being done on the laptop as well, and would guess that nearly 100% of photojournalists use laptops for all the work they do.

Saying that a laptop is useless to edit photos is just wrong. When I shot for Reuters there were several laptops in use, I would go to a hockey game not knowing which one I would be using. Like the other photographers I got used to how the images looked, could eyeball an image quickly and get the colours correct, there was very room for mistakes, and once the photo went out on the wire it had to be right. You learn to read the screens, and that only comes with experience.

Ysarex · Dec 29, 2013

derita said:
Hi Aimee, I'm very new to this, but I am in the opposite boat at the moment. I'm solely on a laptop right now, but am looking for a good monitor. I ran into an issue with one of my photos not coming out the way I thought it would (meaning when it came back from the printer, the colors were way off), so I started looking into monitor calibration, etc. From what I've been able to research, laptop monitors are very hard to calibrate and if you intend to print the photos, it is best to deal with the actual monitor (not the laptop screen).
My goal is to have a newborn/family photo business and I'm paranoid that I can't trust my laptop screen when adjusting colors, etc. Another thing I've learned is that for photo purposes, you want to make sure the monitor has an IPS matrix (so it would be an IPS Monitor). I actually posted a question about the monitors, so I'm hoping someone can give me a good advice, but I thought I'd share what I've learned so far.
Good luck!
- Olga

I don't think the problem is the LED backlight, but rather old calibration colorimeters that were designed prior to the advent of LED displays. You want to make sure if you calibrate the monitor with a colorimeter that it's a current device.

Joe

jenko · Dec 30, 2013

I have a friend who is a graphic designer and he swears by "gaming laptops" for running Photoshop and editing software. I have a Macbook Pro with retina display and it runs the software just fine, although I much prefer my iMac. You just can't beat that big screen. I agree that after some time you will simply adjust to editing on the laptop. The main concern is having enough memory and CPU to run the software smoothly, especially if you plan on using Photoshop and Adobe Bridge. Lightroom might be easier on memory, I'm not sure. I would not go any less than 8GB memory and make sure you have a fast processor. Also, get a mouse. Using the trackpad for editing is just a PIA.