p.1 #1 · Color Calibration, Printing, And Web Viewing.
I would like to hear how everyone deals with calibration and different viewing mediums.
Here is my problem
I have the Dell u2410 which I calibrate using the Spyder 3. With this combination my files match pretty dang closely the prints that I get done. So great right?
Well if the only medium I was showing my work on was prints than I wouldn't worry about it, however I have noticed that when I enable my Spyder color calibration it makes my screen significantly darker, say 20% darker then when I am not using the calibration data. The result is while my files match my prints, on every other screen I view them on the shadow details are significantly brighter than what I see on my calibrated screen.
Anyone else with a properly calibrated screen should see mostly what I am seeing, but for the other 95% of people their viewing experience is not going to match what I have intended. Obviously it is impossible to expect everyone to see the same thing, but I would like to keep things a bit closer than the 20% difference in blacks that calibrating seems to create.
So how do you guys deal with it? Do you just work your photos with a calibrated screen and then not worry about it knowing that what you see on your screen is "correct", or do you create separate files for printing vs web viewing? This is by far one of the most frustrating aspects of photography for me.
p.1 #2 · Color Calibration, Printing, And Web Viewing.
I have same the same monitor, calibrated with spyder as well.
Certainly uncalibrated monitors used by many persons can be much brighter. However, for general viewing of my photos on other monitors I have not found that it detracts significantly from the image. I'm only an enthusiast, so I cannot comment on how this may affect customer base. I would guess you would be chasing your tail trying to meet the wide variety of standard monitors, then throw in viewing from a web browser...
p.1 #3 · Color Calibration, Printing, And Web Viewing.
It doesn't matter to much on some images, but I've noticed on certain images, especially low key images with lots of blacks, it can really adversely effect the image.
It's pretty predicitible as well, I have two monitors on my machine, one the good calibrated monitor, and then another cheap LCD that I haven't done anything to, I like to have it for just this reason. I also check my images on several different screens at work, probably a total of 4. They are all reasonably close to each other, and all about 20% lighter in the darks than my calibrated screen.
p.1 #4 · Color Calibration, Printing, And Web Viewing.
I believe there is another level as well... even if your monitor is calibrated, if you use a browser to view the file, it may be setup for uncalibrated settings...
I've often wondered about this as well... though the shift is often not great - if you really "dial up" your settings on a calibrated system and then send it off with just to say.. flickr - how do others perceive that file? Is it something that no one worries about because the change is usually not that great?
p.1 #5 · Color Calibration, Printing, And Web Viewing.
What's your working ICC profile? If you're using Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB in PhotoShop and then open a jpeg version outside of Photoshop, for instance on the desktop or on the web, you may see a difference in tone and color. Most displays will approximate sRGB color. Print using your original profile, but convert your web copy (in the Edit Menu) to sRGB. Open that version with your desktop viewer app and see if that helps.
p.1 #6 · Color Calibration, Printing, And Web Viewing.
Yeah, I have similar thoughts.
I use the ipad to 'people proof' my photos, and if I like them there, I feel like that is what most people will see, other than the the extreme ones with uncalibrated monitors that are too blue.
Generally I just adjust brightness to make them appear brighter on my screen and that matches my 'people profiler'.
I also think that the guy with an uncalibrated monitor sees everything not calibrated, so it's not just my photos that he sees as 'off'. There's also folks that use screen dimming software like f.lux that can really screw up the color balance as well.
I think the brain just compensates for it; if you wear pink colored shades, you don't go around saying the sky is pink, you still know it's blue. If this makes any sense...
