Ben, my NEC is calibrated at 140 cd/mē D65, and definately isn't too bright for my environment - I have large north facing windows in my studio and never print after the sun sets. The luminance level depends on your viewing environment ben egbert wrote:
To make the image work, I had to boost exposure .5 and a gamma offset .92. But this blew out areas so I had to paint it selectively. I think I prefer the custom profile. I could get the same result with a 120 monitor and my custom profile and not need to dodge and burn.
I don't know what software you are using, but in Lightroom, you would be better dealing with the tone curve sliders than boosting overall exposure. You can do similar things in Photoshop with curves, but it isn't quite as easy. Also look at the shaddows/highlights tool, if you are using Photoshop.
