Photo How To

Photographers often spend countless hours perfecting their shooting and editing skills, only to be disappointed by inconsistent colors in their images. Today we’re going to let you in on a little secret: it’s difficult to achieve accurate results if you don’t calibrate your monitor.

Ben Piper is an instructor with Wex Photo Video, Britain’s largest online photographic retailer with almost 100,000 subscribers to their instructional YouTube channel. In the quick episode below, Piper explains the importance of monitor calibration and walks you through the easy step-by-step process for getting the job done.

As Piper says, “With any type of digital imaging, employing color accuracy in your workflow is a lot more important than you may think.” In just 10 minutes he explains what a monitor calibrator is, what it does, as well as how and why to use one.

Piper demonstrates his tips with the popular DataColor SpyderX Pro, but his advice is applicable for other monitor calibrators as well. These small external devices are supported by software to help you fine-tune a monitor’s output. Once that’s accomplished, you can trust a monitor to display the most color-accurate version of your work.

Monitor calibrators utilize various sensors to measure color and luminance output, as well as the ambient light in the room where you work. By now you’ve probably gained a better understanding as to why it can be folly to edit photos on an inaccurate monitor.

So take a look at the video, watch Piper unpack the device, learn what all the parts do, and see how easy it is to get started. One you do that, get yourself a calibration device, set it up properly, and you’ll have far more confidence throughout the editing process.

You can find more helpful tips and tricks by visiting the Wex Photo Video YouTube channel, and read more about DataColor's color management tools on their website.