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Have you tried calibrating with Damien's instructions? This should work for you: https://www.damiensymonds.net/calibration-instructions/calibrite-colorchecker-display-pro-desktop.html

Thank you this is great info & have had a read. I currently have the calibrite display pro HL, which I see is one of the two top tier he suggest. However, it doesn't have the ambient light feature the Spyder X2 Elite has. I'm wondering if I give this a shot being my prints are warmer.

If I were to buy a new Calibrator today, I'd opt for the most up-to-date model. The Spyder X Elite has been replaced by the Spyder X2 Elite. I'm sure the cost savings going with the X Elite caught your eye and it's still a fine calibrator. The Elite has ALL of the software features turned on, and should be able to calibrate your screen nicely. Why bother with the X2 Elite then? It's for the monitor you have yet to purchase. While the Spyder X Elite will work fine for your current display, I'm worried about the one you will end up buying 2 years from now. As I've stated multiple times in various threads; I hate-hate-hate wasting money on this shit. Nothing would burn me up more than forking out a couple of hundred bucks for a Calibrator, only have to fork out another few hundred for a new one because my cheap-ass didn't fork out the money when I should have. In the end, I pay MORE than I'd expected to. Make sense? Damien wrote this article, I'd give it a read: Which Monitor Calibrator to Buy

Thanks Brian this is great information. I had a chat with Queensberry today to talk about the problems I'm having. They said they use this calibrator, it monitors the room ambient light etc. https://www.datacolor.com/spyder/products/spyder-x-elite/ Before I go out & buy this, what are your thoughts on this one? As I'm having a problem with my prints being warmer than my screen I would consider the swap, but would love a penny for your thoughts on this calibrator.

As for the monitor, the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE 27" Display looks decent. It has the main things that I look for: IPS Display Panel 100% sRGB Anti-Glare / Matte Coating Non Touch-Screen There are other displays out there, but if you are editing photos, YOU NEED A IPS Based Display. I will cover the reasons & whys in another article and will keep things simple here. For now, the Dell UltraSharps are our usual Go-to when it comes to displays.

I wish I could give you an easy answer, and I do have one. Typically, you are looking for either a high-performance business computer OR a low-end Gaming Computer (Minus the Fancy LED Lighting and Liquid Cooling.) Either of these types of computers should have most, if not all, my requirements. The problem is with Windows Computers is, they are hard to nail down because models change so frequently. Especially when it comes to something like a laptop, those suckers are only around for 45-60 Days, before that model is replaced by another newer model. It's insane. Usually, I tend to recommend the Dell XPS Line of Computers as a starting point, since Dell is a World-Wide Company and whose computers are usually available. So it's a great reference point for everyone. I do realize that not everyone likes Dell computers, and that's fine, just use my recommendation as a guide and purchase a similarly equipped computer. Easy-Peasy. So let's start by heading to Dell's Website and taking a look at their XPS Desktop Line. This link will take you to Dell's Website and give you lots of choices; one of the things you WANT TO AVOID IS BUYING A COMPUTER WITH A NVIDIA 4060 VIDEO CARD, DO NOT BUY A 4060...YOU WANT A 4070 OR BETTER YET, A 4080. Here are some starting specs, and your budget should be around $2700 or so for the computer, plus a few hundred for a IPS Screen. I'd recommend having $3200-ish at the ready for whatever you purchase, after possible shipping and applicable taxes. Now, I do encourage folks to seek out coupon codes or wait for sales...or just buy another brand that might be more affordable. This Dell XPS Desktop Configuration is just to provide an example and is easily accessible around the world. After clicking my above Dell XPS Link, we are going to choose the computer all the way on the right, which is going to be the most expensive option. Why? Because Dell, among other manufacturers, are taking their "cues" from Apple, and you have the most choices in terms of upgrades / customization. "Go Big or Go Home" just doesn't apply to Apple these days. If you do click on a "cheaper" option, you are just kidding yourself, as with every customization / upgrade, the price automatically goes up to the higher-priced model anyway. So let's just save some time and at the time of this writing, click "Customize & Buy" below $1949 model. From there, we are going to increase the Processor for $100 more. Remember, not only is the Video Card super-important, there is AI Modules in Photoshop now, so spend the extra $100. Leave the "Windows 11 Home" Operating System at the default. You can always upgrade Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro if you need to. Graphics Card: Again, DO NOT PURCHASE THE NVIDIA 4060 IN ALL FORMS WHAT-SO-EVER. We are going to upgrade to a NVIDIA RTX 4070 with 12GB of RAM. You do not "need" the "Super Version" of the Video Card. Even though I really like the NVIDIA 4080, I just can't justify Dell's up-charge in obtaining one. The RTX 4070 with 12GB of Video RAM is perfectly "fine" for Photoshop CC. Now, if you want to upgrade to a 4080, I'm not going to stop you. I'd upgrade to 64GB of RAM and be done with it. Even though 32GB should be "fine," 64GB is better, especially if you have a High Megapixel Camera. Anything higher than 64GB really isn't needed for Photoshop work and is meant for those who have a requirement. If you have to ask me, you don't need to go above 64GB. Storage: Here is where you can pick your Main HD Capacity. I still recommend having a 1TB Main HD as the absolute minimum, if you want to go higher, feel free. You can NEVER have too much HD Capacity. As for the other configurations, it's up to you if you want a C Drive and a D Drive. For this example, we will leave it at the 1TB Default. Chassis Options: Dell could have labeled this section Power Supply. If you plan on keeping this Dell XPS Computer in its "Stock" configuration, than 750 Watts is all you "technically need." If you plan on using lots of external HDs, especially if you choose Liquid Cooling, then I'd get the 1000 Watt P/S for $50 more. In fact, let's just spend the extra $50...it's only money, right? Cooling: You don't "need" Liquid Cooling for Photoshop, but I won't fault you for getting it. Optical Drive: It's up to you if you want a DVD +/- Drive in 2025. I'm going to leave it off for this example. Keyboard and Mouse Options: You can go with the Dell-Cheapy Versions of upgrade to something better. I will leave this choice up to you. Services: This is the Extended Warranty. Like Apple, Dell repairs their stuff. Parts come from Dell, etc. At the time of this writing, I would upgrade the Warranty to the Premium Support with 3 Years Coverage, with a one-time payment, which seems to be on sale. 2 Years is also fine, if the sale ends and if the 3 year ends up significantly more. 3 years for a computer is pretty decent; if something is going to fail, it's gonna happen within 3 years or so. Office 365 & McAfee: This is up to you. If you have a Office 365 Subscription, you can use that. As far as McAfee, this would be the 1st piece of software that I would remove. Believe it or not, the built-in Windows Defender works pretty well for what it does. McAfee, Like Symantec...tends to drain system resources. As of right now, this configuration will set you back $2793.99. Can you find something cheaper? Absolutely!! To recap, this is what you are looking for in 2025 Intel i9 CPU NVIDIA RTX 4070 or RTX 4080 with 8GB - 12GB of Dedicated Video Memory 64GB RAM 1TB Main HD P/S: 750 Watts or better. 850 Watts or 1000 Watts is preferred

Windows Based Computers for Photo Editing: What to look for in 2025. Still to this day, one of the MOST asked questions that I receive, both here and FB Ask Damien, is... "What computer do you recommend for editing photos?" or "What's a "good" computer for Photo Editing?" There are several different versions of these two questions and they are all asking or requesting the same thing: Just Tell Me What to Buy!!!! So what has changed from the WTB Article that I wrote back in 2023? Again, not much. In fact, I just copied and pasted my article from 2023, with a few tweaks. Most of the time, if people are asking here, they just want general guidelines on what to buy, so I'm going to stick with the basics. So here is the run-down... Heading into 2025...Photoshop continues to require more-and-more from the Hardware that it's installed on, AND THE CHOICE OF VIDEO CARD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CPU!!! At it's core, Photoshop is still Photoshop and hasn't changed THAT much since CS6. What has changed is Adobe keeps adding "Fancy Tools" such as Content Aware, more bloat overall and the latest thing on the Market: AI Technology. It's all of these fancy tools & AI Crap that really tax older hardware; if you are trying to run the latest version of Photoshop CC, on a computer from before 2020, hell...even 2022, you are going to run into problems or error messages. Meaning, you will know just how "old" your computer is with the current versions of Adobe Photoshop CC. Heading into 2025, this is what I recommend for a Windows Computer that will be using the current versions Adobe Photoshop CC. My preferred items will be marked in bold: Intel i7 or i9 CPU (AMD Ryzen Equivalent) 32GB of RAM / 64GB RAM Preferred 1TB Main Hard Drive A NVIDIA RTX 4070 or NVIDIA RTX 4080 Video Card with 8GB - 12GB of dedicated Video Memory IPS-Based / Non-Glossy or Matte Display Windows 11Pro I realize that most folks today understand those terms in 2025, but I'm covering it for those who need this info: CPU - This stands for Central Processing Unit. It's the "Brain" of your computer. There are different types and brands which usually determines performance on how things work. This is the #1 thing that people tend to grab onto, they know that a i7 is "better" than a i5, likewise an i9 CPU is "better/faster" than a i7. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. You see, software needs to be programmed to take advantage of what makes a higher-end CPU chip so fast. Photoshop is now just taking advantage of what an i7 can offer, and really doesn't utilize a Intel i9 as much as you think it would. Intel i5 CPUs are yesterday's "Affordable" Chips; they were the middle of the road and got the job done. Since the older versions of Photoshop didn't take advantage of a i7 CPU, it didn't make sense to spend the extra money. Well, now in 2023...the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop CC do take advantage of a i7's Architecture. Intel i9? Notsomuch. There is some performance boost, but not enough to spend the extra money on a i9. In fact, I'd rather folks purchase a more affordable i7 CPU and take those savings to put towards a better Video Card. RAM - This stands for Random Access Memory. This type of memory is what your computer uses to do it's work in. The more you have, the better your computer functions and "Breathes" easier. Hard Drive - This is usually abbreviated to HD and is the long-term storage of your computer. Like RAM, there is no such thing as "Too Much;" the larger the capacity of your HD, the better your programs like it and the more things can be stored on the Hard Drive. A Main Hard Drive is where your Software Programs and Operating System reside. Computers can have multiple Hard Drives, both Internal and External, but we are just going to talk about the Main HD in this article. I will say in 2024/2025, that a Main Hard Drive of 1TB in size is non-negotiable. DO NOT PURCHASE A COMPUTER / LAPTOP THAT HAS ANYTHING SMALLER THAN A 1TB HD. A 500GB is too small, a 2TB is a bit over-kill and something like s 256GB, or less...don't make me laugh. A 1TB HD is in the "Goldilocks Zone," enough space for your OS, OS Updates and Programs, while giving you enough "Breathing Room" for your computer to work well. If you still are confused, I've written yet another article on this subject, titled, "All About Memory - The Difference between Hard Drives & RAM." Please, give it a read. Anyway...if a person purchases a computer with a small main hard drive, they will ultimately run into problems, not only from lack of storage capacity, but from an operational standpoint as well. A full HD is a sad HD. Programs will come to a screeching halt, and generate all sorts of error messages when a HD becomes low on space, especially Adobe Photoshop. With a 256GB (or smaller HD,) that capacity is MICROSCOPIC by today's standards; at those capacities, that HD is meant for the Operating System and one or two programs ONLY, forget about any data files or photos. Forget about software / OS updates. Unfortunately, with today's modern computers in 2023, a 256GB Main HD is CHEAP, manufacturers use them to keep costs low, so you will need to do your due-diligence and check out the specifications of Hard Drive Capacity for the Computer Model you are looking at. Video Card - This is the device in your computer that is responsible for your Monitor to have the ability to display something. There are TWO KINDS OF VIDEO CARDS: Integrated - This type of Video Card is built into the Motherboard and instead of having a dedicated chip to do Video Compiling (The 1's and 0's that make up a image,) uses the CPU chip to accomplish this task. In addition, this type of Video Card does not have its own memory but instead uses a section of the Computer's RAM in order to function. Non-Integrated - Non-Integrated can be a physical card that resides in a Expansion Slot on a Desktop Computer OR reside as part of the Motherboard, which is typically found in Laptops. The main difference with a Non-Integrated Video Card is that it has its own "Brain" called a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and it's own dedicated memory called "VRAM" or Video RAM. You will typically see this type of memory listed below the RAM, usually in small increments...2GB / 4G / 6GB / 8GB, etc. What trips people up is when you get to the larger capacities, like 8GB of Video RAM; which is a completely different kinds of Memory than RAM. In 2023, you want at least 8GB or more of dedicated Video RAM. As I've mentioned above, in addition to creating a Video Signal that gives you something to see, Video Cards have under-utilized components that are FAST. This causes software developers to tap into this potential for a performance boost, and it is noticeable, not just with Photoshop. To illustrate, I recently tried out Topaz's Software, just to see how well it worked. I used both the Sharpness and De-Noise Programs. In each of their preferences, there was an option to "Use the Video Card" or to just use the CPU. I can say with complete certainty, there was a difference in performance when using the Video Card. For example, a photo that was being sharpened or de-noise was being applied took about 2 minutes for a large Panorama to complete. When I applied the same settings but used the Video Card, that same routine took roughly 30-45 seconds! So you can see the benefit to having a high-performance Video Card. It does make a difference. IPS-Based Display or In-Plane Switching Display - This is also one of those non-negotiable items. Your Computer's Display, if you are editing Photos, it needs to be IPS Based. Period. Why? IPS Screens have a better / greater viewing angle, and has better Contrast, Color and Sharpness that is more consistent from corner to corner. Which if you think about it, is kinda important when it comes to editing Photos & Video. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND a Display that has Anti-Glare Coatings or is Non-Glossy for those editing photos. Windows 11 - Microsoft will continue to support at least one Windows 10 release until October 14, 2025, but has since stopped selling License Keys for Windows 10. After that October 2025 date, it will no longer be supported, patched / updated. Just like Windows XP, Window 7, etc. and other versions of Windows in the past. "End of LIfe" is "End of Life." Personally, I like Windows 11 Pro due to it being more robust and easier to deal with when things go wrong. Now don't get me wrong...the "Home" version works just fine, but I don't like Windows getting in my way with "Wizards" trying to "help" which never seem to work. That said, I'm more of a Power User and am used to dealing with Windows directly. For the average consumer, Windows 11 Home is fine.

Yeah, that's fine. Just remove it the way I taught you in the Raw Class.

Right now, from the information that you provided, buying a new display is not going to fix your problem. We need to get you Calibrated and straightened out BEFORE you spend money on a new display. Now, will you eventually be purchasing a new Display? It's plausible, but I want to see if we can get things working out first; I hate wasting money and would feel terrible that you fork out $500 (or whatever) only to be right back at square #1.

You need to convert in Adobe Camera Raw. Raw File Created by Camera >> Loaded into ACR >> Converted to the sRGB Color Space >> THEN you do your Raw Edits >> Finally, your Photo is imported into Photoshop already in sRGB and you do your final edits. This way what you see is what you (should) get. WYSIWYG. No surprises. No colors changing on you. What needs to change in your workflow is when converting to sRGB takes place. You do not want to edit in Adobe RGB (1998) with ACR, keep Adobe RGB (1998) in Photoshop, then have your colors shift because the default color space with .jpg files is sRGB!!! That's why we want you to be in sRGB at the start of your edits, because as soon as you save as a .jpg / .jpeg, your colors WILL shift if editing in Adobe RGB (1998) or Prophoto (Lightroom's default and ONLY color space.) Before you drive yourself nuts, let's make sure your Photoshop and ACR are setup correctly: Setting up Photoshop

Agreed. FreeFileSync

Hi @Frankie100, could you send me the raw file so I can take a closer look? https://spaces.hightail.com/uplink/BellePhotography

Hi Damien, I was doing Xmas Mini sessions and I messed up - Camera was on Auto ISO for some of them. I only got a couple of family images from this set and wondering can they be saved. I was able to fix a couple of them in ACR - corrected White balance, ran the denoise option and increased the black.... probably not the correct steps to follow. I would love some guidance if possible. The family ones just aren't working out at all though. I was wondering if you could help me? I'd be happy to pay if it isn't something you can share on the forums. Not sure how to share the CR2 file so I'll attached a JPEG Would really appreciate any help at all. Thanks!

I switched to FreeFileSync. I'm liking it so far.

Based on your recommendation long ago, I have been using SyncToy to back up my files. I just got a new computer with Windows 11 and it seems SyncToy is no longer supported. Can you recommend another similarly simple program I can use for regular back-ups?

I'm having a few issues getting my prints to match my screen. My screen is cooler than my prints. If I'm using Adobe 1998 for the lab, I should convert to sRGB before uploading? I tried this yesterday & the two files are very different. I find all this colour space stuff very confusing.

Well, it's a different display. Direct upgrade? No. Modern 4K 27" Display that has a IPS Panel? Yes. So I guess you can call it an upgrade in a sense of the word.

Well, if the lab uses Adobe 1998, that's fine. BUT! The default colorspace for JPEG is sRGB. So if you are uploading .jpeg files to your printer, your colors are shifting. If you upload .jpg to a website or FB or whatever, you are in sRGB. This is why Damien and I jump up-and-down about sRGB, because...chances are, you are going to end up there. What are you looking for your screen replacement, and why? Is your screen not big enough? Is it failing, or are you upgrading just for something new? The good news is, your Dell U2419H is an IPS Display, so if it's working, keep rocking it. Unless you want bigger / fancier.

This style is just not my thing but it would give me a very different look in a gallery. I sent it over to the mom and she liked it much better than mine but I did up the lightness to zero. I just felt it was a bit dark. For future people looking at the post, (when the big file link expires) Damien added a hue/saturation layer 0% saturation -40 lightness with soft light and a solid fill color#99664d set to hue at 60%. I never would have considered the hue/saturation at 0% in soft light. I have to get the gallery out so I will take your edit and mix them in so there is some variety. Thanks

The U2723QE is an upgrade from my current screen? DELL U2419H

Thanks Brian. Off hand do you know if my current screen is IPS? 95% or better sRGB coverage - the lab I use here in New Zealand works in Adobe 1998 colourspace. I prefer the price of the second screen & your happy this checks the boxes?

I usually start with recommending a Dell Ultrasharp IPS Display. Things to look for: IPS Display Panel. This is non-negotiable. If the company doesn't advertise it, chances are it's not a IPS Display. 95% or better sRGB coverage. You do not want a 1920 x 1080p resolution on ANY monitor that is 27" or greater. A 1080p Display is fine for 24" and below. Why? 1080p looks like ass on a large screen; we aren't watching TV, we are editing photos. You want at least a 2560 x 1440 for a 27" display or 4K. You do not want a display that reduces any colors, such as Blue Light. Or if it does have that feature, there should be a way to turn it off. You do not want your monitor messing with your colors, especially if you are editing photos. Matte Finish or Matte Coating, you want to avoid Glossy Screens. Avoid Curved Displays. While it sounds cool, you are editing photos, not playing video games. Do not buy a Touchscreen; we have enough issues as it is with displays, do not add fingerprints to the mix. Plus Touchscreens are a bitch to calibrate. Your calibrator should be fine, just make sure your software is up to date. I found this monitor, Dell S2721QS and this one, which really checks all of the boxes: Dell UltraSharp U2723QE. There seems to be limited supply for that U2723QE, and it's on sale, so if you have the fundage, I'd click buy sooner, rather than later.

How do you feel about this? https://max.mailbigfile.com/b5526120fef6abe0ac15f783a7bdaa4a/listFiles.php

She gave the usual woman answer, "either is fine". I pressed her and she prefers the muted edit, husband the color pop. So I am going to do a mix in the gallery. Is there a simple way to add more of a brown hue or tone?

Did you ask her?