Damien Symonds

Frequently asked questions about monitor calibration: Q: I've just calibrated and my screen looks a lot different. Did something go wrong? A: Maybe something went wrong, or maybe something went right! Maybe your screen is correct for the first time ever. Either way, you can't know until you compare it to pro lab prints. Please follow my calibration instructions to the letter. Q: I've just calibrated and my screen doesn't look different at all. Did something go wrong? A: Maybe something went wrong, or maybe your screen was very accurate already. The only way to know is by comparing to prints from a pro lab. Q: I've just recalibrated, or bought a new screen. Do I need new prints? A: No, not at all. The prints you already have are fine. Your lab doesn't change the way it prints just because one of their customers has newly calibrated. Compare the prints you have to the screen, to see if the calibration was successful. Q: How many prints should I have, and what size should they be, for verifying my monitor calibration? A: Half a dozen should be plenty - enough to show a range of tones. And they don't need to be very big - 5x7 or 8x10 is ample. More info here. Q: My prints look horrible. I think something went wrong with my calibration. A: The purpose of monitor calibration is to make your screen match your prints. Not just your favourite prints - ALL your prints. So if your prints look horrible, your screen should look exactly the same shade of horrible. Then you can confidently re-edit your photos, knowing that you won't make them look horrible again. Q: My screen's brightness won't go low enough to match my prints. A: In most cases, this means that the light in your room isn't bright enough. But in some very rare cases, you might have to do this. Q: My screen's brightness won't go high enough to match my prints. A: This is exceedingly rare, and quite worrying. Please make a new post immediately and we'll see what we can figure out. Q: My laptop's screen changes brightness depending on its angle. A: This is a BIG problem, of course. If at all possible, invest in a good desktop monitor to plug in to your laptop, and edit on that instead. If that's not possible for you at this stage, this device might be a useful solution in the meantime. Q: Can I use prints from my home printer to verify calibration? A: No. Not even if it's the fanciest, most expensive printer money can buy. Not even if you'll never ever use a lab for the rest of your life. You still need prints from a pro lab to verify your monitor calibration. If you use your own prints to verify your own screen, you're working in what's called a "closed-loop" environment. Your screen might match your printer perfectly, but if they both don't match the rest of the world's standards, every photo you post on the internet will look wrong to everyone else. Q: Can I share my calibrator with a friend? A: Technically, yes, it will work. Legally, it might not be permissible. Check the manufacturer's website for more information before doing so. Q: Can I calibrate a TV? A: If it's connected to a computer, and acting as a monitor, then yes, you should be able to. But remember that TVs are not meant to be monitors. They're certainly not meant to be edited on. So make sure you're using the TV for a legitimate reason. Q: I have an desktop screen plugged in to my laptop. Can I calibrate both screens? A: Base-level calibrators such as the Spyder Express won't allow you to calibrate dual screens, but all good calibrators can do so. It's usually a simple matter of moving the calibration software window onto the screen you wish to calibrate. Q: Further to the previous question, do I need to calibrate both screens? A: If you're only ever going to be editing on one of them, then no, you don't need to calibrate the other one if you don't feel like it. But I've found that if one screen is calibrated and the other one isn't, the difference in colour can be noticeable to the point of distraction. So it might be a good idea to take a few minutes to do the other one. Q: I've calibrated both screens, and they don't match! A: Alas, this is very common. It's almost impossible to make them look exactly the same as each other. See which one matches your prints best, and use that one as the main editing screen; while leaving the other one for your windows, emails, etc. Q: My screen doesn't look sharp! A: Check the control panel to make sure it's set to the correct resolution. Also, check that you're using the best cable to connect the screen to the computer (HDMI and DVI are good, VGA usually not so good, although this isn't a set-in-stone rule). Q: The Apple salesperson said Macs don't need calibrating. A: Yeah, they often say that. It's baloney. All screens need calibrating, if you wish to edit photos on them.

Overlay blend mode is the key here, as you'll see. The warming filter I added afterwards (but put it under the Hue/Sat layers) because the rock and the skin looked incongruous. Download the file here.

This might be useful from time to time ... I guess ... Download the file here.

Yet another variation of the matte style. As always, midtone contrast first, followed by the Levels layer to kill the blacks. In this case, there is also a vignette layer in between. Download the file here.

Self-explanatory, I guess. Download the file here.

Because purple makes everything prettier ... NOT! Download the file here.

Another VSCO-ish one. Download the file here.

An attempt at a VSCO-style edit. Download the file here.

Turning day into night. My masking is a bit clumsy on this one, but you'll get the idea. The first layer is based on this method. Download the file here.

Probably the most grotesque thing I've ever created. Still, somebody liked it. Download the file here.

For those times when you can't actually wait until the sun is setting. Download the file here.

Why oh why won't this awful style go away? Download the file here.

I think we were on drugs when we did this one. Download the file here.

Going for that rich orange look that people love as winter approaches. Download the file here.

An inverted High Pass layer to give that softer look, then an aggressive vignette and just a hint of purple - not enough to make me throw up, but just enough to put me off my lunch. Note: If working from a raw file, it would be much better to use the Clarity slider (to the left) than the High Pass layer. But if you want to use High Pass, you simply duplicate the background layer and change its blend mode, then use Filter>Other>High Pass, then invert the layer. Download the file here.

Pretty self-explanatory. Download the file here.

A high pass layer for extra "grunge", then a layer to add warmth, followed by an aggressive darkening layer. Download the file here.

A blur layer first, then a few layers manipulating the light, then that awful purple again. Download the file here.

A hazy golden hour thing going on. Download the file here.

This one is all sorts of weird. I don't know what we were thinking. Download the file here.

Red haze followed by near-white haze. Download the file here.

On this one, I did the Levels layer first. Then I added the D&B layer below it, when I realised I wanted a bit more darkness in that area. Normally you'd add new layers on top of other layers, but that's not necessarily the case when adding artistic effects. Generally the artistic layer/s remain on top. Download the file here.

First, a Levels layer using the Output sliders to add a bit of colour haze; then a plain layer on Soft Light mode, painted with various colours. Download the file here.

This is a colour photo which I first did a clean black-and-white edit on, then a vignette layer followed by the two layers which are used to make the nauseating bloody matte look which is briefly popular at the moment. Those layers work just the same on colour photos as well, so play all you like. Note: I can't show you the layers which went into the clean-processed version, sorry. You'll have to take my Levels Class for that. Download the file here.

First, some added midtone contrast with a Soft Light layer. Then a slight warm vignette on the snow, and dulling the bright sky. Then the vomit layer on top. Download the file here.