Should I be using sRGB or AdobeRGB? I got a new monitor and I'm having troubles.

[Damien Symonds]

By clicking the appropriate blue button at the bottom of the page!!!!!!

Either the one that says "Yes, mine already looked like that" or "Mine didn't look like that, but I've changed them now".

[Chantel Allen]

So sorry to frustrate you! I clicked and moved on. But neither box applied to me as mine did not already look like that, and it didn't give me the option to change until I went through all of the steps and tried to save. Then I saw that the box was written as yours was. 

Will I be making that change for every photo going forward that I want to edit? Switching it from AdobeRGB to sRGB? Or is there a way to do a whole batch? Because as you know when I open the jpgs from my hard drive they are all in AdobeRGB. 

[Damien Symonds]

Chantel, you have to read EVERY.SINGLE.WORD of EVERY.SINGLE.PAGE on the troubleshooter.  You are skimming, and that's why you're getting confused.

[Chantel Allen]

I thought I was being pretty thorough but its late and I have been at it all day so its possible I missed something. I will go through it all again tomorrow morning from the top and see what I missed with regards to switching them over one by one or batch... I apologize if you thought I wasn't actually reading everything. I most certainly don't want to be wasting your valuable time. I won't be doing any editing until Wednesday after I get my calibrator anyway... will you be available to help me Wednesday should I need it? 

[Damien Symonds]

I'm here all the time.

You'll find the calibrator instructions here.

[Chantel Allen]

Thank you, and I will be sure to donate. Much appreciated. 

[Samantha LaRue]

8 hours ago, Chantel Allen said:

Thank you, and I will be sure to donate. Much appreciated. 

Keep us posted on how the troubleshooting goes so we can guide you through if you missed something.

[Chantel Allen]

i am going through the calibration process and when it tells me to set my brightness and its telling me a brightness of 120cd/m^2 and 5800 white point. The brightness on my monitor is 1-10 so I have no idea where to put it. And is white point the same as color temp because my options are 5000 or 6500 or 9300 or user define. Also, its a bit darker right now than it will normally be while editing, if that makes a difference. Thank you! 

[Damien Symonds]

4 minutes ago, Chantel Allen said:

i am going through the calibration process and when it tells me to set my brightness and its telling me a brightness of 120cd/m^2 and 5800 white point.

No it doesn't.  You're following the wrong instructions.

Only follow these ones.

[Chantel Allen]

ok so i will get out of their set up wizard. and i just reset all my monitor settings (which pulled me out if sRGB and back to standard). Following your instructions now. 

[Chantel Allen]

I am adjusting brightness according to prints and its looking the best around 4.2 - sound on the low side or sound ok? I know you said that it will appear very dim but just wanted to make sure before moving forward. 

[Damien Symonds]

As long as your room light is nice and bright, yes.

[Chantel Allen]

i am on part two, installing software. at some point will i be switching my monitor from standard to sRGB? 

[Damien Symonds]

Probably not, but keep reading.

[Chantel Allen]

i just finished, and i made my room as dark as i possibly could. having said that, i had to adjust my brightness all the way down to 2.1 to get it within 4% of the 80 mark. does that seem ok to have it be so low?

[Chantel Allen]

and i am assuming that my monitor stays on standard? i was under the impression my monitor was supposed to be set at sRGB like my camera and my photoshop? just double checking. 

and one more question is.... if my prints were edited from an (un)calibrated screen and my lab did no color correction, why am i trying to match my prints to my now calibrated monitor? just trying to better understand that part.... 

[Chantel Allen]

my room was as dark as i could make it but i dont have blinds only curtains and there is a slider door in the distance letting in light... its a big open space so it was dim but not night time dark.

[Damien Symonds]

3 minutes ago, Chantel Allen said:

and i am assuming that my monitor stays on standard? i was under the impression my monitor was supposed to be set at sRGB

No, it's actually quite rare for a monitor's best setting to be sRGB.  If Standard gave you the best result, that's where it stays.

6 minutes ago, Chantel Allen said:

i just finished, and i made my room as dark as i possibly could. having said that, i had to adjust my brightness all the way down to 2.1 to get it within 4% of the 80 mark. does that seem ok to have it be so low?

Wait, you're scaring me.  You had good bright light while  comparing prints, yes?

[Chantel Allen]

[Chantel Allen]

yes, while comparing my prints my light was good. but during the time i had the spyder on the screen my room was not dark DARK... i attached a photo and its not near as close as yours was. 

[Chantel Allen]

my prints seems to be a bit warmer than my screen, but again, my prints were printed when I was probably on AdobeRGB in camera and using an old monitor and (un)calibrated screen. which is why i asked the previous question about why do i try to match these prints. having said that, i am happy with the turnout of the prints.... 

[Damien Symonds]

Great. Now go ahead and order some new prints, to be sure.

[Chantel Allen]

i am trying to not concentrate on what the viewer looks like, only PS. but i have never seen it so different before. and when i look at photos that i posted on fb, they look horrible. really washed out... but they do not look that way on my phone?? 

[Chantel Allen]

i am having a hard time thinking that ALL the work i was turning out was so bad before? i would like think at least someone would have asked why it was so washed out. or it would look that way on my phone or tablet... 

[Damien Symonds]

6 minutes ago, Chantel Allen said:

when i look at photos that i posted on fb, they look horrible. really washed out.

http://www.damiensymonds.net/art_tsfb000.html