Color management, Why is it Important in Photography?

October 26th, 2005 Administrator Posted in Photo Lessons |

Color Calibration is a must for any serious Photographer.

What you see is should be what you should get.. but this doesnt hold true.. digital imaging whether scanned or straight from the camera have different profiles and read colors differently. the secret in color management is maintaining color consistency from start to finish.

Every monitor display has different characteristics, some maybe too bright some maybe too dark, some may need more contrast, some display may even have a color cast. Whatever you use, it is best to calibrate your monitors to maximize its use.

How to calibrate a monitor?

There are physical devices called monitor calibrators some of the more popular brands are Monaco Optix XR pro, Color Visions Spyder, Gretag MAcbeth Eye-one. What do they do? They read your monitors color output and profiles them to give you the correct
and optimal color on your display.

I have been using the Monaco Optix Xr, and very happy with it. Others may prefer the Spyder or the GretagMacbeth. I suggest you read up and figure out which fits into your needs depeding on your budget. Visit their Websites and check for updates or new products.

I feel that calibration makes me see more details and colors that may have been washed out before. This is big help especially when your clients demand color perfection. To put it simply, My color calibrator helps me get a “What you see in the monitor is what should you get when you print.

Color calibration in printing is another process that we shall taken on soon.. but most of the photo printing machines here have built in calibration devices that they run a couple of times a day to get good consistency. (Durst, Fuji Machines)

Calibrating your monitor ensures that youâ€™re seeing your images as they are. It is the first step in color management but should not be the last. Again consitency will make a big effect on your color management workflow. Understanding how it will affect your output will spell a good photo from a bad..

A simple test to check if you are seeing all the colors would be to check how many shades of gray are you using from the image below Each block is chopped up in equal parts, so you should see the graduation from white to black in steps.

Are there any local Calibration services around?

I think GretagMacbeth charges around Php 3,000+ for calibration.. Expensive thats why i decided to buy my own. It will pay for itself in the long run. Maybe I should consider offering my calibration services to pay off the cost of the OptixPro Xr!