I don't have a calibrated computer, and I do want to print my photos. How and why do people calibrate? Would I also notice a difference on my images on my computer screen?
I thought of this question because today's image looks good on here and on my laptop until I zoom in on it, and then I see more noise (even when I zoom back out). I'm wondering if that means that I couldn't print this image? Today's photo is an extreme example because I took it in complete darkness so used a high ISO. I'll post the pic here.
I have never calibrated my monitor and have had many photos printed, though I seldom print people. I've never been displeased with the colors. You might find this article interesting. After reading it I began to use MPIX and have been quite pleased with my prints from them. http://www.boostyourphotography.com/2015/07/best-prints.html
Katie was active on 365 for a long time, though she hasn't posted much the past year or so.
I understood it was to ensure you had the correct brightness and contrast for printing in particular. If yours print ok then you are probably fine. I had an old PC that was apparently very dark so I was adjusting my pictures to be a bit brighter, thinking it was my camera's fault. When I printed them they were washed out. Yikes!
Q. How and why do people calibrate?
A. How: Calibration is performed with a combination of a device and software. Two popular brands are ColorMunki Display and Datacolor Spyder. Software is installed on your computer, and the device is placed on your monitor. The software adjusts colors and brightness of the monitor which are then read by the device. When calibration is complete the monitor will display correct color and brightness based on the current ambient light conditions. Calibration should be performed periodically and particularly when the ambient light in the room is different than when the previous calibration was performed.
A. Why: Primarily to ensure that the color and brightness you see on the screen is an accurate representation of the actual data in the digital negative. If you have access to more than one PC, you may notice that when you display the same image on both side-by-side, it might display differently due to slight color shifts or casts related to the display device. Color calibration also aids toward ensuring images you print are an accurate representation of what you see on your monitor. There's actually more to it than that - ideally you need to display the image on your monitor with your printer's profile active, but that's starting to get into rabbit holes usually reserved for photographers who are quite particular about the color in their images...such as commercial photographers (for advertising, etc). The printer also needs to be / should be calibrated. If you send your images out for printing, most common online printing services will actually automatically autocorrect your images for color and exposure unless you explicitly state otherwise. If you print images yourself, the most prominent variance is probably going to be exposure (the printed image being brighter or darker) compared to what you see on your screen, and then secondarily a slight color shift or cast.
As far as the image posted, and your concern over noise in the image, color calibration would have no effect on that. Balancing noise is just part of the art of low-light photography such as this image is...which by the way, is a very nice image! :) With your monitor color calibrated, you might not notice any difference to what you see today as the change would likely be so subtle especially if your current monitor is above average quality equipment.
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Katie was active on 365 for a long time, though she hasn't posted much the past year or so.
A. How: Calibration is performed with a combination of a device and software. Two popular brands are ColorMunki Display and Datacolor Spyder. Software is installed on your computer, and the device is placed on your monitor. The software adjusts colors and brightness of the monitor which are then read by the device. When calibration is complete the monitor will display correct color and brightness based on the current ambient light conditions. Calibration should be performed periodically and particularly when the ambient light in the room is different than when the previous calibration was performed.
A. Why: Primarily to ensure that the color and brightness you see on the screen is an accurate representation of the actual data in the digital negative. If you have access to more than one PC, you may notice that when you display the same image on both side-by-side, it might display differently due to slight color shifts or casts related to the display device. Color calibration also aids toward ensuring images you print are an accurate representation of what you see on your monitor. There's actually more to it than that - ideally you need to display the image on your monitor with your printer's profile active, but that's starting to get into rabbit holes usually reserved for photographers who are quite particular about the color in their images...such as commercial photographers (for advertising, etc). The printer also needs to be / should be calibrated. If you send your images out for printing, most common online printing services will actually automatically autocorrect your images for color and exposure unless you explicitly state otherwise. If you print images yourself, the most prominent variance is probably going to be exposure (the printed image being brighter or darker) compared to what you see on your screen, and then secondarily a slight color shift or cast.
As far as the image posted, and your concern over noise in the image, color calibration would have no effect on that. Balancing noise is just part of the art of low-light photography such as this image is...which by the way, is a very nice image! :) With your monitor color calibrated, you might not notice any difference to what you see today as the change would likely be so subtle especially if your current monitor is above average quality equipment.