I know a lot of photographers and they all care a great deal about their craft. They have spent (and will continue to spend) a ton of money on equipment and software - camera, lenses, computers, software, and a bunch of accessories in-between each one of those.
Add to that the time and effort that goes into actually capturing the image itself.
Most likely every photographer reading this is nodding their head in agreement and understanding because they have done (and do) the same themselves.
But let me ask you this question, after spending all this time, money, and effort to capture an image, then sitting down in front of that kick ass high-speed computer and opening that image in your favorite editing software, would you put on a pair of rose colored glasses before you start the editing process? DUH, of course not!
But if you are editing your images on an un-calibrated monitor that is exactly what you are doing, which makes image editing an exercise in futility, because I don't know anybody who can make color corrections and adjustments when they aren't looking at the real colors!
Isn't something you have poured that much money, time, and effort into worth doing correctly and to the best of your ability?
That's what I thought too, which lead me on a search for a monitor calibration tool, and I can honestly say that of all the calibration tools available, the best and easiest one I have used is the Spyder3Elite from DataColor.
I could ramble on about why I like this product more than any other, but you can take a quick tour of it here.
If you think I am overstating the importance of monitor calibration then don't take my word for it, take the word of someone many people believe to be one of the finest photographers alive today, Vincent Versace.
Below you will find an excerpt from an interview he did with PopPhoto.com, the same fine folks who bring you Popular Photography and American Photo magazines.
He was asked "what are some of the tools you think are absolutely essential for a photographer to have?" And this was his response when they came to monitor and monitor calibration:
vincent_versace.mp3
You can listen to the entire interview at this link, it is one of the best photography interviews I have ever heard (and I bet you will agree), there is a bunch of great information Vincent shares with the listeners, including some outstanding advice about the purchasing of photography equipment.
