Screen brightness and actual photo result when printing

[dlwjiang]

What effect does screen brightness have on the photo when you're working on it on your computer?

I find that when I turn my screen brightness all the way up, the photos seems more "alive"(vibrant colors), is it just the backlight effect, does it indicate my photo was previously under-exposed?

I don't usually work at full brightness since it stings my eyes somewhat and takes a toll on laptop battery life, but I'm wondering if it gives you a unrealistic expectation of what you're photo will look like once printed.

[Photologyst]

Absolutely! The screen affects how the photo looks.

First, are you calibrated properly? Have you test printed at home?

I turn my screen up to max for text and graphics work and about medium for photos. A very bright screen gives a false impression of how the photo is exposed. If you send test shots to a printer you may find that those that were processed when the screen was fully backlit will come back much too dark.

[private]

To get a good match - a WYSIWYG effect, ask the printer what settings they would like you to have - change to those setings and then do some tests prints (usually free) and calibrate your monitor, I know that zenfolio used to sell a calibration of sorts for under $5 - dunno how good it is...

[theosus]

Ive had the same problem. I had to fix a BUNCH of photos because when I got the new flat monitor, everything was so bright compared to the old CRT monitor This was the same time I got the DSLR, and I was darkening a lot of stuff. Sent some off for printing and was surprised how dark they all were when they looked good on the screen.
I would say - send of a series of test prints. Put 1, 2, 3, 4, etc in the corner of the photo and compare when you get it back. Write down your settings!

[Murtasma]

This page will give you a pretty good idea for how much brightness / contrast you need to adjust.

Photo Friday: Monitor Calibration Tool

[snapdragon]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

This page will give you a pretty good idea for how much brightness / contrast you need to adjust.

Photo Friday: Monitor Calibration Tool

Thanks for that link, it is the best free one I have seen so far

[karen_s]

Along with calibrating your monitor, use the images histogram. Learning to use it in post processing will give you more consistent results as it doesn't depend on your monitor settings.

You might find this article helpful if you are unfamiliar with the histogram ...

Photo Color Correction - Histogram

Originally Posted by theosus

I would say - send of a series of test prints. Put 1, 2, 3, 4, etc in the corner of the photo and compare when you get it back. Write down your settings!

I did something similar to theosus and it did help. Photo labs can vary so I found a lab I liked, ran some test prints, and decided what worked best and made notes for future reference.

[dlwjiang]

But wouldn't any calibration be useless given that I change the brightness regularly, not to mention there's also a sensor that changes it depending on setting.

As for the calibration link, Black is black and white is white no matter what the brightness I use. I have a LED screen(macbook pro) so I don't know what effect that has. ( I can't adjust contrast, only brightness)

[Murtasma]

Originally Posted by dlwjiang

As for the calibration link, Black is black and white is white no matter what the brightness I use. I have a LED screen(macbook pro) so I don't know what effect that has. ( I can't adjust contrast, only brightness)

The problem is you bought a MacBook Pro those screens are terrible especially the Glossy ones if you want to do anything accurate. I've used a professional level calibration device (Colormunki) and was not satisfied with the whites and blacks. Both the Blacks and Whites were basically impossible to separate. The last 2 or 3 blocks on that chart would always be white or black like you described.

I suggest you purchase an extra monitor even a cheep LCD screen will be better then the panels used in laptops generally.

Originally Posted by dlwjiang

But wouldn't any calibration be useless given that I change the brightness regularly, not to mention there's also a sensor that changes it depending on setting.

Disable the automatic brightness feature if possible. I generally only work at night so I calibrate my setup when all the lights are off in my room. I then write down the contrast and brightness settings on my monitor for future reference if I ever have to adjust it to see during the day (which I rarely do). I also have a day time callibration profile for my monitor and associated brightness and contrast values if I ever need to do something during the day which isn't often anymore because of Jack.