STEP BY STEP / calibrate a screen for picture-perfect photos

1 Before you begin

Make sure your screen has been on for half an hour, with no direct light shining on it, and ensure that the room is quite dim. Plug in your calibration device. If using a laptop, connect it to the mains and turn off auto brightness to make sure that it doesn’t change.

3 Set the settings

In Calibration Settings, check that all the options are turned on – unless you’re calibrating a laptop, in which case turn Room Light off. Leave all settings at their defaults unless you know that you specifically require a different gamma or Kelvin value.

5 Light cycle

Place your calibrator on your screen, as indicated (the Spyder5 has a lens cap, which should be removed), and drape the lead over the top of the monitor. Once started, your screen will cycle through a spectrum of colours to help correctly calibrate it.

2 Choose your display

Load up the supplied calibration software – this walkthrough is based on the software that came with the Spyder5. At the Display Type menu, choose whether you’re using a desktop or laptop and then select your screen’s make and model (if it isn’t listed, select ‘Other’).

4 Ambient light

If you selected Room Light, you will be prompted to place your calibration device on the desk next to the screen to measure the ambient lighting. Make sure that there is no direct light shining on the calibrator – this might confuse it and give you an inaccurate calibration.

6 See the difference

Once the cycle finishes, remove your calibrator and save your colour profile. You can also set a reminder for your next calibration. Finally, you can toggle between calibrated and uncalibrated sample images, and see your new colour range (gamut).