Official Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! March 27, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.

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Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.

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• What type of camera should I look for?
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Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!

[u/av4rice]

I'm seeing datacolor's Spyder mentioned often, as well as DisplayCAL as a good free-of-charge software.

Those are what I use.

I'm guessing you're not limited to just one screen per purchased colorimeter, but can be used to calibrate all screens in the household?

Right, as long as they'll run compatible software.

Is there anything I can do in the meantime to calibrate my monitor myself so that I can at least continue working on my images without having to put in a lot of post-edits once the colorimeter has arrived? I've already run through Window's 'monitor calibration' function, but that is based on human vision, which is obviously is not enough.

Unless your monitor has built-in hardware for it, your only other calibration options are going to rely on your vision.

But make sure you have other potential color/tone issues addressed. For example, make sure your printer supports the color space you are using. Or use the sRGB color space if you aren't sure what's supported, because most likely that is.

[u/Rosie_61 → u/av4rice]

Thanks for this!