{"id":3044,"date":"2026-03-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.russbishop.com\/blog\/?p=3044"},"modified":"2026-04-17T17:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T00:40:06","slug":"what-you-see-is-what-you-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/russbishop.com\/blog\/what-you-see-is-what-you-get\/","title":{"rendered":"What You See Is What You Get"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"What<\/a>
Sunset over the Channel Islands and Ventura Pier, Ventura, California<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WYSIWYG (or “what you see is what you get”) is computer lingo for software that\u00a0optimizes the screen display for a particular type of output.\u00a0Back when word processing and desktop publishing software first hit the scene this was nothing short of a miracle. The software\u00a0emulated the resolution of the printer in order to get as close as possible to WYSIWYG,\u00a0but the main attraction\u00a0was the ability\u00a0to previsualize what\u00a0you were\u00a0producing prior to printing.<\/p>\n

We now live in a far more advanced digital world of 4K monitors, massive image files, and the processors and video cards to handle them, but without color consistency across devices we might as well be living in the dark ages.<\/p>\n

Monitor calibration\u00a0has a reputation as being\u00a0one of the great mysteries of digital imaging, but it really doesn’t have to be. Printing images that accurately represent what you see on-screen is a reasonable expectation that shouldn’t break the bank on wasted ink and paper. But unlike the out-of-box WYSIWYG experience you get when printing documents, your monitor\u00a0requires a little assistance when it comes to images.<\/p>\n

What you need is a spyder, and I’m not referring to those furry creatures lurking in your garage. Several companies sell highly accurate and reasonably priced kits like the Datacolor Spyder<\/a>\"\"\u00a0that include everything you need to guarantee that your output is consistent from screen to print. The spyder is actually a color sensor (called a colorimeter) that plugs into a standard USB port and works in tandem with software to read your monitor’s output. The process is known as calibration\u00a0and it creates a custom profile that\u00a0tunes your display to an industry reference standard, which is then used by image editing\u00a0programs like Photoshop and Lightroom to provide consistent reliable color.<\/p>\n

You trust your eyes and photo equipment when it comes to accurately representing your vision in the field, but it’s all for naught if your monitor doesn’t faithfully reproduce those tones and colors.\u00a0Much like driving in the dark with your headlights off, editing images\u00a0without a calibrated monitor is a guessing game.<\/p>\n

So before you buy another lens or camera body, don’t overlook one of the most important investments you can make as a digital photographer.\u00a0A quality monitor and\u00a0calibration kit\u00a0may not be the most exciting gear you’ll buy, but they do guarantee that what you see is what you get.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a9Russ Bishop\/All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WYSIWYG (or “what you see is what you get”) is computer lingo for software that\u00a0optimizes the screen display for a particular type of output.\u00a0Back when word processing and desktop publishing software first hit the scene this was nothing short of a miracle. The software\u00a0emulated the resolution of the printer in order to get as close … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “What You See Is What You Get”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpmdr_menu":0,"wpmdr_menu_extended":{"individualPostRemove":1,"individualPostRemoveDate":1,"individualPostRemoveAuthor":1,"individualPostYoastRemovePublished":1,"individualPostYoastRemoveModified":1},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,173,105],"tags":[700,767,658,699,632,69,559,733,415],"class_list":["post-3044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-equipment","category-landscape-photography","category-technology","tag-adobe-lightroom","tag-image-editing","tag-monitor-calibration","tag-photoshop","tag-post-processing","tag-sunset","tag-ventura","tag-what-you-see-is-what-you-get","tag-wysiwyg"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t