Why your editing workstation changes everything


Im apart of multiple Facebook groups for photography, and I see probably about five to ten posts a week asking if this is suitable for editing photos. I do see good advise being shared, but usually see one critical component not discussed, and its typically is on laptops. The screen. But don't get me wrong, there are other important tools I don't see mentioned which I'll be covering here in this post as well.


The quality of the screen matters just as much as the hardware of the machine, and as much as the lens on your camera. Have you ever gone into an appliance store such as Best Buy and see all of the tv's lined up? Notice the difference in the quality, color, contrast, vibrancy, and saturation between what's offered from all the different manufactures? That's exact;y what Im talking about. Think about spending 20-30 minutes on one photograph and it looks great on the computer. But as soon as you load it up to social media or on your phone, the colors are blown out and looks nothing like you envisioned.


I personally use mostly Apple products for my workstations. The color accuracy on Apple displays, and the hardware/software works seamless for me. I utilize a 16 inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro when Im on the go traveling, or just at the local coffee shop. My personal home workstation consists of a Mac Mini M4. The monitors I have paired to the Mac mini isn't from Apple however. They are LG Ultrafine monitors. I will say the quality left me speechless turning the Mac on for the first time. You need as high of a color accuracy as possible. Even one that comes with a certificate like the Asus Proart, and certain Benq monitors.


They do sell color accuracy calibration tools, but I personally don't see the value in them for a few reasons. Technology outpaces itself in weeks to months. Nothing is made to last anymore, plus the cost of the calibrator is just as much, and if not more than a color accurate monitor with a certificate.


Next on the list is hard drives. Everyone's favorite topic. Lets say your about two years in your current computer setup and you have decided to upgrade your computer. I know some people that wipe the hard drive and dispose of the old computer or throw it away. The one external hard drive gets corrupted and quits working. Yup. That happened to me. The hard drive couldn't be recovered for some reason. I lost thousands of completed and raw photographs. This was my realization that hard drives are extremely important. At the time of this writing, I utilize multiple hard drives with different setups. I keep a 5 bay raid 0 storage setup with five western digital enterprise drives setup as NAS through my Mac mini, where I can access and copy/move files from around the house or even do a data dump after a trip. I also have one desktop seagate drive, and two portable hard drives. While its complete overkill, I never want to go through that heart dropping moment of losing any files again.


Apart of my setup are three useful but not necessary needed pieces. I have a 12.9 iPad Pro as a "third" monitor where I would mostly keep emails, or Apple Music on unless I need a detailed edit with brushes. The iPad then functions like a tablet when you pair the Apple Pencil with it providing the most detailed and precise adjustments. The last piece of my workstation happens to be an outdated Loupedeck+. I have been keeping it at version 5.9 and it's been functioning flawlessly even though Logitech acquired the company and issues have started to arise in never updates. Being able to work with dials and knobs to fine tune adjustments verses a mouse or trackpad has made a world of a difference overall. Plus once you get muscle memory knowing what is where, you can keep 100% focus on the monitors watching every single little movement.


You don't need a 10,000.00 editing rig to edit great photos. But prioritizing the right tools will certainly help you head in the right direction quicker. Color calibrated monitors/screens, smart backup plan, and workflow tools make a huge difference. Not just in how your photos look, but how you feel doing it. I hope this post saves someone from losing work, printing with the wrong colors, or wasting hours on gear that won't help make a difference. Feel free to reach out if you ever want to talk about gear, equipment, or even potentially see how my setup works in the real world.