How can I edit photos accurately if Night Light is enabled on my screen?
Asked 2/9/2021
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I usually keep Windows/Android Night Light enabled to reduce blue light, but when I edit photos the images look too warm on my screen and I’m tempted to cool them down. Then other people see the results as too cold. How can I maintain accurate color balance while editing? Does turning Night Light off only during editing solve it, or is there a better workflow?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
31
"Night Light" or "redshift" or other night light color apps don't do anything (as far as I know) to protect your eyes. Their intended function is to protect your sleep -- blue light is a signal to your system to remain awake. By reducing it for an hour or so before bedtime, the theory is that you'll find it easier to drop off to sleep promptly on hitting the pillow.
What I'd recommend in this regard is to disable your "night light" setting for photo editing, but then stop editing and turn the night light back on (or better yet, just get away from the screen, perhaps read a paper book) an hour before bed time. This will let you see the colors of your images accurately, and still protect your sleep.
Originally by user89902. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user89902
5y ago
0
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For accurate photo editing, Night Light should be off. It shifts your display’s white point, so you’re judging color through a warm screen and will likely over-correct toward blue.
Best practice:
- Disable Night Light for editing.
- Use a calibrated monitor if possible, ideally with a colorimeter.
- Be aware that ambient room light also affects how you perceive color.
Turning Night Light off only briefly may not fully solve it, because your eyes and brain need time to adapt. If your display shift is constant and you must keep it on, one workaround is to use the same temporary adjustment layer while editing so the image appears more neutral to you, then remove that adjustment before saving/exporting. You can also check neutral areas with your editor’s eyedropper/color readout tools.
But the simplest and most reliable answer is: edit under consistent viewing conditions, with Night Light off, and preferably on a calibrated display.
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