Monitor Calibration

There is really no substitute for hardware-based calibration when calibrating your monitor if you're serious about your photography. If you're in the business of selling prints, it's a must. The printing house that I use highly recommends either the i1Display Pro or the ColorMunki Display1.

In any case, some type of calibration is better than no calibration at all so if you're in a very tight budget or you just can't justify the additional expense for your personal purposes, I found a few sites that explain and walk you through the process on how to do it using software and/or your eyes.

1) The Lagom LCD Monitor Test Pages
2) WikiHow's How To Calibrate Your Monitor
3) Calibrize 2.0 Free Software
4) TFT Central's Calibration Guide

However, there is one thing to remember... color is subjective. Each individual view color differently and to compound the matter, not everyone owns the exact same monitor or printer. While you can control how you view images in your own "domain", once that image goes beyond your borders, there's no telling how it will turn out so don't beat yourself too much about it.