By Isabella Tabacchi
The photo editing workspace is really important to easily edit your photos. And not only! We have to be sure we work with accuracy and the best performance for the software we use.
Isabella’s Shopping List
This is a summary of the essential elements for a good photo editing workspace and some suggestions for your shopping.
I’m suggesting the best products I know according to my experience in photo editing.
1. PC/ Laptop
To have a good computer for your photo editing workspace you can buy the pieces on a shop like Amazon or buy a good laptop.
I’ll write a whole blog post on the specific components for your computer and how to choose a computer for editing.
2. Monitor
A good wide gamut monitor for a high quality photo editing.
For Beginners
BenQ SW270C
- 27″ In-Plane Switching (IPS) Panel
- HDMI 2.0 | DisplayPort 1.4 | USB Type-C
- 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz Native Resolution
- 1000:1 Static Contrast Ratio
For Professionals
Eizo CG319X
- 31.1″ In-Plane Switching (IPS) HDR Panel
- 2 x DisplayPort 1.2 | 2 x HDMI 2.0
- 4096 x 2160 Native Resolution
- 1500:1 Static Contrast Ratio
3. Calibrator Device
The calibrator device calibrates your monitor for an accurate photo editing. If you own some kinds of wide gamut monitors you don’t need a calibrator device.
Datacolor SpyderX Pro Colorimeter
- Precise Screen Color and White Balance
- Lens-Based Color Engine Technology
- Single-Click Wizard Calibration
- Display Mapping and Analysis Tools
4. Mouse
A good mouse is an essential element to face long editing workflows.
Logitech MX Master 3
- 2.4 GHz & Bluetooth LE Connectivity
- 4000 dpi Darkfield Optical Sensor
- MagSpeed Electromagnetic Scrolling
- Logitech Flow Compatible
4. Graphic tablet
A good mouse is an essential element to face long editing workflows.
For Beginners
Wacom Intuos S
- 6.0 x 3.7″ Active Area
- 4096 Levels of Pressure Sensitivity
- USB & Bluetooth Connectivity
- 4 Programmable ExpressKeys
For Professionals
Wacom Intuos Pro M
- 13.3 x 8.6 “- 338 x 219 mm
- 8192 Levels of Pen Pressure Sensitivity
- Multi-Touch Support
- USB & Bluetooth 4.2 Connectivity
PC, Mac or Laptop?
For a photo editing workspace, the computer is the essential thing we need to run the editing softwares.
Of course I need a computer with good features and great performance.
The graphic card, the RAM, the processor and the hard disk space are the most important technical specifications to run Photoshop or Lightroom or other editing softwares.
So, the components are the most important thing for a computer and the brand doesn’t matter.
Indeed I have a Windows desktop computer built by myself with components I bought and assembled in 2016. Since that moment I just replaced the ssd and the RAM because I wanted to upgrade them. And my PC still works as a beast with my huge .psd files.
Probably I’ll replace other parts like the processor and the case because I always like to work with the best and new specs.
The laptop is a good solution for traveling but it has not to be the only device. I suggest you to have a good PC too. The laptop overheats often because the components are in a way smaller space.
I have Windows in the Desktop PC and in the laptop. My choice is because I like to change the components also on my laptop and I like the flexibility I have in a Win OS for several reasons. But I love the Apple smaller devices like iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch.
Minimum and recommended system requirements for Photoshop
As you can read in the tab below, the processor is really important and also the RAM and the space on your hard disk.
I suggest even a 3-5 GHz processor to run Photoshop with the best results.
16 GB RAM are a good start even if in my opinion with 32 or 64 GB you can edit your photos faster.
I suggest you to install an OS and the softwares on a SSD card instead of an hard disk because the first one is much faster. A 1TB SSD card is good but 2TB is even better.
Windows
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel® or AMD processor with 64-bit support; 2 GHz or faster processor with SSE 4.2 or later | |
| Operating system | Windows 10 64-bit (version 1909) or later; LTSC versions are not supported | |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| Graphics card |
|
|
| See the Photoshop graphics processor (GPU) card FAQ |
||
| Monitor resolution | 1280 x 800 display at 100% UI scaling | 1920 x 1080 display or greater at 100% UI scaling |
| Hard disk space |
4 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation |
16 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation
|
| Internet | Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services † | |
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | ARM processor | |
| Operating system |
Windows 10 ARM device running Windows 10 64-bit (version 1909) or later |
|
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| Graphics card | 4 GB of GPU memory | |
| All the other aspects for ARM are the same as Intel | ||
macOS
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel processor with 64-bit support; 2 GHz or faster processor with SSE 4.2 or later | |
| Operating system | macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later | macOS Big Sur (version 11) macOS Catalina (version 10.15) |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| Graphics card |
|
|
|
To find out if your computer supports Metal, see Mac computers that support Metal |
||
| Monitor resolution | 1280 x 800 display at 100% UI scaling | 1920 x 1080 display or greater at 100% UI scaling |
| Hard disk space | 4 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation |
16 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation
|
| Photoshop will not install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system | ||
| Internet | Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services † | |
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | ARM-based Apple Silicon processor | |
| Operating system | macOS Big Sur (version 11.2.2) or later | |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| All the other aspects for Apple Silicon are the same as Intel | ||
† NOTICE TO USERS. Internet connection, Adobe ID, and acceptance of license agreement required to activate and use this product. This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services. Adobe services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms of use and Adobe’s online privacy policy. Applications and Services may not be available in all countries or languages and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or membership charges may apply.
Minimum and recommended system requirements for Lightroom
The minimum and required specs for Lightroom are almost identical to Photoshop.
That’s the reason why I recommend even more performing components than the recommended ones if you use both Lightroom and Photoshop.
Windows
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel® or AMD processor with 64-bit support; 2 GHz or faster processor | |
| Operating system | Windows 10 (64-bit) 1909 or later | |
| 8 GB | 16 GB or more | |
| Hard disk space | 2 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation | |
| Monitor resolution | 1024 x 768 display | 1920 x 1080 display or greater |
| Graphics card |
|
|
| For more information, see the Lightroom Classic GPU FAQ | ||
| Internet | Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.† | |
macOS
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support or Apple Silicon processor | |
| Operating system | macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later | |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| Hard disk space |
2 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation Lightroom Classic will not install on case-sensitive file systems or removable flash storage devices |
|
| Monitor resolution | 1024 x 768 display | 1920 x 1080 display or greater |
| Graphics card |
|
|
|
To find out if your computer supports Metal, see Mac computers that support Metal For more information, see the Lightroom Classic GPU FAQ |
||
| Internet | Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.† | |
† NOTE: Internet connection, Adobe ID, and acceptance of license agreement required to activate and use this product; the application attempts to validate your software every 30 days. This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services. Adobe services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms of use and the Adobe Privacy Policy. Applications and services may not be available in all countries or languages and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or membership charges may apply.
The Monitor for photo editing
The monitor is another essential part of our photo editing workspace and also here the specs have to be the best for the photo editing.
A wide gamut is the most important thing that a monitor for a photo editing workspace needs.
A wide gamut monitor shows you a large gamut by using pure spectral primary colors.
The best photo editing monitors cover the 99% of the Adobe RGB gamut because it means you’re viewing almost the maximum quantity of the colors in the image you’re editing.
The monitors can be HD, 2K, 4K depending on the quantity of details they are showing you.
My actual monitor is Eizo CG319X, 31 ” and 4k resolution. For sure an expensive choice but I’m really happy with it: I work with it every day and I need such accuracy and high quality.
Calibrator device
Another essential element for a photo editing workspace is the calibrator device. It’s essential because every monitor needs to be calibrated.
Of course we don’t need to buy a calibrator device when we have a monitor with a built-in sensor such as some models of the Eizo ColorEdge line. But we need to calibrate them with the proper ColorNavigator 7 softwares of course.
Even if I have a built-in calibration sensor in my Eizo CG319X, I still use Xrite i1 Display Pro to calibrate my laptop to see quite accurate colors when I’m editing during a travel or when I spend a lot of time out of my house.
However, i1 Display Pro is not produced anymore by XRite, the upgrade to this product is ColorChecker Display Pro by Calibrite.
This is the reason why I inserted DataColor Spyder X on the Shopping list. A good price/quality compromise.
In case of a built-in sensor or a device, we need the proper software to run the calibration process.
In case we own a calibrator device we’ll connect it through the USB and run the calibration process through the software of the device like Spyder X Elite.
Why calibration is so important?
All the monitors need to be calibrated after their production. That’s because they are like any other instrument which needs a calibration to be used correctly with a device (in this situation, our computer).
The most important parameters in the calibration are the Luminosity and the RGB colors with all the tonalities in their gamut.
As the luminosity changes often in our room, the monitor needs to be calibrated often, at least once a week.
Another important reason is that most of the monitors are not produced just for a photo editing purpose.
Indeed after the calibration you’ll notice that the screen becomes darker. That’s normal! The monitors are produced with an higher luminosity.
That’s the reason why so many students ask me why they see the pictures much darker and saturated on the smartphone or when they print them.
Also wide gamut monitors need to be calibrated
After their production, also wide gamut monitors need to be calibrated for your workspace, for your device and for the luminosity in your room.
For instance my Eizo CG319X has a built-in calibration sensor. When I run the ColorNavigator calibration software, the sensor comes down on the screen and calibrates the monitor.
What if other people have not calibrated monitors?
On the web there are many wrong opinions about calibration.
One of those is that calibrating the monitor is not useful because so many people that view our images on the web and social media don’t have a calibrated monitor.
That’s a wrong sentence for the following reasons:
- So, these photographers are talking about photography and most probably teaching photo editing and they are not supposed to print their pictures one day?
When a monitor is not calibrated it is almost always brighter than the calibrated one. This means the other people will see your pictures brighter on their computers. Better brighter than darker.
- If you calibrate your monitor, the color cast and the tonalities (especially the blues) will change slightly on the other devices like smartphones or tablets. For instance, my iPhone 12 Pro has a very light green color cast which neutralizes magentas and reds much more than on my previous iPhone X.
- This problem doesn’t occur in the printing process, of course: the colors and the luminosity in my fine art prints are the same as in my monitor.
The mouse for photo editing
Also the mouse is an essential element for our photo editing workspace. And not only because we need to move the cursor and click!
Or, well, if you just make a general editing on your image with almost no localized adjustments you don’t have to choose a specific mouse.
But if you face long photo editing sessions to make every area in the image perfect and create a beautiful harmonic style in your image, you need a good mouse for the health of your hands!
A perfect mouse for a photo editing workspace needs to be ergonomic and its shape has to be the best for our hand.
Usually the gamers install weights on their mouses because they spend hours using the mouse. This could be necessary for a photo editor too.
Everyone of us needs a mouse with an appropriate weight for their hands. One of the best mouses in this category is Logitech G502.
Graphic tablet for photo editing
For a perfect photo editing workspace, I suggest to use a graphic tablet to make very precise adjustments, especially for the dodge and burn technique.
The leading graphic tablets company is Wacom and you can choose the kind of product which is perfect for your needs.
If you have a big workspace and you wish to invest on a good solution, Wacom Intuos Pro M has the best flexible size. It’s size is 13.3 x 8.6 inch (338 x 219 mm).
The Wacom Intuos S is another smaller tablet for beginners who start to use graphic tablets for photo editing (6 x 4 inch – 152 x 95 mm).
About the Author
ISABELLA TABACCHI LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
Isabella Tabacchi is an award-winning landscape photographer based in the north of Italy.
Despite her young age, she is is one of the most influential landscape photographers.
She is Hasselblad Heroine, MIFA Photographer of the Year 2020 and won the third prize as International Landscape Photographer of The Year.
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