Best Monitor for Photo Editing 2022 + What to Look For

In my opinion as a photographer, one of the best upgrades you can make to your photo editing workflow is a large high-quality monitor.

Even if you primarily do your photo editing on a laptop, an external monitor for use when you are not on the move can be a great investment. It’ll give you a larger screen to work with and make the editing process easier and more enjoyable.

There’s a huge choice of monitors on the market, across a wide range of price points. In this guide, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know so you can pick the best monitor for photo editing for your needs and budget.

As well as a list of actual monitors for photo editing, I’m going to share with you the key specifications that you need to look for when buying a monitor. This means you’ll be able to get the right sort of monitor, even if it’s not one on our list.

I’ve been a professional photographer for many years, and whilst I do have a laptop for on the go edits, I prefer to do my photo editing on a large monitor in my home office. A larger screen lets me see the details of the image more clearly, as well as get a better overview of my image library.

Prior to being a travel photographer, I worked as a software developer for many years, so I also have a good understanding of computing technology in general. This article is based on my years of experience as both a photographer, and my background in computing.

What to Look for in a Monitor for Photo Editing

Before I go through a list of the best monitors for photo editing, I wanted to share the key specifications you should be looking for when evaluating a monitor.

There are hundreds of monitors on the market at any given point, and this information will help you understand which specifications are important to help you narrow down your choice.

Screen Size for Photo Editing

The first thing to consider is how big of a screen you want. This decision will vary based on your personal circumstances, including things like the size of your desk and how far from your screen you sit.

Screen size is normally measured in either inches of centimetres, and manufacturers use the distance from a bottom corner to the opposite top corner. This is the same way television screens are measured, because the diagonal is the longest distance and for marketing reasons, bigger is always better.

For photo editing, my recommendation is a screen that is a minimum of 24 inches (61 cm). However, 27 to 32 inches (68 – 81 cm) would…