Check your Monitor.  To see photos at their best on a computer you must adjust your monitor properly.  Using the pictures below, follow the steps for a basic adjustment. You should make these adjustments when your monitor has been on for at least 30 minutes and when room light is similar to your regular viewing conditions.

1. Adjust your monitor's contrast setting to 100%.

2. Lower your brightness until the screen is fairly dark then adjust it up until the 90% black (the square next to pure black) is just distinguishable from 100% black.

3. Now lower the contrast slightly.

4. The colors below are Red, Green, Blue.  On a properly calibrated monitor, these will appear light reddish/orange, light green and light blue.  Combined, they make pure white (all three overlapping). Combinations create the following (red+green=yellow, red+blue=magenta, blue+green=cyan).  If the colors on your monitor are significantly different than described, you may need to have it calibrated or it is too old and needs replacement.

5. You should now see the full range of a photo displayed on your computer monitor. (note: for color adjustments, more sophisticated steps need to be taken using specialized software).