Photo from Lightroom CC looks flat and faded when synchronized or exported

[TheValou917]

Hello everyone,

I am facing a problem with my Lightroom library.

When exporting photos (Being careful to export in JPEG color profile sRGB), I realized that they look very flat and faded.

I also noticed that these photos have the same flat aspect when synchronized on the cloud and viewed in Lightroom on my Android phone.

When opening an exported JPEG to share on instagram, all the hard work in coloring that has been done is faded, and a simple boost in saturation does not restore it to how I want it to look.

Did anynone encounter a similar issue ?

Thanks for your help !

[Per Berntsen]

In what application are you viewing the exported photos?

And are you on Windows 10 or 11?

[TheValou917]

I am on windows 11.
The photos have the same faded appearance whatever the device or platform I use after exporting (Windows Photos, the native gallery apps of IOS and Samsung Galaxy S20, or when attempting to export to Instagram).

The photos also appear faded if I synchronize them on my phone's or iPad's Lightroom app.

[Per Berntsen · Accepted solution]

There's a bug in Windows 11 that prevents the monitor profile from loading properly.

Photoshop relies on a sound and correct monitor profile to display correct colors, so you're most likely not seeing correct colors in Photoshop. The Photos app is not color managed, and does not use the monitor profile, so it is unaffected by the issue.

The best thing to do is to roll back to Windows 10. If you can't do that, there's a workaround, but I can't say for certain whether it works properly, and produces correct colors. I'm on Windows 10, and have no desire to upgrade.

Close Lightroom.

Make sure that HDR is disabled in Windows display settings.

Then press the Windows key + R, type colorcpl in the box and press Enter.

This brings up the color management settings, and will display your monitor profile. (default)

Now go the Advanced tab, and set the monitor profile as Device profile at the top.

[TheValou917]

As I explained, this is not an issue of Windows, as synchronized photos are not rendering correctly on Lightroom on my phone (before and after export).

I have just tried loading a collection on a Windows 10 machine and photos appeared the same as they do on Windows 11, but as soon as I exported them, they looked faded again.

[Per Berntsen]

Android phones are not color managed and you cannot expect them to display the same as a Windows computer.

And again, Windows Photos is not color managed, and can not be expected to display the same as Lightroom.

I suggest that you stop using it, and use a color managed viewer instead. You can use Adobe Bridge, or a third party color managed viewer like FastStone, which is free for personal use.

Color management must be enabled under Settings > CMS, and both boxes must be checked. Restart FastStone after changing the settings.

If Lightroom and FastStone (or Bridge) don't display identically on Windows 10, you most likely have a defective monitor profile, which is a Windows problem.