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markh65268155
Participant
August 28, 2017
Answered

The photo in the Reference window does not match the original edit

  • August 28, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 5866 views

Ok so when I'm in reference mode where you can compare between the reference photo and active photo, why on earth does the reference photo have different color than the same original edited photo? I noticed this when I accidentally put the same photo in the Active and Reference pane. The Active photo is what matches the original edit. Obviously I can't accurately edit the comparing reference/active photos, if the reference photo doesn't even match the original edit.

It seems that the saturation is what's different. I've attached an example. If you notice, the edited photo in the reference pain has different color water than the water in the same edited photo in the active pane.

I edit on Windows 10.

I really appreciate any tips.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Rob_Cullen

I cannot explain your difference in color.

When I use the same photo in Reference & Active, any development adjustment appears equally and the same in both previews.

Have you done a monitor calibration recently?  (Perhaps LR is using your graphics system differently for each image)

Of course there is no purpose whatsoever in using Reference view (accidentally) with the same image.

3 replies

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georgem12
Participant
March 7, 2021

Hello ,

 

I am having the same issue and it is very frustrating. Does anybody have an answer? Same Image in the reference view is not identical. When i am working for  consistency here and i dont know which is right and which is wrong . Can anybody provide an answer? It is not a monitor issue for sure. 

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 8, 2021

First, I presume you are aware that the "ReferenceView" function is designed to compare two different images- NOT the SAME image in both windows.

It gives a visual comparison that allows you to edit the 'Active' image using the Develop sliders and make it 'look like' the other Reference photo. (The Reference photo could also be a Virtual Copy, edited in a different way)

 

If the 'same' photo looks different from 'Active' to 'Reference' , then you could try disabling CPU in Preferences, re-Profiling your monitor, etc. (Library Previews and Develop previews are often known to look different with problem monitor profiles)

 

 

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
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BCbear
Inspiring
May 9, 2018

I'm having the same issue with the reference photo looking considerably different (ie no subtle difference, big difference) like the reference photo is the original RAW file and the same file in active view shows all the edits. This makes using the reference photo feature useless.

I even exported the photo in original .raf format as well as .tiff and .jpg formats, imported back into LR and still there is a very distinct difference.

    Lolaluna
    Lolaluna
    Participant
    April 7, 2020

    Same issue here; makes the comparison screens virtually useless except to compare grain and focus. Usin a MAC. Help!

     

      Rob_Cullen
      Community Expert
      Rob_CullenCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      August 28, 2017

      I cannot explain your difference in color.

      When I use the same photo in Reference & Active, any development adjustment appears equally and the same in both previews.

      Have you done a monitor calibration recently?  (Perhaps LR is using your graphics system differently for each image)

      Of course there is no purpose whatsoever in using Reference view (accidentally) with the same image.

      Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
      johnsonjzhou
      johnsonjzhou
      Participating Frequently
      February 8, 2018

      Hi there,

      I came across the same problem today and I suspect LR is using different calibration profiles for each image. The Reference is more green and the Active is more magenta.

      Monitor is calibrated and profiles loaded with DisplayCAL profile loader in Windows 10.  When compared to single image view, the Reference image is more accurate and the Active image doesn't seem to be color managed as my screen naturally has a magenta shift prior to calibration.

      Do you know of a way to specify what profiles to load in LR for the reference and active views so they display accurately?

      Per Berntsen
      Community Expert
      Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 8, 2018

      I think this is caused by your monitor not being uniform.

      The gray background below the images looks uniform, but not above the images, and opening the screenshot in Photoshop confirms this. There is quite a lot of variation in density and color.

      if you swap the two images, they will probably display with the same difference as in the screenshot.

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