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Oleg Lozovoy
Known Participant
August 10, 2021
Question

Tone Curves difference in Lightroom and Photoshop

  • August 10, 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 1907 views

It appears that I have significantly different results in terms of color and its variability when using RGB Curves for color grading in Lightroom and Photoshop. Photo in Lightroom looks more colorful and alive than its copy opened in Photoshop as a TIFF file with 16-bits sRGB color space and exactly the same curves applied to image. In other words picture in Photoshop (with the same editing as in Lightroom) looks different and less saturated. But at the same time Raw files without any editing looks very similar in both apps. What does it all mean and how to fix this?

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4 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 11, 2021

Just to be clear: Oleg, are you applying the curve separately in each application?

 

In that case, this is normal and fully expected, for the reasons digitaldog explains above.

 

Numerical adjustments are color space specific. The same adjustment will mean different things because the starting numbers are different. You will see the same thing in Photoshop, if you apply the same adjustment in sRGB, Adobe RGB and ProPhoto.

 

And Lightroom will be even more different, because the native color space in Lightroom is a custom one with ProPhoto primaries, but a linear tone curve. It doesn't match any of the standard color spaces you will use in Photoshop.

    O
    Oleg LozovoyAuthor
    Known Participant
    August 11, 2021

    Thanks for your explanation. Of course, I'm applying RGB Curves with the same adjustments (points) to the identical Raw files without any additional editing in both apps. I will be grateful if you could answer a few more questions.

     

    1. How can I work with ProPhoto primaries in Lightroom with a monitor which only displays sRGB color space?

    2. I understand the difference between color spaces and how they effect the image, but why do we see excatly the same colors in Lightroom and Photoshop, if there were no editing applied to a Raw image in both scenarios?

    3. Are there any tips to get closer to the Lightroom editing style (or look) in terms of RBG Curves and color adjustments using only Photoshop? It's quite important as more often I need to make a complex retouch with different layers firstly and then go to color adjustments and toning. So I don't have an opportunity to work with colors before sending photos from Lightroom to Photoshop because more likely I will want to change colors several times when everything else is done.

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    August 17, 2021

    Thank you for this detailed response. I usually use Lightroom and Photoshop combo and would like to stay with it. I send a few photos from Lightroom to Photoshop, then combine them together and do all necessary retouching work and after all save them as a TIFF-file which will appear in Lightroom. Then you suggest to continue editing TIFF-file (including color adjustment) in Lightroom. But won't we get any loss in information (in terms of color, details in highlights and shadows, etc)? I mean does TIFF-files have the same flexibilty in editing as an original Raw images? The original question was about working with images sent from Lightroom to Photoshop and what can I do to improve color adjustment proccess inside Photoshop itself (not ACR). As I know many photographers work with color in Photoshop after sending files from Lightroom and then save them as TIFF-files without any further editing in Lightroom. I would like to know if there are any options to work with colors in Photoshop (after sending files from Lightroom) to make the colors look more vivid and variable.


    IMHO, do ALL the global tone and color correction in LR using parametric edits on raw data. Use some of the selective color and tone editing in LR that you can live with (it's not a precise 'pixel editor' like Photoshop). 

    Use Photoshop for selective edits that are too difficult/slow or un-precise in LR. Or where there is functionality in PS that LR doesn't provide. 

    Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
      TheDigitalDog
      TheDigitalDog
      Inspiring
      August 10, 2021

      The data in the two is utterly different for one. 

      In LR, everything being edited is done in a high bit, wide gamut (like ProPhoto RGB) processing color space with a 1.0 Linear TRC (curve). 

      In Photoshop, that differs based on the RGB Working Space which is rarely if ever a linear TRC. 

      Then there is hue protection which may or may not be used in Photoshop. 

      Bottom line is, don't expect the two products to match using even the same RGB rendered data; the processing is very different. 

      Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
        Todd Shaner
        Todd Shaner
        Legend
        August 10, 2021

        This is most likely due to the image adaptive behavior of the LR Tone controls. See the below link for more info:

         

        https://www.michaelfrye.com/2018/07/08/lightrooms-tone-controls/

         

        Adjustments to the Tone Curve in LR will have less affect on the highlights and shadow if those named controls have been applied in the LR Basic Tone control panel.

        TheDigitalDog
        TheDigitalDog
        Inspiring
        August 10, 2021
        @Todd Shaner wrote:

        This is most likely due to the image adaptive behavior of the LR Tone controls. See the below link for more info:

         

        https://www.michaelfrye.com/2018/07/08/lightrooms-tone-controls/

         

        Adjustments to the Tone Curve in LR will have less affect on the highlights and shadow if those named controls have been applied in the LR Basic Tone control panel.

         

        He states all edits are using an image additive process but not all edits are image adaptive and the PV plays a role (PV2012 and on). The Image Adaptive adjustments in the Basic panel are upstream from curves processing in the pipeline. So, you won't get the benefit of the image adaptive adjustments if you don't set the Basic panel settings and use curves instead.

        He also states incorrectly "It is possible to recover over exposed highlight." Not really. IF one or two of the channels is actually slightly clipped (and you can't tell using LR, you need a raw Histogram like RawDigger) then the third can, within reason be used to reconstruct those two. An actual over exposed raw is just that. And nothing can bring that back. He is confused, like many, between too much brightness (he states; highlights blown out and talks of exposure) and too much or little exposure which only takes place at capture. 

        Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
        JohanElzenga
        Community Expert
        JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 10, 2021

        What profile did you apply in Lightroom? A custom profile? There is a known issue that certain profiles do not get applied when you send an image from Lightroom to Photoshop. The work around is to use 'Metadata - Save Metadata to File' before you send it.

         

        -- Johan W. Elzenga
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