Colour of Image changing during AirDrop from Macbook to Iphone Pro (Tint Shift)

[Colourwrks]

Hello,

I am experiencing a very annoying colour shift in my photos after Airdropping them from my Apple Macbook (Air 2023) to my Apple Iphone 14 Pro.

After playing around it seems there is a colour tint shift towards a green tint. Adding some Magenta back into the image using the in-Iphone Image Editor brings it someway back but its still not perfect. There could be slight shift in White Balance too.

To be specific I am working with 16-Bit files in Photoshop on Macbook Air with colour profile: LCD. I am exporting at PNG24 or JPEG 100% (Tried both) with both colour space settings "Convert to SRGB" and "Embed Colour Profile" ticked. Airdropping to Iphone 14 Pro.

On both Mac and Iphone I have True Tone and Auto-Brightness turned off.

Thinking its an export or colour space issue i tried searching online and found to my amazement this topic has been raised hundreds of times across various platforms (Apple Community, Adobe Community, Photoshop Community) yet no community specialist has provided an answer or solution to the problem.

In most cases the question is left ignored and unanswered.

Examples:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255074722?sortBy=best

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253704147?login=true&sortBy=best

https://www.reddit.com/r/videography/comments/15g5zr3/davinci_resolve_color_shift_when_airdropped_to...

Its incredibly frustrating as ultimately the image I post online is not an accurate reflection of the image I am working with in Photoshop. I just cannot accept this huge shift in colour.

Hoping I can find answers to my questions here? 

Thank You.
Tom

[Colourwrks]

It seems adding around +30/35 Tint (towards Magenta) and -10/15 White Balance (towards Blue) using the inbuilt image editor in the Iphone Photo App brings the image back closer to the image displayed in both Photoshop and on my Macbook screen after exporting.

So the colour shift is happening during the Airdrop.  Any thoughts?

[Colourwrks]

This is the image on my Macbook using Image Preview.

[Colourwrks]

This is the same image after airdropping to Iphone 14 Pro

 

[Colourwrks]

The problem for me is airdropping from Macbook to Iphone. The file wont be impacted during the Airdrop (I assume) so it seem the tint shift happens when viewing on an iphone.

Does anyone know the colour space or colour management settings for the Iphone? My answer is probably there.

[DaveWSPhotography]

I am getting the exact same issue! To my Iphone 11, but literally exactly the same. And its not something that has happened before? Did you manage to find a explanation? 

[Stephen Marsh]

So not a Photoshop issue.

Use an action to place one or more colour samplers at specific co-ordinates.

Make note of the RGB values for each sampler.

Air drop to the phone.

Air drop back to the Mac.

Open in Photoshop, use the action to re-add the samplers (which may or may not be lost), compare the colour values to the original values noted.

Have the RGB values changed, or is this just a display issue?

[DaveWSPhotography · Accepted solution]

Feeling quite stupid after doing some research and realising I had ‘True Tone’ activated on my iPhone which alters the colour of images depending on the ambient lighting in the room…

Problem solved.

Thanks for your help though, I had considered that process.

Dave

[Stephen Marsh]

Glad you sorted it out @DaveWSPhotography - I have marked your reply as a correct answer.

[DaveWSPhotography]

Ok... So i thought this solved the problem. But actually no. 

It certainly helped but im still getting the same issue. I now have a newer Iphone model, 13 Pro. And with 'true tone' turned off im still gettin gthe same issue! Colour shifts towards green and yellow. 

Ohter people seem to be having the same issue, its been unanswered on Apple Forums too..? 

[Stephen Marsh]

So compare the RGB values as previously suggested to confirm if this is simply display related.

[DaveWSPhotography]

So I seem to be getting compeltely different results, but this also could be because of the export resolution. 

1st image is  the colour I want as shown on my macbook, opened straight into photoshop from Lightroom RAW format. 

2nd is the image as appears on my iPhone in full resolution 

When I re-export back to my Mac the colour matches the same as the 2nd. 

So it seems like a colour shift happening when exporting from lighroom into full res JPEG?  Rather than Airdrop issue? The colour shift just seems much more noticeable when comparing the image on my phone and MacBook. But you see in the 3rd image there is still a slightly visible change on Mac too. 

I'm confused... 

[DaveWSPhotography]

I've never had these issues in the past though, until this month. I don't understand what has changed..?

[tina.ma.z]

Did you ever find an answer? I'm having this issue, never had it before and I just spent an hour on chat with Apple - no resolution yet. I regret updating my mac. 

[DaveWSPhotography]

Hi, try looking at your phone to see if you have 'Truetone' or similar activated on your device. This feature alters the temperature appearance of your phone screen depending on the light conditions you are in. 

I was able to edit this feature on my phone to replicate the same colours I was seeing on my MacBook and stop it from changing. This solved my issues.

since then I have upgraded to a new MacBook and iPhone, and not had the same issue since, without having to change anything. 

Hope this helps!

[NB, colourmanagement]

@tina.ma.z Find and disable the Truetone setting as described here 

if that doesn't solve your issue 

- then, In Photoshop, try converting a copy of your original image file to the sRGB colorspace, [image/edit/convert to profile] now save it with the ICC profile embedded.

How does it look on your iPhone now? 

I hope this helps

neil barstow colourmanagement - adobe forum volunteer,

colourmanagement consultant & co-author of 'getting colour right'

See my free articles on colourmanagement online

Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.

Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts

[tina.ma.z]

I've spent about 10+ hours with Apple and finally got someone to see what I saw and they basically said they have no idea how to fix it. He was able to remote in on my iPhone and Mac and can see my images desaturated when I airdrop. It's not a colorspace issue, True Tone, night shift, file size or any other reason mentioned above. When I airdrop the image back to my Mac the colors are correct again. He said unfortunately he thinks my fix might not be until the next iOS update which is in April. I turned off auto update on all devices. It appears to be Apple display issue imo. 

[NB, colourmanagement]

@tina.ma.z "it's not a colorspace issue"

you'd not believe the number if times I've heard that said or seen it written.

did you try the tests we suggested? 

I hope this helps

neil barstow colourmanagement - adobe forum volunteer,

colourmanagement consultant & co-author of 'getting colour right'

See my free articles on colourmanagement online

Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.

Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts

[tina.ma.z]

Yes I know how to correctly save and check my images they are all correct, I can see you want to have a fix but repeating the same information isn't it. 

[NB, colourmanagement]

@tina.ma.z "I can see you want to have a fix but repeating the same information isn't it. 

haha, thanks, I was just trying to help you get to the bottom of this issue.

I hope this helps

neil barstow colourmanagement - adobe forum volunteer,