Colours oversaturated outside of Photoshop (for example, when pic is used as desktop background)

[PrettyCranium]

Hi,

I am trying to use a picture as my desktop background, but it appears oversaturated compared to how it looks in PS when I try to do so.  It also looks oversaturated if I post it to a website like Facebook, or even just open it with Windows Explorer. 

I have my colour profile set as sRGB, as well as my monitor set to sRGB.  I'm attaching examples that show the slight difference between the desktop version and the in-PS version.

What is going on and how can I fix it?  You can see the subtle difference between the middle picture (PS) and the bottom (desktop).

[Per Berntsen · Accepted solution]

Photoshop is color managed, and uses the monitor profile to display correct colors.

Native applications on Windows, like the desktop, Windows Explorer, Photos, are not color managed, and can not be expected to display correct colors. (the exception is the latest version of Edge, which is color managed)

You also seem to have a wide gamut monitor, which causes an even bigger difference in non-color managed applications, you get over saturation. It's inevitable, and there's nothing you can do about it. (although you can reduce the saturation on an image you want to use on the desktop)

For viewing images outside of Photoshop, I suggest that you use Bridge, or a third party color managed image viewer like FastStone, which is free for personal use. You have to enable color management under Settings > CMS, both boxes must be checked.

I also suggest that you calibrate your monitor with a hardware calibrator, which will also create and install a custom monitor profile that accurately describes your monitor.

Using sRGB as a monitor profile (with a wide gamut monitor Adobe RGB  will be a better choice) may be fine, but if you want accurate colors, use a calibrator.

[PrettyCranium]

Thanks so much for your reply.  Where do you get a calibrator?  My monitor and desktop is brand new, it's a Surface Studio 2. Mainly I want to post onto the Internet, so how would I get what I see in PS to look the closest to what will eventually post?  Do I change to Adobe RGB in PS, and then post in regular RGB?

Thanking you again.

[Per Berntsen]

Calibrators are available from many sources, for instance B & H.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=monitor%20calibrator&filters=fct_category%3Acolor_management...

The X-Rite i1 and Datacolor Spyders are all good calibrators.

Once you have run the calibration, you can trust that you are seeing correct colors in Photoshop, because you then have a monitor profile that accurately describes your monitor. Photoshop converts the colors from the document profile (for instance Adobe RGB) to the monitor profile.

To take full advantage of your wide gamut monitor (that according to specs can display 90% of Adobe RGB), your files should also be in Adobe RGB. If you shoot raw files and process them in Camera Raw, set the color space to Adobe RGB in the Camera Raw preferences > Workflow.

If you send photos from Lightroom to Photoshop, go to Preferences > External editing in Lightroom, and set the color space to Adobe RGB  for editing in Photoshop.

If you shoot jpg, set the camera color space to Adobe RGB.

Images you post on the Internet should be in the sRGB color space.

When you export from Photoshop, makes sure that both Convert to sRGB and Embed profile are checked.

Provided that your are using a color managed browser, images should display the same as in Photoshop.

Internet Explorer is not color managed, and must be avoided. If you use Edge, make sure that you have the latest version, older versions are not color managed. Practically all other major web browsers are color managed.

Like I said above, the over saturation you're seeing is caused by using applications without color management on a wide gamut monitor. With this kind of monitor, you have to use color managed applications only.

[PrettyCranium]

Thanks so much.  I haven't been "exporting," I've just been saving as a TIFF or JPEG.  I do shoot in RAW.

Should I be using "Export"?

Also, why does it display incorrectly even when I use it as a desktop background?

[D Fosse]

Because the Windows desktop doesn't support color management and icc profiles.

Read Per's posts again. It's all explained there, summed up with "Photoshop converts the colors from the document profile (for instance Adobe RGB) to the monitor profile." That's the core of it. The Windows desktop doesn't do that, along with many other applications.

Export vs. Save isn't the immediate issue here - the point is that only color managed applications will display the file correctly. But when you do export/save for other people to see on their own systems, convert to sRGB and make sure the profile is embedded. This has the greatest likelihood of being represented roughly correctly in the largest number of possible scenarios.

But again, because it needs repeating, only color managed applications will display the file correctly, as long as the document profile is embedded, and there is a valid monitor profile such as one made with a calibrator.

This really isn't as complicated as it sounds. It's just a simple chain from document profile to monitor profile.

[PrettyCranium]

Thank you.

[Per Berntsen]

For images going on the Internet, it's much better to use Export or Save for Web.

Both will create a new image, resized to the dimensions of your choice, and converted to sRGB.

Remember to check both Convert to sRGB and Embed profile. (Embed profile is unfortunately unchecked by default)

Export only gives you two choices for metadata, None, or Copyright and contact data.

Save for Web gives you two additional choices – All except camera info, and All.

The desktop is not color managed, and will display colors over saturated.

As mentioned before, the only color managed native Windows application is the latest version of Edge.

By native I mean applications that are part of Windows, made by Microsoft.

So if you want an image to display correctly on the desktop, you have to reduce the saturation in Photoshop first.

[PrettyCranium]

Thanks again.

[NB, colourmanagement]

As Per wrote: this step is vital

Remember to check both Convert to sRGB and Embed profile. (Embed profile is unfortunately unchecked by default)

neil barstow, colourmanagement.net :: adobe forum volunteer