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A
Anonymous
September 2, 2017
Answered

Photoshop and Lightroom color profiles

  • September 2, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 1528 views

Hello,

I have a problem and I can't seem to find any solution to it. I searched throu many forums but not a single solution worked for me.

When I export my images from Photoshop or Lightroom (Both updated to the last version) the colors change.

Here is what I know so far:

1. I shot images in Adobe RGB profile.

2. Always when exporting, I convert them into sRGB profile and I have "ICC profile: sRGB"... checked!

3. I tried "Save for web" also with "Convert to sRGB" checked.

4. My Photoshop working space is sRGB.

5. I downloaded and replaced my computer color profiles with those that you can find on Adobe's offical website (So that shouldn't be a problem).

6. When I compare images opened in Photoshop and the same image exported to JPEG side by side, the color difference is huge. I also tried different programs to open images and also different computers, but without any luck.

7. I mentioned Lightroom because the color shift is identical if I export the same image from Lightroom or Photoshop.

8. This one drives me crazy even more: If I screenshot the exported image (the one with wrong colors) and then open the screenshot in Photoshop side by side with original image, the colors look normal! Exactly the same, exactly as they should.

If anyone have any idea what am I doing wrong or how to fix this, I would be really grateful!

If it helps, I can post screenshots of images or even the original files.

Thank you!

Patrik Arh

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer D Fosse

Without color management, the image displays in monitor color space. IOW it's entirely down to the monitor it's displayed on.

If you have a wide gamut monitor, you will see it very saturated. That doesn't mean others will see it that way. With a standard monitor, that same file will display without that saturation. If, theoretically, you had a monitor that matched sRGB perfectly, it would display perfectly correct. No such monitor is ever made, however. They're all different.

And this is the whole point of having a color managed display pipeline. It takes the monitor out of the equation, showing the file correctly.

The best you can do is convert to sRGB and embed the profile, done. That should be ballpark on a traditional monitor, even without color management. On a wide gamut monitor it will be wrong, but on a wide gamut monitor you really need color management at all times anyway. Without it such a monitor is effectively useless, an expensive doorstop.

4 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 3, 2017

What you need to understand is that color management is not system-wide. It's application specific.

Color managed applications use your monitor profile to correct for the particular characteristics of your display. It's a standard profile conversion, just like any other conversion: sRGB > monitor profile.

The profile doesn't adjust anything by itself. It just describes your monitor's response, in great detail, and the application performs the adjustments accordingly - on the fly, as you work.

You will never get applications without color management to display identically to Photoshop (except under very special circumstances). They don't do that correction, and the RGB numbers in the file are just sent directly to the display, uncorrected.

This last point is crucial to understanding this. Photoshop is right, Faststone is wrong. Use another application to view your files.

A
Anonymous
September 3, 2017

Thank you D Fosse for making this clear to me!

I understand this concept of "Photoshop is right, other image viewers are wrong" but how I am supposed to show and publish my images if I am the only one to see them correctly? I don't need them to look good on my computer, I need them to look good on any device that open's my website. I understand this: "You will never get applications without color management to display identically to Photoshop " but in my case the difference is way to noticing to ignore it.

I hope I am not annoying but I really want to understand this and make sure people will see my images correctly.

Thank you!

Patrik Arh

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
September 3, 2017

Without color management, the image displays in monitor color space. IOW it's entirely down to the monitor it's displayed on.

If you have a wide gamut monitor, you will see it very saturated. That doesn't mean others will see it that way. With a standard monitor, that same file will display without that saturation. If, theoretically, you had a monitor that matched sRGB perfectly, it would display perfectly correct. No such monitor is ever made, however. They're all different.

And this is the whole point of having a color managed display pipeline. It takes the monitor out of the equation, showing the file correctly.

The best you can do is convert to sRGB and embed the profile, done. That should be ballpark on a traditional monitor, even without color management. On a wide gamut monitor it will be wrong, but on a wide gamut monitor you really need color management at all times anyway. Without it such a monitor is effectively useless, an expensive doorstop.

P
p_mielniczuk91
Participant
September 3, 2017

I have this same problem but between Camera Raw and Photoshop. Problem is especially on yellows and reds.

I dont know how to fix it. ;(

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 3, 2017

p.mielniczuk91, you have an entirely different problem and you should start a separate thread.

Answering your question here will just confuse the original issue. People are confused enough already.

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 2, 2017

You're looking at the file in another application without color management. This other application does not use your monitor profile to correct for the monitor.

The further away the monitor is from an ideal sRGB response, the greater the difference you see. And no, no monitor ever made matches sRGB exactly. With a wide gamut monitor the difference is dramatic.

It has nothing to do with the file. It's the application used to view the file. Photoshop represents the file accurately, the other application does not.

meredithb8081254
meredithb8081254
Participating Frequently
September 2, 2017

Are you comparing the original Adobe RGB photo to the sRGB photo or are you comparing two different exported sRGB photos. If you are comparing the original then yes you will see a color shift as you should since the sRGB is meant for web and computers versus the Adobe RGB which is meant for print. You would also see in Photoshop them both being treated the same as it sound like you are experiencing.

A
Anonymous
September 2, 2017

Thank you for your reply.

No, I am comparing edited photo converted to sRGB (still opened in Photoshop) to this same photo just exported.

I understand that there should be a difference between two profiles but what I have is one profile and two images, one exported and one still in Photoshop. This is the only difference between this two photos regarding my corrections...

A
Anonymous
September 2, 2017

This are the two images I am talking about. The first one is a screenshot of my image after I edited it (and converted to sRGB) and the second one is this very same image just exported and again screenshoted. I checked both of them on my second computer and the difference is the same (so it's not my image viewer or screen).

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