Saving a PS TIFF image to find colour greatly desaturated

[Hopeful Artist]

Hi there, this is my first post, coming from a non tech savvy photographer.

For months now if I save an image as a TIFF file my images are completely desaturated.  I have found a way to get around this I believe with opening in LR, working in ps and saving as tiff back to LR, and the colors retain when I export from LR in JPG.  If I export in TIFF format the color is again desaturated...

Can someone please help me return the settings that have changed in my PS?

Any layman termed advice would be greatly appreciated. 😉

[c.pfaffenbichler]

What are Photoshop’s Edit > Color Settings? 

Do you embed the profile when saving the tiffs? 

Which application/s do you use to view the images other than Photoshop? Are they color-managed?

Please set the Status Bar to »Document Profile« and post meaningful screenshots of the images open in Photoshop. 

[Hopeful Artist]

Here is a screenshot of my color settings. PS and LR are my main viewers other than  a quick peek at times on my computer's OPEN WITH - PHOTOS option if that means anything to you?

[Hopeful Artist]

And THANK YOU for responding so quickly! 🙂

[Hopeful Artist]

I just realized this is my 2nd post the first was the same issue months ago and I could never seem to resolve it. 😕 So frustrating when I can't overcome this crutch in my editing. 

[D Fosse]

That sounds like a ProPhoto file viewed without color management.

The Lightroom default for Edit in Photoshop is ProPhoto. That profile will override the Photoshop color settings - as all embedded profiles will and should.

If you're going to use these files anywhere where color management is uncertain or missing - like most consumer-oriented photo viewers - they need to be sRGB. You can either convert to sRGB in Photoshop, or change Lightroom preferences from ProPhoto to sRGB.

Personally I think the choice of ProPhoto as Lightroom default color space is the worst possible they could have made, and this is the reason. Beginners can't really be expected to know this. Defaults are supposed to be safe settings for beginners, and currently they are not. Advanced users who need ProPhoto will know where to find it without the "help" of a default setting.

[Hopeful Artist]

Thank you  D Fosse for the reply. 🙂 I REALLY want to change this.  I think it would make my editing process and sending out images without that dreaded fear of them posting to social media to find my images greatly different from what I intended the outcome to be. Is it possible to see an image of the way I am supposed to change it that I could follow step by step?

[D Fosse]

Open Lightroom Edit > Preferences from the menu. In the "external editing" tab, change it from ProPhoto to sRGB. Just ignore the comments on the right, they are grossly misleading:

In Photoshop, you can convert to sRGB from Edit > Convert to Profile. But that's not necessary if it already comes out of Lightroom as sRGB. As I said, that profile will override the PS color settings.

[Hopeful Artist]

ok THANK YOU! So, here is what I have now. Is this ok?

[Hopeful Artist]

I never touched the bottom one yet

[D Fosse]

Yes, you should be good to go with those Lightroom preferences (although I prefer PSD and no compression, but that's just me). Now your files will open in Photoshop as sRGB, and even in applications without color management they should display roughly correctly. It will never be entirely accurate without color management, but it should be close enough.

[Hopeful Artist]

Oh YAY!  Thank you for all the help! They look like normal again! My life will be sooo much easier not having to sweat everytime I wait to see what pops up after posting! 😄 As for Color managing, thats another thing I need to learn but one hilltop at a time! lol Thanks again! 😄