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Participant
September 14, 2024
Question

Saving RAW file with HDR as JPEG looks dull not bright

  • September 14, 2024
  • 2 replies
  • 14195 views

Hi all, I shoot in RAW and edit using HDR but when I save the photo as JPEG it looks dull and not like HDR? I tick the HDR Output box in settings when exporting. Any idea what I am doing wrong?

 

Two examples below. Thanks!

2 replies

Legend
August 8, 2025

Just to add, most people still do not have HDR displays or software that will display HDR. I have a pair of wide-gamut 4k HDR displays which honestly look amazing with the right content, but stick to SDR and sRGB for export because I want my work accessible.

Participating Frequently
August 8, 2025

True for computer displays and TVs, but anyone with a generally recent smartphone has an HDR display in their pocket. My images are primarily for Instagram and it's the best way for me to show off HDR images and edits to a wide audience, and has been for some time now. JPEG gain maps allow me to make sure the SDR versions look good as a fallback for those without HDR displays or have HDR turned off as well.

Participating Frequently
September 17, 2024

Hey there, Welcome to the Photoshop Community. 

 

JPEG cannot store HDR data. Use a format such as AVIF that does support HDR.

Please check here for more details: https://adobe.ly/3XtIQOb

 

Let us know how it goes. 

Thanks, 

Shivani 

Participating Frequently
August 7, 2025

This is incorrect, I export JPEGs with HDR in lightroom all the time, and they look perfectly fine on Instagram. Does Photoshop not allow HDR exports? I want to collage multiple HDR photos with artboards to fit more than one photo on an instagram slide, and there currently doesn't seem to be any collaging apps that support HDR exports. 

Participating Frequently
August 7, 2025

There are variations on P3 but the most common in still images is Display P3 which has a wider gamut than sRGB but is not HDR.

Similarly REC2020 is wide gamut but SDR and is normally used for UHD video. The equivalent HDR format is REC2100 which uses the same primaries as REC2020 but with higher dynamic range and different transfer functions.

Dave


Not sure if you've exported HDR images out of Lightroom, but I promise I'm not crazy! My photos are well beyond the range of SDR, and I've been posting 10-bit HDR edits for a while now.