Aperture problems - images look different, please help :)

HoolyProductions

Hi, my first post here !

I am a new user to Aperture and am loving it, but am having some problems possibly related to the colour profiling. I hope someone can help! I had similar problems when I first got Bibble so have been here before!

Basically when I adjust a RAW file until the preview looks how I want it, then I export a jpeg or tiff, the resulting exported version file looks slightly different, both in Preview and in Aperture. Some screen shots below.

1) Aperture preview of a heavily manipulated image (this shows the effect better). Notice the bright halo around the girl.



2) Exporting as a full size jpeg to sRGB (I also tried GIF and Adobe RGB, same result)



3) Resulting jpeg lacks the saturation and vibrance of the original. Particularly evident around the girl's head:



The same happens when I re-import the jpeg or tiff back into Aperture... so it's not just the way image is previewed.

4) Here is a 100% crop.



The original aperture version is on the right.

The re-imported jpeg is on the left. You can see that the girl's halo has lost some of it's brightness.




Now any ideas? :dunno

ian408

I'm not sure this is your answer. But jpeg's are compressed images.
Each time you edit the image, it changes (remember, it's compressed)
and depending on the amount of compression, you can introduce artifacts.
This is specially true when working with low image quality.

For best results, you may want to work in TIFF or other non-compressed
format and only ever create jpeg's for images you want to share or post
on the web. In your example; never export then import the jpeg.

This is a work flow issue. For me, I shoot RAW most of the time, edit in PS
and then export to jpeg. The jpeg's are what I upload--and sometimes, these
are smaller versions than the original (faster upload / faster viewing and
not always suitable for anything more than a small print).

HoolyProductions

Thanks for trying man but that's not it.

Firstly, I get exactly the same problem with TIFF files.

And I have not manipulated the jpeg... the first export looks different as described.

ivar

When you export it to JPEG, sRGB is that a different colorspace as the original image?

HoolyProductions

ivar wrote:

When you export it to JPEG, sRGB is that a different colorspace as the original image?

I've tried various combinations.

In the 'view' drop down menu I've tried

1) turning onscreen proofing off (no effect)
2) setting it to sRGB, Adobe RBG and generic RGB

in the 'export' edit menu I've tried exporting with all three of the above colour spaces.

None of this has any effect... the exported TIFF or JPEG looks different to the original image in the way shown in my screen shots.

The difference is slight but leaves my image lacking the 'punch' they have when I view them in Aperture.

I had a similar problem when I first started using Bibble. It turned out that Bibble was 'double' proofing my images and I just needed to turn of color profiling. That doesn't seem to be an option in Aperture.

I note again I am using a MacBook Pro...

arodney

Set your color settings in Photoshop to warn if you open a document without a profile (warning check boxes below Policies).

Open both images in Photoshop that you exported. Do they pop a missing profile dialog? If not, do they preview the same?

HoolyProductions

thanks. I can try checking whether the exported image has a profile as suggested, but I cannot compare two images. One image is the exported. The other is the Aperture preview which I cannot export... I wish I could because that is the look I am going for.