Frustrated with Color...

k2butterk2butter Registered Users Posts: 259 Major grins
edited August 30, 2007 in Finishing School
Ok, speak to me like I am in kindergarten.... I am having issues with exporting from lightroom... I know this has been discussed because I used the search tool and found a bunch of messages.

From what I have read, I *think* I need my settings to be set to sRGB with a bit depth of 8... (keep in mind while you read this, this is all very new to me).... so I export, when I see the thumbnail or view it in something like "window and fax viewer" or even in PS the color is not exported the way it looks in LR, especially my B/W photos, all are much colder looking after I export.... then when I up load to smug, of course they don't look the way I want them to look....

right now, I would just like to have as simple of an explanation as to how things should be set as possible... Thanks. I am learning so a lot of the tech stuff will go right over my head....

TIA!
Karen

Comments

  • claudermilkclaudermilk Registered Users Posts: 2,756 Major grins
    edited August 22, 2007
    To save a file in JPEG for display on the web, or printing at most services, yes you want 8-bit sRGB.

    Regarding the difference you see in LR vs Image/Fax viewer, LR is color-managed meaning it uses and calibration profiles and color space profiles to try and display accurate color. The Image/Fax viewer does not. Trust LR over the other. I would also suggest using a color management-aware browser like BreezeBrowser, IrfanView, FastStone Viewer.
  • k2butterk2butter Registered Users Posts: 259 Major grins
    edited August 22, 2007
    To save a file in JPEG for display on the web, or printing at most services, yes you want 8-bit sRGB.

    Regarding the difference you see in LR vs Image/Fax viewer, LR is color-managed meaning it uses and calibration profiles and color space profiles to try and display accurate color. The Image/Fax viewer does not. Trust LR over the other. I would also suggest using a color management-aware browser like BreezeBrowser, IrfanView, FastStone Viewer.

    Thank you, I kind of figured I would trust the LR Over window and fax veiwer, but the problem is, when I upload it to smug, it looks like it did in the thumbnail in my files (which looks the same as Window and fax) headscratch.gif
  • jfriendjfriend Registered Users Posts: 8,097 Major grins
    edited August 22, 2007
    k2butter wrote:
    Thank you, I kind of figured I would trust the LR Over window and fax veiwer, but the problem is, when I upload it to smug, it looks like it did in the thumbnail in my files (which looks the same as Window and fax) headscratch.gif

    Usually, when this happens it's because the files are not actually sRGB (often they are AdobeRGB). Can you point us to an original sized file on your site that has this problem and we can take a look at the color profile information in the original?
    --John
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  • Miguel DelinquentoMiguel Delinquento Registered Users Posts: 904 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2007
    This may help. LR can present previews of images in two different ways: either using the cameras non-color-managed embedded previews or using LR's color managed rendered previews. The choice is made in the Import Photos dialog box. In the online help menu index, lookup all the Preview info for a better explanation.
    For Smugmug, I have created a LR preset that saves my usually aRBG jpeg colorspace files as sRBG files (along with some strategic resizing). The colors look just fine on Smugmug and in LR.
    M
  • k2butterk2butter Registered Users Posts: 259 Major grins
    edited August 28, 2007
    jfriend wrote:
    Usually, when this happens it's because the files are not actually sRGB (often they are AdobeRGB). Can you point us to an original sized file on your site that has this problem and we can take a look at the color profile information in the original?

    How do I see if they are adobergb?
  • jfriendjfriend Registered Users Posts: 8,097 Major grins
    edited August 28, 2007
    k2butter wrote:
    How do I see if they are adobergb?

    There are lots of ways. I open it in Photoshop and go to Edit/Convert to Profile and look at the source space. If all you have it Lightroom, I don't know how to tell in Lightroom.

    I repeat my earlier question. If you post a link to an original sized file on Smugmug with the problem (make sure originals are enabled in a test gallery), I will look at it and tell you what color profile it is or anything else we see that's unusual.
    --John
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  • arodneyarodney Registered Users Posts: 2,005 Major grins
    edited August 28, 2007
    This may help. LR can present previews of images in two different ways: either using the cameras non-color-managed embedded previews or using LR's color managed rendered previews. The choice is made in the Import Photos dialog box. M

    Not really. Once you ask LR to build a thumbnail (all that takes is a trip into the Develop module), its going to build an initial rendering based on the presets. The original preview gets tossed pretty early on for good reasons. The option in Import is to speed it up so you can get to the editing of images faster instead of waiting for high quality thumbs.
    Andrew Rodney
    Author "Color Management for Photographers"
    http://www.digitaldog.net/
  • arodneyarodney Registered Users Posts: 2,005 Major grins
    edited August 28, 2007
    k2butter wrote:
    How do I see if they are adobergb?

    There are a few possibilities here. First, you're shooting Raw. There is no color space. LR does everything in a Linear encoded ProPhoto RGB working space. You can export that into one of three possible RGB working spaces (gamma corrected): sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998) or ProPhoto RGB. You can setup each as an export preset. So one could be low rez, 8-bit sRGB for the web, another full rez 8-bit in Adobe RGB and a third (or more) as ProPhoto RGB in 16-bit, full rez. You're simply telling LR how to render the Raw data into a color space, bit depth and pixel dimension.

    Now you have existing rendered images (Tiffs, JPEGs) you imported into LR. once again, IF you apply ANY editing in Develop or Quick Develop to that image, a copy is made, its converted to ProPhoto RGB and the edits are applied via instructions. From here you can again, export the data as above (one of three working spaces, various sizes and bit depths).

    Here's the issue. Say you import an image in sRGB and edit it in LR. You probably want sRGB out. But that's not guaranteed. It depends on the export preset. You need to be careful to honor the original working space if so desired (note, you gain nothing by starting out in sRGB and exporting in Adobe RGB (1998) or ProPhoto RGB). So you need to at the very least keep track of the output color space you want. It would be useful if LR, like Photoshop would remind you what the original color space is. You could import a Tiff in Adobe RGB (1998) and, not paying attention, export it back as sRGB. Might not be what you want.

    Setup your own Export presets with descriptive names, then when you're ready to export, pick the correct option.

    When you do an Edit in Photoshop, again, you have a dialog that will show you what color space will get used. Set your Photoshop color settings with all the warning check boxes on and the Policy to Preserver. If you mostly use sRGB, set that as your RGB working space and Photoshop will NOT bug you if that's the color space from LR.
    Andrew Rodney
    Author "Color Management for Photographers"
    http://www.digitaldog.net/
  • k2butterk2butter Registered Users Posts: 259 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2007
    Thank you all for your replies and trying to help me, I am still having issues, honestly, a lot of this goes right over my head... headscratch.gif I am new toLR (literally a few weeks) and I am a hobbyist photographer at best, I love what LR can do, but as far as much of the tech stuff, I get a bit lost! I am working on understanding the tech side of things more... so, maybe one of these days I will have it all figured out...

    I don't have a photo to point you to... sorry....
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