What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Started Feb 4, 2013 | Discussions
SenorBeef Regular Member • Posts: 302
What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

I do 95% of my editing in lightroom, but occasionally I will export an image into CS5 to do some touching up. This is one such picture. I exported the picture as a jpeg with the colors/exposure/etc I wanted from lightroom, and use the clone tool to touch up some parts with photoshop. Saved that jpeg, and I like the result.

I drop the image into my desktop pool, so it's occasionally my desktop. While on my desktop, the image is signicantly different than the actual jpeg file when you view it in a jpeg viewer. It's darker, more brown. At first I thought it was just a weird desktop thing, but then I uploaded the photo to 500px. Now the preview image, the little 100x100 image on my profile on 500px, is that same darker, brown-colored image. But when you click through that image to the main image, it's now correctly colored again.

So basically, the same jpeg is displaying differently in jpeg viewers vs my desktop. And the same difference occurs in the 500px preview and full image.

Here's a screenshot of my desktop to show what it looks like on my desktop vs in a jpeg viewer. Same difference occured on 500px preview vs full image. When I upload to flickr, the image is the bright colorful one, but when I directly upload the image to imgur, it's the dark, faded one.

http://i.imgur.com/0j0WC4R.jpg

If you need the image itself for exif, here http://i.imgur.com/A1np7sw.jpg

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mikes
mikes Veteran Member • Posts: 3,451
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

I opened it up in Corel and a few other programs, and all appeared the same as PS. The other software is assigning an alternate profile (I guess). Here is a color adjusted image that suits my taste, maybe not perfect, but close.



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OP SenorBeef Regular Member • Posts: 302
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Thanks, I wasn't looking for different takes on the coloring though, I'm just trying to figure out why it's so squirrely and I figured as experience photoshop users you guys would know.

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Redcrown Senior Member • Posts: 1,901
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences
1

Your post does not say anything about the colorspace you used, and the two jpegs you linked do not have any embedded profile. They are untagged. And your problem sounds and looks like a result of mismatched color profiles.

So depending on what program displays the image (Photoshop, Windows Desktop, an unnamed jpeg viewer, 500px via an unnamed browser), what colorspace the image is actually in, and whether the image is tagged or not, you may get different results.

Recommend you make sure the jpeg image is exported from LR in sRGB, and that sRGB is maintained as it passes through Photoshop, and that the EXIF is not stripped. Then it should look the same everywhere.

Mark K W Senior Member • Posts: 1,770
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

As per above post you need to use sRGB consistently for all images you export outside of Adobe (meaning the combination of Lightroom and Photoshop), but you need to also check your monitor profile.

Lightroom and Photoshop may be using one monitor profile (in a sense the correct one, since those are both fully colour-managed applications), whereas other apps such as browsers or image-viewers or desktop are assuming a default monitor profile. Different browsers and other apps handle an sRGB image vs a no-profile image differently, and that can then be compounded if the monitor profile is not set-up correctly.

Ideally, you should calibrate your monitor, either with a 3rd party puck and proper calibration software, or else using some of the other software tools to calibrate by eye.

At least check what monitor profile you have set, and if it is not an appropriate one (i.e. not one for your monitor type), set it to one that is right. Make sure you re-boot your computer before checking which monitor profile and how it looks, and then reboot again after changing the profile; just in case the problem is actually a monitor profile which has been corrupted somehow in your computer's memory.

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Mark S Abeln
Mark S Abeln Forum Pro • Posts: 20,194
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

When I pull the photo into Photoshop, and assign the ProPhoto color space to your image, it looks to be identical to what you show in your screenshot.

Make sure that your photos always have a color profile. If your photo will be displayed on an ordinary monitor or uploaded to the web, it needs the sRGB color profile.

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OP SenorBeef Regular Member • Posts: 302
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Weird. When I try to save an image in photoshop, ICC Profile: sRGB is checked. So I don't know how one got saved without it.

Where else besides the save dialog do you set the color space of your images? Is there a way to force one by default?

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Sunshine_boy
Sunshine_boy Veteran Member • Posts: 4,823
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

SenorBeef wrote:

Weird. When I try to save an image in photoshop, ICC Profile: sRGB is checked. So I don't know how one got saved without it.

Where else besides the save dialog do you set the color space of your images? Is there a way to force one by default?

All poster comments regarding embedded profiles are correct. Bear in mind though that there are viewers that do not use the embedded profile unless they are 'told' so. Also a 'less quality' viewer may only use sRGB with no other options. Best to use sRGB throughout your processing. If you are getting weird results with a viewer, then look into the options offered by that viewer.

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Mark K W Senior Member • Posts: 1,770
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Pretty much all photo-sites re-encode your image on upload (they have to do this as they are re-sizing it to their own requirements - for thumbnail-size, preview-size, full-size, etc..).

Some retain the image profile as is, some assume what they find is sRGB (i.e. they may just assign sRGB, meaning they assume it is sRGB data and just (re-)write the sRGB profile there). Some just resample the image and strip any profile info that was there.

Depends also who is the branded site owner, as well as who is the server hosting company - e.g. some DPR images you will find on DPR servers and they will have a profile in, but if you put them (e.g.) to a competition, they go onto Amazon's servers (Amazon own DPR) and the profile gets stripped (apparently; I noticed this when checking a similar issue for someone else).

__

You set the image color-profile from Lightroom in the Export menu. LR always embeds the profile.

In Photoshop (CS) you select to include it to the file on Save, Save As, or Save for Web and Devices (Save for Web and Devices is the better menu if you are saving for web or desktop, etc., because that menu is sort of designed for sRGB export with embedded profile). You can also change the image's color-profile in Edit... Convert to Profile. Photoshop also allows you to set its default working color-space and to warn and prompt for action if it enounters an image that is not in that color-space. Those menus are under Edit... Color Settings.

[Refer also my reply above re. also checking/setting your monitor profile.]

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suddie1215 Veteran Member • Posts: 3,818
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Your photo was saved using the ProPhoto color space and that accounts for the diiference you're seeing when viewed outside of Photoshop.

By default, a photo transferred from Lightroom to Photoshop will have the ProPhoto color space unless you change the settings (see Edit > Preferences > External Editing in Lightroom).  So after completing editing in Photoshop you need to convert the color space to sRGB before saving.  Use the Edit > Convert to Profile command, and select sRGB IEC-61966-2.1 from the drop-down list.

SenorBeef wrote:

I do 95% of my editing in lightroom, but occasionally I will export an image into CS5 to do some touching up. This is one such picture. I exported the picture as a jpeg with the colors/exposure/etc I wanted from lightroom, and use the clone tool to touch up some parts with photoshop. Saved that jpeg, and I like the result.

I drop the image into my desktop pool, so it's occasionally my desktop. While on my desktop, the image is signicantly different than the actual jpeg file when you view it in a jpeg viewer. It's darker, more brown. At first I thought it was just a weird desktop thing, but then I uploaded the photo to 500px. Now the preview image, the little 100x100 image on my profile on 500px, is that same darker, brown-colored image. But when you click through that image to the main image, it's now correctly colored again.

So basically, the same jpeg is displaying differently in jpeg viewers vs my desktop. And the same difference occurs in the 500px preview and full image.

Here's a screenshot of my desktop to show what it looks like on my desktop vs in a jpeg viewer. Same difference occured on 500px preview vs full image. When I upload to flickr, the image is the bright colorful one, but when I directly upload the image to imgur, it's the dark, faded one.

http://i.imgur.com/0j0WC4R.jpg

If you need the image itself for exif, here http://i.imgur.com/A1np7sw.jpg

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OP SenorBeef Regular Member • Posts: 302
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Is there some way I can edit the image to change the color profile without the destructive effects of saving a jpeg twice?

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suddie1215 Veteran Member • Posts: 3,818
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Saving a JPEG twice is not destructive; you'd typically have to open and save a JPEG quite a large number of times before generational loss due to compression is noticeable.

No, you can't change the currently assigned color space without resaving the JPEG.  Alternatively, you can re-edit the raw file and this time follow proper color management techniques.

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Sailor Blue
Sailor Blue Forum Pro • Posts: 15,536
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences
1

SenorBeef wrote:

Is there some way I can edit the image to change the color profile without the destructive effects of saving a jpeg twice?

Yes. Do not export the image as a JPG before opening the image in Photoshop.

Next time use the Lightroom keyboard shortcut, Ctrl (Command) + E, to Export the image as a 16-git TIFF or PSD (you chose which in LR Preferences) directly into Photoshop.  Do your editing on the TIFF or PSD image then save the file as described below.

Adobe recommends you work in ProPhoto color space in Photoshop if you are also using Lightroom. This does cause one problem, if you use the Photoshop File/Save As/JPEG command the image has the ProPhoto color space embedded in the file and it won't display with the correct colors.

As mentioned, you can first use the Edit/Convert to Profile/sRGB command then use the File/Save As command to get a JPG with the correct embedded color profile.

The alternative in CS6 is to use the File/Save for Web command, which will automatically save a JPG with the embedded sRGB color space. With CS5 or earlier versions you need to first reduce the size of the file to the size you want for the web using the Image/Image Size command, then you can use the File/Save for Web and Devices command to save the file with the correct sRGB color space embedded in the file.

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OP SenorBeef Regular Member • Posts: 302
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

Thanks guys, that took care of everything.

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Imagesbylm New Member • Posts: 1
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

I just googled this topic because I am having the same problem and my work flow is in a similar pattern. My image shows up perfect in 500px from my desktop(mac) and I also pulled it up on my MacBook Pro, the same, perfect color. But when u pull up from iPhone it shows a muddy purple hue yuck image. I wonder why this is happening. Caused me to wonder about my own desktop calibration so I ran my spyder5pro software 5 times to just make sure I'm on target but still visually it is still ugly from iPhone 6. So does the image actually looks that way or is it just the iPhone 6 becomes the question were you ever able to find out an answer to this ?

ShayeRyan New Member • Posts: 1
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

I had the same problem and found this FIX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_xN2kLVCE

JohnWheeler Contributing Member • Posts: 771
Re: What did Photoshop do to my image? Weird color differences

I believe the issue is resolved yet to make it a bit more specific visually, I took the image data, and had it interpreted as ProPhoto RGB Color Space / Scale in a color managed application / system for the top image and then showed what the same  ProPhoto RGB image data appears  is interpreted as sRGB  Color Space / Scale appears in a non Color Managed application / system.

Seems to match exactly what you were observing.

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