Lightroom colors

[0ptics]

Hello,

I don't know much about color gamut and etc. but I use Lightroom 3 to edit all my photos and ViewNX 2 to view/organize them. I really like the colors that these two programs allow me to see, but after I am done post-processing them I convert them to JPEG so I can upload them to flickr. But I noticed that flickr over saturates it's colors thus making them different from my LR editing. I also post my pictures on Facebook (I know, I wasn't except be the same as LR) and they look over saturated just like the ones on flickr. I opened those same images on Picasa and again they were over saturated JPEGS. I tried converting them under AdobeRGB, sRGB, and ProPhoto RGB and still over saturated when viewing them on flickr/facebook/etc. Basically I want my photos to have the same colors that I edit/view on Lightroom/ViewNX in JPEG format.

Thank you
0ptics

 

[Light Guru]

You should calibrate your display using a device like the spider or color monkey.

 

[Josh66]

Is your monitor calibrated/profiled?

Assuming that the color space is the same, they really should look the same on your computer as they do online... It could be that Lightroom is using a different profile than your system default.

My monitor is calibrated, and that profile is installed system-wide - everything looks the same to me...

 

[KmH]

Lightroom uses a wide gamut color space very much like ProPhoto RGB.
Is your computer display calibrated?

When you export for display online be sure you convert to sRGB. The web is effectively sRGB.

Next. Not all online destinations are color managed. Which basically means there is little beyond assigning sRGB you can do about how a particular web site displays your photos.

 

[0ptics]

You should calibrate your display using a device like the spider or color monkey.

Is your monitor calibrated/profiled?

Assuming that the color space is the same, they really should look the same on your computer as they do online... It could be that Lightroom is using a different profile than your system default.

My monitor is calibrated, and that profile is installed system-wide - everything looks the same to me...

I'm not good with any of the technical stuff when it comes to photography/computers; I'm assuming my monitor is not calibrated. I don't know how to calibrate my monitor; and I will check out Spider/Color Monkey.

Lightroom uses a wide gamut color space very much like ProPhoto RGB.
Is your computer display calibrated?

When you export for display online be sure you convert to sRGB. The web is effectively sRGB.

Next. Not all online destinations are color managed. Which basically means there is little beyond assigning sRGB you can do about how a particular web site displays your photos.

No I do not think my computer/monitor is calibrated; I have my laptop and a Samsung monitor, so dual monitor; I use my Samsung monitor to do all my editing/post-processing. Also when I took a intro to photography class, my professor said to use AdobeRGB, is that only for prints and sRGB is better for online?

Again thank you all, I don't know much about calibrating, colors, etc.

 

[Josh66]

If you don't know that it definitely is, it probably isn't... The process itself is not hard, you just need the equipment to do it.

 

[hirejn]

I would guess that the sites are displaying a file stripped of its color profile, if you gave it a color profile. Then by default the image might display as your monitor or browser tells it to, which could be oversaturated. The first step is calibrate the monitor. Then you know what you're looking at in LR is fairly accurate. Then it will be easier to judge what happens later. Right now you have no idea what the image should look like so it doesn't pay to do any serious editing. Brightness, contrast and color can easily be affected by an uncalibrated monitor. For example, if a file contains good data, but your monitor is showing it bright, and you darken it, the real image gets extra dark because you darkened an already-well exposed image. But you didn't know it was well exposed because your monitor wasn't calibrated. With a calibrated monitor, you're looking at accurate rendering of the file.

Color management is a process, and no AdobeRGB isn't necessarily the best default. It depends on what you're doing with the image. For online, yes you do want sRGB because most monitors use that.

 

[Ysarex]

You should calibrate your display using a device like the spider or color monkey.

Is your monitor calibrated/profiled?

Assuming that the color space is the same, they really should look the same on your computer as they do online... It could be that Lightroom is using a different profile than your system default.

My monitor is calibrated, and that profile is installed system-wide - everything looks the same to me...

I'm not good with any of the technical stuff when it comes to photography/computers; I'm assuming my monitor is not calibrated. I don't know how to calibrate my monitor; and I will check out Spider/Color Monkey.

Lightroom uses a wide gamut color space very much like ProPhoto RGB.
Is your computer display calibrated?

When you export for display online be sure you convert to sRGB. The web is effectively sRGB.

Next. Not all online destinations are color managed. Which basically means there is little beyond assigning sRGB you can do about how a particular web site displays your photos.

No I do not think my computer/monitor is calibrated; I have my laptop and a Samsung monitor, so dual monitor; I use my Samsung monitor to do all my editing/post-processing. Also when I took a intro to photography class, my professor said to use AdobeRGB, is that only for prints and sRGB is better for online?

Again thank you all, I don't know much about calibrating, colors, etc.

Sorry about the bad info from your prof, unfortunately the problem is endemic.

Flickr isn't doing anything to your photos to alter them. You've got multiple problems.

First: As others have noted you need to calibrate your display and that requires a hardware device for example: X-Rite: CMUNDIS : ColorMunki Display

Second: You're editing your photos in LR which requires access to your display profile which you don't really have yet. LR is using a generic display profile supplied by your OS and that's not helping you at all. To the extent that your canned display profile is off (trust me it's off) LR's rendition of your photos is off.

Third: How are you viewing your photos once they're uploaded to Flickr? What OS and web browser are you using? Odds are that your web browser isn't recognizing the embedded Adobe RGB ICC profile that your prof incorrectly told you to use. That would explain what you're seeing.

What to do: When you save JPEGs from LR use the sRGB color space. LR has a proof option that will allow you to see if any minor changes occur. Any photos that you upload to the internet (anywhere on the internet) should be tagged with the sRGB color space -- not Adobe RGB. Start questioning the authority of your prof.

Start saving up and get that monitor calibrator: LR needs it and you need it.

Joe

 

[0ptics]

I would guess that the sites are displaying a file stripped of its color profile, if you gave it a color profile. Then by default the image might display as your monitor or browser tells it to, which could be oversaturated. The first step is calibrate the monitor. Then you know what you're looking at in LR is fairly accurate. Then it will be easier to judge what happens later. Right now you have no idea what the image should look like so it doesn't pay to do any serious editing. Brightness, contrast and color can easily be affected by an uncalibrated monitor. For example, if a file contains good data, but your monitor is showing it bright, and you darken it, the real image gets extra dark because you darkened an already-well exposed image. But you didn't know it was well exposed because your monitor wasn't calibrated. With a calibrated monitor, you're looking at accurate rendering of the file.

Color management is a process, and no AdobeRGB isn't necessarily the best default. It depends on what you're doing with the image. For online, yes you do want sRGB because most monitors use that.

Thanks for the information hirejn, ya any help on how to calibrate would be awesome. I'll start converting to sRGB instead!

Sorry about the bad info from your prof, unfortunately the problem is endemic.

Flickr isn't doing anything to your photos to alter them. You've got multiple problems.

First: As others have noted you need to calibrate your display and that requires a hardware device for example: X-Rite: CMUNDIS : ColorMunki Display

Second: You're editing your photos in LR which requires access to your display profile which you don't really have yet. LR is using a generic display profile supplied by your OS and that's not helping you at all. To the extent that your canned display profile is off (trust me it's off) LR's rendition of your photos is off.

Third: How are you viewing your photos once they're uploaded to Flickr? What OS and web browser are you using? Odds are that your web browser isn't recognizing the embedded Adobe RGB ICC profile that your prof incorrectly told you to use. That would explain what you're seeing.

What to do: When you save JPEGs from LR use the sRGB color space. LR has a proof option that will allow you to see if any minor changes occur. Any photos that you upload to the internet (anywhere on the internet) should be tagged with the sRGB color space -- not Adobe RGB. Start questioning the authority of your prof.

Start saving up and get that monitor calibrator: LR needs it and you need it.

Joe

Do I really have to purchase X-Rite to calibrate? That has to be a easier way to instead of purchasing that device :/...I am using Google Chrome; I try and match me colors to Apple monitors since everyone tells me they have the closest color match to real life so when I do post my photos on Flickr I use my friends Apple to compare it to mine. That probably is a terrible way to compare colors and I'm sure there's a lot of factors to affect monitors colors, but better than nothing I guess. And yes, I will use sRGB now, thanks!

Basically this is what I see;



As you can see, the Photoshop (Left) is more saturated and less yellow while the LR and the ViewNX are the similar (what I wanted to look like after I edited them). I like LR and ViewNX one because the sky is not too blue and has a warmer temperature. But when I open it on Abode Photoshop, the colors change.

 

[KmH]

You not only need the calibrating hardware device, you need the software that comes with it.
You will also need to re-calibrate the display on a regular basis, like every 14 to 30 days or so, or whenever the ambient light falling on the display changes.

These tutorials include info on color spaces and calibrating your display - Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

 

[Ysarex]

I would guess that the sites are displaying a file stripped of its color profile, if you gave it a color profile. Then by default the image might display as your monitor or browser tells it to, which could be oversaturated. The first step is calibrate the monitor. Then you know what you're looking at in LR is fairly accurate. Then it will be easier to judge what happens later. Right now you have no idea what the image should look like so it doesn't pay to do any serious editing. Brightness, contrast and color can easily be affected by an uncalibrated monitor. For example, if a file contains good data, but your monitor is showing it bright, and you darken it, the real image gets extra dark because you darkened an already-well exposed image. But you didn't know it was well exposed because your monitor wasn't calibrated. With a calibrated monitor, you're looking at accurate rendering of the file.

Color management is a process, and no AdobeRGB isn't necessarily the best default. It depends on what you're doing with the image. For online, yes you do want sRGB because most monitors use that.

Thanks for the information hirejn, ya any help on how to calibrate would be awesome. I'll start converting to sRGB instead!

Sorry about the bad info from your prof, unfortunately the problem is endemic.

Flickr isn't doing anything to your photos to alter them. You've got multiple problems.

First: As others have noted you need to calibrate your display and that requires a hardware device for example: X-Rite: CMUNDIS : ColorMunki Display

Second: You're editing your photos in LR which requires access to your display profile which you don't really have yet. LR is using a generic display profile supplied by your OS and that's not helping you at all. To the extent that your canned display profile is off (trust me it's off) LR's rendition of your photos is off.

Third: How are you viewing your photos once they're uploaded to Flickr? What OS and web browser are you using? Odds are that your web browser isn't recognizing the embedded Adobe RGB ICC profile that your prof incorrectly told you to use. That would explain what you're seeing.

What to do: When you save JPEGs from LR use the sRGB color space. LR has a proof option that will allow you to see if any minor changes occur. Any photos that you upload to the internet (anywhere on the internet) should be tagged with the sRGB color space -- not Adobe RGB. Start questioning the authority of your prof.

Start saving up and get that monitor calibrator: LR needs it and you need it.

Joe

Do I really have to purchase X-Rite to calibrate? That has to be a easier way to instead of purchasing that device :/...I am using Google Chrome; I try and match me colors to Apple monitors since everyone tells me they have the closest color match to real life so when I do post my photos on Flickr I use my friends Apple to compare it to mine. That probably is a terrible way to compare colors and I'm sure there's a lot of factors to affect monitors colors, but better than nothing I guess. And yes, I will use sRGB now, thanks!

Basically this is what I see;

View attachment 44665

As you can see, the Photoshop (Left) is more saturated and less yellow while the LR and the ViewNX are the similar (what I wanted to look like after I edited them). I like LR and ViewNX one because the sky is not too blue and has a warmer temperature. But when I open it on Abode Photoshop, the colors change.

You can solve your most immediate problem by installing and using Firefox instead of Chrome. Reading into what you've said I assume your computer isn't a MAC. Read this: BEST FIREFOX TEST PAGE How To Enable FULL COLOR MANAGEMENT of ICC Profiles in FF16 Fire Fox 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 News FF6 FF5 FF4 FF3 FF 3.6

You need ultimately to get and use a hardware calibration and profiling device. The X-rite colorimeter I linked for you is one of the best but there are other alternatives including less expensive alternatives. Not using one is not an alternative. You will continue to have color discrepancy problems until you get and use a hardware calibrator. Amazon.com: Datacolor Spyder4Express S4X100 Display Calibration Device: Camera & Photo

Sounds like you're getting a lot of bad info. Being sold by Apple does not make a display any better. If it's uncalibrated it will cause just as much trouble. Apple makes nothing anymore and the components they buy and use are available to anyone. The display technology matters and you'll get your best results from an IPS or PVA technology display. Apple buys their IPS panels from LG. You can too.

Joe