I've been having major color profile/color space issues and I'm desperate for some help.


Here's the deal: I used to do all of my proofing on my dell laptop b/c I didn't have PS for Mac yet. Anyways, It wasn't calibrated but my proofs from WHCC were always spot on with what I was seeing on my dell. Same goes for my web images I'd upload on flickr.

Now, I'm proofing on a Macbook Pro, Macbook Air and an iMac (none calibrated) and all of the images I've proofed look great until I upload them to flickr, then they look washed out and dull. I haven't proofed a client's session on any of my macs b/c I'm scared that the prints are going to come back looking like my flickr uploads.

I know it has to do with my settings, but I'm not sure exactly which ones need to be changed. I have everything set to the guidelines WHCC provides.

If I'm in PS, I go to view -> proof setup and It's set to Monitor RGB. Is that correct?
The Proof Colors in the view drop down is not selected. However, if I do select it, the photo changes and looks pretty much the same as what I'm seeing when I upload to flickr. If I start off selecting proof colors and then try and proof my photos, it still looks awful.

When I go to assign profile, I have it set to working rgb. I've attached a photo to show you what I'm seeing in PS (right) and flickr (left). Sorry it's so large but I wanted to ensure you could see what I was talking about. You can see that the tree colors are a lot less vibrant and the photo itself in a whole is just plain washed out.

Also, when I save, the embed color profile box IS checked.





Thanks in advance!

Hi Kim,

That does sound like a color space issue. Make sure you're converting to sRGB (not Adobe1998 RGB) before you save your web files. WHCC can print from either profile as long as you embed it, but the web only works in sRGB.

If that's not the problem, post back and we'll dig deeper. :-)

Thanks Bill. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure my settings are already set that way. I've attached a few photos that show all my settings. Let me know if you need more info. I really appreciate your help!

OK, I think you're right.

How are you opening the files? Are they RAW to start with or JPG? If RAW do you have the converter set to open them in sRGB? If JPG is the camera set to capture in sRGB or Adobe 1998?

One thing to note on 'convert to profile' dialog, you should change the Intent to 'Perceptual' to get the best conversion (keeping the pop in the colors).

Also, how are you saving the files for the web? are you using the 'save for web' command? If so it has a tendency to desaturate the output. I often bump saturation about 10% before using the save for web command.

OK, I've switched to Perceptual. Thanks.

My files are RAW and I import them into lightroom as my 1st step (I did this with my PC as well). I'm not sure how LR opens them?

I do not use the save for web feature. I never did when on a PC and my flickr web uploads always matched up with my PS photos and with my Macs, I just kept the same workflow. I'm just "saving as" and making sure the bx that says "embed color profile" is checked.

So you're importing to LR, then exporting as a JPG and then opening in PS? is that correct? If so then double check what profile you're exporting with in the LR export dialog. Is it sRGB? or something else?

Well, I'm importing RAW files into LR, exporting them as .psd files then opening them in PS. Just checked LR and when I export, under color space, sRGB is selected.

Hmmm - I'm sort of at a loss. If you export a JPG out of LR does it look good or washed out?

Is the issue only when you save a JPG out of PS? If so it must have something to do with the save settings... but I'm not sure what.

Anyone else?

Hi Kim

Which web browser are you using to view your images on flickr? Some browsers aren't actually color managed and therefor can't use your embedded sRGB profile. This would result in your images looking washed out in the browser.

Using 'Save As' instead of 'Save for web' is fine, I do the same myself. You don't really need to worry about checking anything in Proof Setup either unless you have a colour profile for a certain printer/paper etc so the way this is set is irrelevant.....unless of course you are retouching with proof setup on all the time? If that's not the case then my money is on the browser.

Is it an older version of Firefox or is it Internet Explorer? If it's Safari, I'm stumped........for now anyway.......



Alan

P.S. I would highly recommend getting your screens calibrated......

P.P.S You should also maybe think about using Adobe RGB (1998) as your main color space when you export from Lightroom as it is a much wider color gamut than sRGB. You would only have to convert to sRGB for any web files.