Dark/Shadow areas in Photoshop look horrible

JG
Posted By
John_Graham
Jul 3, 2007
Views
357
Replies
8
Status
Closed
When I view a picture in either Windows Picture Viewer or Adobe Image Photoshop Album Starter the dark areas (and the entire picture) look great. But, when I load the image in Photoshop CS2, the dark areas look horrible. It looks like a 256 color .gif or posterized effect. Now, it only happens in the dark areas. I can also tell that my entire image is brighter than whats viewed in other programs.

I’m aware of color management and such, but it just doesn’t make sense. I shoot in sRGB, Photoshop is set to work in sRGB but it doesn’t look the same. Why? It’s very frustrating!
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C
chrisjbirchall
Jul 3, 2007
Perhaps you’d like to post a screen grab showing an example. Use <http://www.pixentral.com> and post the HTML code they give you here.
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Jul 3, 2007
John, to post a screenshot, press PrtScrn, which captures the screen to the clipboard. Open a new image and "clipboard" should* be the default; pick it at 8bit RGB in MonitorRGB space. Paste. Convert to sRGB. Crop and save for web. Use pixentral to post it as Chris suggests.

* Sometimes Photoshop won’t recognize a screenshot on the clipboard for some reason. You can open Paint to a new document the size of your screen and paste it in this case, or get alternative screenshot software that saves to a file.
C
chrisjbirchall
Jul 3, 2007
Failing that, save out a downsized version of one of the files in question and post that for us to see.
RK
Rob_Keijzer
Jul 3, 2007
John,

Having Photoshop "set" to work in sRGB has little to do with showing images correctly.

sRGB is a colour space, not a profile of your monitor.

Photoshop, as a colour managed application, has no clue how RGB 220,100,180 for instance, is going to look like on your display. It might even be a monochrome display!

So you should calibrate and profile your monitor.
Calibrating is making the monitor tell the truth.
Profiling is telling Photoshop how that was achieved.

Good reading:

<http://www.computer-darkroom.com>

Hope this helps,

Rob
JG
John_Graham
Jul 3, 2007
Alright, here are the links:

Image in Photoshop (notice the dark areas in the background)

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1wb3UzRsr8fHyTizXu nbhtgvva5W2>

Image in Windows Picture Viewer

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1SjnC19epULlEJ5Xr1 jfYy3Brt3>

As you can see, in the Photoshop image, the black areas just drop-off (or crushed) very fast. It’s not a smooth gradient like in the Windows snap shot.

It can’t be my monitor’s settings. If that very same image can look good in other image programs, then my current monitor settings are fine. Also, everyone who looks at these images will see what I’m talking about whether they have a calibrated monitor or not.

It seems like there is just a boost in the gamma or black area in Photoshop and if I could just adjust that lower… Please help!
C
chrisjbirchall
Jul 3, 2007
I’ve taken your Windows Explorer screen shot (WE) and overlaid it on the Photoshop one (PS). Then cut away to leave a strip of one on top of the other. As you can see there is virtually no difference between the two.
RK
Rob_Keijzer
Jul 3, 2007
John,

This is precisely as I expected: You see something different than we. And in photoshop you see an erroneous image.

The fact that other applications show a proper image and Photoshop does not comes from Ps being Colour Managed.

And when there in no profile, or a corrupt profile you get this.

Again:

<http://www.computer-darkroom.com>

Rob
JG
John_Graham
Jul 3, 2007
LOL! I feel like such an idiot… OK, I just viewed my post on another computer that has a CRT monitor and there is absolutely no difference.

Chris, on your overlay I can still see a difference on my LCD but not on the CRT. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

I’m still VERY confused on all of this. I’ll be reading computer-darkroom now… I’m just so mad I’m not able to figure this out on my own!

Thanks to all who responded.

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