Color Settings Images are too warm and light while editing

PC
Posted By
Pete_Cofran
Feb 23, 2008
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573
Replies
15
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Closed
Can someone help me understand color settings in Photoshop. My images look much lighter and warmer when I edit them than when I export them using Save for Web.

For a while I though it was because I was importing a raw file with a different color depth and profile so when it got saved as a jpg that the colors and brightness would shift. Recently, I made a graphic in Photoshop and it still looked warmer than the export. I also know temperature is displayed wrong in photoshop because when I create a neutral gray color its too warm. When it’s exported using save for web the temperature is shown correctly.

If it was a mis calibrated monitor it would look warm all of the time. I’m using Photoshop CS3, my color profile is sRGB with color management turned off (its off because espon recommends this setting because it can better manage colors). Although I tried changing these settings and they don’t seem to make a difference. Here’s neutral gray image with screen caps to show you what I’m talking about.
< http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/pcofran/test/photosho p-color.jpg>
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RK
Rob_Keijzer
Feb 23, 2008
Pete,

If it was a mis calibrated monitor it would look warm all of the time

That’s not entirely true. If your monitor profile would be corrupt, a non-colour managed application wouldn’t show the defect since non-colour managed applications ignore it.

You best convert to sRGB before Save For Web. SFW can do this automatically through it’s preferences. Access that via the fly-out menu of the SFW interface.

Rob
PC
Pete_Cofran
Feb 23, 2008
Rob, what you said put me on to what might be the cause of the problem.

Many months back I was having problem getting my Epson printer to output the correct colors. It was suggested that I turn off photoshop’s color management and use Epson’s in the print dialog box.

So like you said I switched the color manage back on. But as I noted before it had no effect. It then occurred to me that I downloaded and installed a color profile that was suggested to be better for Epson printers. Short from having to completely uninstall and reinstall photoshop how do I restore it color profile/management back to the way it was?

Here’s another screen cap.
< http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/pcofran/test/photosho p-color2.jpg>
DM
dave_milbut
Feb 23, 2008
. Short from having to completely uninstall and reinstall photoshop how do I restore it color profile/management back to the way it was?

calibrate the monitor. if it’s a crt, something like quick gamma (free – google it) might work, but you’re better off getting a hardware calibrator.

something like:
<http://xrl.us/bgn7b> (Link to www.amazon.com)
RK
Rob_Keijzer
Feb 23, 2008
Pete,

What is your current monitor profile in Color Settings?

I’d suggest to make a new monitor profile, and convert images for web to sRGB (either automatically or manual).

Press Ctr-Y to toggle soft proof on/off to see if that’s the culprit.

Rob
PC
Pete_Cofran
Feb 23, 2008
My fundamental question is if you create a new document in sRGB working space, fill it with a neutral gray, then do a save for web, why is the color temperature changing? Is this normal? Is it unreasonable to expect that exporting to the same color space that the colors should remain the same?
RK
Rob_Keijzer
Feb 23, 2008
Is it unreasonable to ask what your monitor profile is? and what Colour space you’re in?

There are ten ways I can copy what you’re are experiencing, yet one to get it right.

Rob
PC
Pete_Cofran
Feb 23, 2008
I’m not sure where I get my monitor profile.

1. In Photoshop Edit > Color Settings > sRGB IEC61966-2.1 Is this the color space?

2. I’m using an Samsung SyncMaster 915N LCD screen

3. I just downloaded a monitor calibration tool and configured it to my display.
B
Buko
Feb 23, 2008
if you are using an LCD its really recommended that you use a hardware calibrator.

Like an X-rite EyeOne 2.

LCDs don’t calibrate all that well with eyeball calibrators.
J
Jim
Feb 23, 2008
wrote in message
Rob, what you said put me on to what might be the cause of the problem.
Many months back I was having problem getting my Epson printer to output the correct colors. It was suggested that I turn off photoshop’s color management and use Epson’s in the print dialog box.

So like you said I switched the color manage back on. But as I noted before it had no effect. It then occurred to me that I downloaded and installed a color profile that was suggested to be better for Epson printers. Short from having to completely uninstall and reinstall photoshop how do I restore it color profile/management back to the way it was?

Here’s another screen cap.
< http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/pcofran/test/photosho p-color2.jpg>
Uninstalling and reinstalling Photoshop will make no difference. Jim
PC
Pete_Cofran
Feb 23, 2008
I just went over to a friends house who got the same version and his isn’t acting like mine and he doesen’t have any fancy calibration software, just a standard install of photoshop. So, I’ll do a reinstall of my photoshop and hopefully that will clear things up.

No offense guys but I don’t think you understand what those calibration packages are for. They calibrate your monitor to other devices like printer/scanner/camera. In my situation I’m dealing with apples to apples. That is, an image created in Photoshop using the same color space and exporting to the same color space and viewing it on the same monitor. Is it that hard to understand there is nothing to calibrate the monitor to?

In my case the final output is for a web page that people with all sorts of different monitors and color profiles will be viewing it. All I need to know is when I create or import an image in Photoshop that its accurately displays its hue and brightness. Because if it shows everything too warm and bright and i compensate it will end up making it look too cool and dark on everyone else’s computer.
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Feb 23, 2008
Calibration tools calibrate your monitor to produce colors on screen that will look proper given your room lighting. Think of calibration as being a very precise, accurate adjustment to the contrast, brightness, and RGB controls of your monitor. Obviously, if these controls are set differently, your images will view differently. Calibration results in the monitor being set properly for display of images at a known gamma. You can get fairly good, but not totally accurate, calibration visually, without a colorimeter, using appropriate software tools.

Calibration tools also produce a profile that allows color managed software, such as Photoshop, to adjust its output for very precise reproduction within the gamut of your display. Again, there are some tools that produce a profile visually, but you get better results with a colorimeter.

Why should this be necessary? You want to display your images with the intended colors. You also want the proper colors to be sent to your printer or the files on your website. If your monitor isn’t properly calibrated and profiled, pixels from the image file that are, say, light gray (RGB 200,200,200) might appear as middle gray, near-white, or even tinged with red or blue. If you adjust the colors in the image file so it displays the way you want it, the pixels in the file will no longer be light gray and will display as something else entirely on a different monitor, when printed, or when viewed at a website.
B
Buko
Feb 23, 2008
I don’t think you understand what those calibration packages are for.

No you don’t understand and the fact that you are having problems is proof. Michael did a nice job of explaining why your monitor needs to be calibrated. Also just reinstalling Photoshop is not going to somehow magically calibrate your system. You would be better served to read up on color management instead of wasting time reinstalling.
PC
Pete_Cofran
Feb 24, 2008
Rob Keijzer, you had the right answer. It was the monitor profile. When I went into my control panel, I stumble upon the video card application, tucked away there was the monitor profile setting. Switched it to sRGB and it fixed it! Dam such a little thing can make a big difference. All this time I thought the setting would be in Photoshop.

thx for the help

Pete
RK
Rob_Keijzer
Feb 24, 2008
Pete,

It’s still wrong. sRGB is NOT your monitor profile. It is your Colour Space.

That the image looks good on it is coincidence. You might just as well put a physical magenta filter in front of your monitor if that’s too cyan, and conclude that your image is properly colour corrected.

Calibrate/profile your monitor. The results ought to be saved in an .icc or an .icm file.

Let’s call it "monitor_080224.icc"

In Windows this should be the standard profile.

When you launch PS, open Color Settings, then pull down Work Space and next to "Monitor" should be this newly saved profile.

Like this one:

<http://www.faces-and-stuff.nl/Forum/CS-dialog.jpg>

This is the proper way.

Rob
JJ
John_Joslin
Feb 24, 2008
Some people never get it 🙁

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