Photos load dark @ 27% RGB

CY
Posted By
Cliff Young
Aug 27, 2003
Views
461
Replies
13
Status
Closed
I have been using Essentials which came with my Canon Scanner and although limited when I open a photo it opens in it’s original colors as saved in My Pictures. I just downloaded V7 on a Try and Buy when I open a photo it opens dark @ 27% RGB. I won’t fool with brightness because it isn’t needed. What’s the problem?
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Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 27, 2003
. I won’t fool with brightness because it isn’t needed. What’s the problem?

In short, Color Management. Adobe Photoshop is a color managed application, your other application isn’t. The first thing that needs to be done is to calibrate your monitor with Adobe Gamma in the Control Panel

You DO need to fool with the brightness (and contrast) because it IS needed.

Spend 15 minutes here and you’ll understand.

<http://www.computer-darkroom.com/ps7-colour/ps7_1.htm>
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 28, 2003
Cliff,

What you are reporting is exactly what one would expect. Here’s the story. Ian Lyons has explained this information far better than I could, and whatever I say is going to be a basic regurgitation of what he said. Ian’s link is the one I posted previously. You should really read it.

But I know you want the quick and short answer so here it is:

Because. (I’m kidding – couldn’t help it).

The answer is this: Photoshop is a color managed application. It is one of a handful of color managed applications. Non-color managed applications ignore the color profile embedded in the image. So what you see in photoshop in your current working space is not what you will see (exactly) in a non color managed application.

Image Ready was designed for web graphics. Web is NOT color managed, ergo, IR strips color profiles from the image since they are useless on the web.

What you did was you told photoshop in #3 above to manually strip the profile from the image. That’s why it looks like it will in a non-color managed application.

Monitor Calibration? If your monitor were calibrated correctly, you would barely notice the difference between that color space and what you see in a non-color managed application. But it’s not calibrated.

Windows ships with very dark screen settings. Not good, but everyone uses them since not many use color management. The folks who need color management calibrate their monitor, then choose a working color space. That color space is embedded in an image called a color profile.

I use color management. When I work on Web Graphics, I often switch to a Web Color Space, or sRGB. My monitor is calibrated, I never see the problem you see (anymore).

So why have color management if it screws things up? Two reasons. Printing is the first. You want to print what you see on screen – reliably? You need to coordinate the different ways to represent color from your devices (scanner, printer, monitor), and color management is it.

The second reason is: sharing images. You want that Cover Girl ad to go to someone else for some work? You guys better be talking about the same colors or you won’t get what you want. You need a mechanism to share what red is red, and what red is maroon (kind of).

So. Go forth young designer, and spend 15 minutes at Ian’s site and you’ll understand.

Peace,
Tony
P
Phosphor
Aug 28, 2003
Adobe 7.0?

I didn’t realize our corporation had 6 clones.

(Adobe is a company, not a product)
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 28, 2003
<chuckle>
L
LenHewitt
Aug 28, 2003
Cliff,

it says .jpg @ 27% (RGB) <<

That is merely the enlargement ratio at which the image loads. This is determined by the size of the image and the available screen space, so that the image doesn’t disappear behind open palettes etc.

As to the colours – DO follow the link to Ian Lyon’s site that Tony gave you, and spend a little time reading there.
V
viol8ion
Aug 28, 2003
Chris

(Adobe is a company, not a product)

Could you xerox that for me?
CY
Cliff Young
Aug 28, 2003
Thanks for all your advice….I have visited Ian Lyon’s site and printed out all the info for monitor calibration.

Tonight in the darkness of my computer office I will let the Wizard lead me thru.

I will post the results.

Thanx
CY
Cliff Young
Aug 29, 2003
Look guys I admit that I’m not the brightest.

I’ve read Ian’s Color Management backwards and forwards and admit I probably didn’t understand two words.

I have calibrated my monitor and must admit my screen looks 100% better.

Photoshop/Color settings

Default is Color Management Off.

Now the only way I can get the Embedded profile Mismatch window from not appearing when I try to open a file was to select Custom

RGB: sRGBIEC61966-2.1

and under Color Management for all three options select Preserve Embedded Profiles

Now a photo opens in all it’s glorious original colors.

Sure I can go back to Color Settings and under RBG select my new monitor profile ‘Northern Lights 29/08/03’
but under Color Management the only choice I have under RGB is Off as the other two choices are greyed out. CMYK and Gray still leaves me with all 3 options:

Off
Preserve Embedded Profiles
Convert to Working RGB

If I can’t choose my new monitor profile under RGB what was the purpose of the whole exercise except to improve the quality of my esktop image?
L
LenHewitt
Aug 29, 2003
Cliff,

Firstly, do not have colour management off.

Set your Working RGB profile to sRGB and the profile mismatch to Convert to Working RGB. Images will now appear much as they do in any other non-colour managed application.
SP
Serge P
Aug 29, 2003
Hi Cliff, did you say that your Working space is your monitor space? That could be the problem.
CY
Cliff Young
Aug 30, 2003
Hi Len and Serge, maybe calibrating the monitor solved the whole problem in some hidden way?

Basically I have under Settings Web Graphics Defaults

and under RGB I have sRGBIEC61966-2.1

and under Color Management Profiles everything is Off

I’m not complaining because when I open a file it opens in it’s original colors and not as it would before very, very dark.

Serge, under Profile Mismatch I don’t have the option to check Convert to Working RGB I only have Ask When Opening (which is checked) and Ask When Pasting (greyed out)?
P
Phosphor
Aug 31, 2003
Calibrating the display solved the problem, because that WAS the problem. There’s nothing "hidden" about it.
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 31, 2003
Which brings us back to Post #1.

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

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