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Question on color profile management

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dapascha
 
Posts: 404

Question on color profile management

Post Mon Dec 15, 2008 3:32 pm


I've been googling and experimenting for a while now, but the frustration has gotten to me, so I'll just ask the question... I've noticed my photos look decidedly different while editing in PS and when viewing them through a browser. Now I know this has something to do with different color profiles and the way different software interprets digital color data, but after (seemingly...) trying out every combination of profile conversion/assigning I get a whole range of varying differences between viewing an image in PS and online, but still: they're always different.

I'm not much interested in printing my photos, and not even in getting my colors as realistic as possible, I'm just an amateur with a hobby, so for now I'm only interested in getting them to look okay on pBbase. I've read that for the web the sRGB profile (is this the same as the "sRGBb IEC61966-2.1" that PS lists? or the e-sRGB?) is mostly used, but when I assign this profile (and/or convert it) to my images, save them as JPEGS, they still look different in a browser. I'm using a Konica Minolta Dynax 5D and use RAW images for editing (which in my camera's case use Adobe RGB I believe).

Can anyone give me a few tips on how to fix this? Any help or understanding would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks in advance!
Jasja.

dang
 
Posts: 3780

Re: Question on color profile management

Post Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:12 pm


There's numerous threads about this subject you can find by doing a forum search - at the top, just below the blue Pbase bar. :wink: Type in color profile, and you'll find lots of info...

But for quick reference, web standard is sRGB. Anything different will be converted, and you'll run into problems.
Next, be sure you calibrate your monitor.
Different browsers also make a difference. Again, searching for color profile should show topics with links.

By posting anything larger than 800 pixels on the longest side results in most people viewing a large size photo which has been compressed by Pbase. I'm running 1280 res, and your originals are too large for the screen. Since the compression used here isn't the best, you'll likely find artifacts in otherwise clean shots. Also, when you post larger sized images, they're more likely to be copied and printed by others. Something to think about...

It's also good to downsize first, make all adjustments and sharpen last. Use "Save As" for the copy, and you'll maintain your exif data. A good size for web around 200 kb or so, depending on the amount of detail in the shot.

If you can't find the info using search, let us know and someone will point you in the right direction. :wink:

dapascha
 
Posts: 404

Re: Question on color profile management

Post Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:28 am


Hey dang,

Thanks for your reply, I sort of knew I could have find out more by myself with some clever searching, but I guess laziness struck hard... so thanks for helping me out. I think I've got everything set up correctly now.

And about the file size... I was probably a little hesitant to 'throw away' good image data, but I guess you're right in saying most image data won't show up (correctly) on screen anyway, and of course I still have the originals on my computer at home. I'm constantly planning on re-organizing and cleaning up my galleries to... but making new ones is much more fun!

Thanks again for your assistance, much appreciated!

Jasja.

ernst
 
Posts: 537
Location: Maastricht, Netherlands

Re: Question on color profile management

Post Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:28 pm


Jasja,
If you only want to display your photos on the web (and occasionally print some), then it is easiest to keep your entire workflow in sRGB. And yes, that is the same as Photoshop's sRGB IEC61966-2.1.
So, set your camera and raw converter and photoshop color space all to sRGB and you should be fine. Remember to embed the color profile when saving your files as jpeg. There's a little checkmark in the Save As dialog box.

You'll lose some color information by working in sRGB (compared to AdobeRGB or ProphotoRGB) but without direct comparison there's no-one who can see the difference... :D

By the way, always convert to another color profile instead of assigning, otherwise you'll get unwanted color shifts.

Good luck!


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