why does Lightroom and Photoshop produce diffrent colours in Pics ??

[PeterB]

Hi All


Can anyone explain why the image I see in the Lightroom Develop window doesn't quite match when I open it in Photoshop after export from Lightroom?
It's pretty close, and easy to correct, but I would prefer the Lightroom file to look identical when opened in Photoshop.


My Lightroom Export setting is set to AbobeRGB and the Photoshop Color Setting is set to a Working Space: AdobeRGB.


As I understand it, Lightroom doesn't assign a working space to the raw file until export, where you can then choose to export it as sRGB, ProPhotoRGB or AdobeRGB.
So does that mean that what I see in the Lightroom Develop window is the profiled Monitor color space? If so, is Lightroom converting from Monitor color Space to AdobeRGB color space on Exporting?. And if that is the case, why is there a small disparity in the conversion?
Thanks

Peter

[mcbit]

I never actually see differences in colour spaces until I print or post to the web.

[PeterB]

ok, well when i open my raw shots in lightroom and the adjustments i want then open them in P/S, they look totally diffrent.
I just cannot figure out why

:~(

[mcbit]

Are you using the "Edit in Photoshop with Lightroom adjustments" option in Lightroom?

[SureFire]

Originally Posted by PeterB

Can anyone explain why the image I see in the Lightroom Develop window doesn't quite match when I open it in Photoshop after export from Lightroom?

Difference in softproofing setup between the two applications. Match them and all will be well. Most likely, you need to turn it off in PS.

[ohenry]

When you edit in PS, LR will convert the RAW to a TIFF or JPG as you have set and embed a color profile. Depending on the way you have things set up, your color profiles may not match. The move from LR to CS3 edit is not an export, so that setting doesn't apply. I'm thinking that the LR conversion to TIFF when you select Edit in CS3 embeds the color space of ProPhotoRGB (at least mine does, but I prefer to work in ProPhotoRGB in CS3). In CS3, check to make sure that you have the box checked to alert you when the color profiles are mismatched or to convert to the working profile. I believe this will clear up your problem.

[PeterB]

Hi Henry.
Now that makes a lot of sence to me butwhere abouts in cs3 do I find the box to check? I have looked everyehere but I cannot find it.
Thanks again for the help

Peter

[ohenry]

Under Edit>Color Settings.

[mcbit]

With PS default settings if you change the colour profile of an image in PS you will see no difference in that image on screen in PS.

If you change the external editing profile in LR the document you see on screen in PS remains the same as the image is displayed in the PS current workspace profile whatever its embedded profile.

If you print these documents or display on the web you will see a difference.


If you make adjustments in LR then open directly in PS or through Bridge you will see the original unadjusted image. LR is non-destructive and the adjustments are only visible from within LR unless the image is exported to another file.

The OP was not clear about how he opened the files in PS.

[ohenry]

Originally Posted by mcbit

With PS default settings if you change the colour profile of an image in PS you will see no difference in that image on screen in PS.

If you change the external editing profile in LR the document you see on screen in PS remains the same as the image is displayed in the PS current workspace profile whatever its embedded profile.

Only IF you have the Color Settings set up properly in CS3. If not, you'll see color differences. The difference between your setup and the setup of the OP (and mine, for that matter) is why you don't see a color change and others might.

In Color Settings, you have the option to preserve embedded color, ignore mismatches, or convert to your working space. I prefer to preserve the embedded color and have it warn me of mismatches so that I can control how I want to edit that particular file. If you set it up to convert any mismatch to your working space, the engine will remap the colors prior to opening the photo and you won't see any differences. If you choose to ignore the color mismatches, you're on your own You will have color issues in most instances.

[mcbit]

But the DEFAULT setup in CS3 is to display the images in the workspace profile. I've tried it in both my copies of LR and PSCS3 and the images on-screen in PS do not change. If I mismatch the profile it will only show up when I print or post on the web.

That's what happens to me anyway.

[ohenry]

The default is converting it to your workspace, which is fine. That's why you don't see a color mismatch. I really don't remember if that setting is default or not, but I'll take your word that it is. The point is that mismatched profiles need to be addressed, either automatically or by the end user.

The problem with posting pictures on the web or any program that isn't color managed occurs when you're using a profile wider than sRGB. The web browsers (except Safari and now Firefox 3.0) and many image viewing programs don't understand color management. sRGB color space was originally developed so that it most closely resembled what one sees on a monitor for a PC (Joint venture by Microsoft and HP, I think). It's not that the web reads sRGB, but rather that the gamut of sRGB falls within the parameters. AdobeRGB falls outside that gamut and will result in colors that appear muted and flat when viewed in such programs.

The print issue is another issue in itself. Printers don't actually use a color space, at all. They use a printer profile or an engine that deals with the colors. Depending on how you are set up, sRGB is often the safest choice. When using proper color management and printing from a color space aware program, the color space and the printer profile work together to produce the correct colors in output. In non-color managed workflows, color spaces outside of sRGB will likely give you problems.

Personally, I use ProPhoto RGB as my working space throughout my workflow, from RAW conversion right through printing, but my workflow is based on color management practices, calibrated and profiled monitor, and a custom profile for my printer and each paper I use. If I were to send my images to an outside source for printing, I'd either use their profile or convert it to sRGB, depending on their needs.