Colour issues HELP !!!

[Mike Griffiths]

Hi all, I hope someone could help me out with this, i keep going in circles

I have been editing a while now and only ever uploaded them to the web never printing.i tend to edit in LR then put it into PS and save from there, until i went to print this pic out and had a massive shock, this is the original pic



I'm happy with the colors, but when i uploaded it to asda on line printing just to see what it looks like, the colors are terrible



What i have noticed is that if i toggle proof colors on and off that horrible color is what i see in Photoshop

I think it has something to do with proof colors set up and color settings but i'm at a loss, i don't know what the settings should be and what the difference is when working with CMYK sRGB ETC !!!!!!

If i take the same file but export it from LR as sRGB all the colors are spot on and OK for printing.......................................................

thank you for your time

 

[Mike Griffiths]

OK even more confused, the first picture looks the same as the second color wise, it didn't when i uploaded. This is what it should look like (this is the export from lightroom)

 

[hawkeye]

What color profile are you using?

 

[Tom Mann]

The first image you posted was in ProFoto. It's a crap shoot if all the different browsers (and versions thereof) that people will use to view the image will display it correctly. Some do, some don't. Also, the software used to upload images (ie, to forums, printers, etc.) sometimes strips the color space information, and, in effect, assumes everything is sRGB.

The general rule is: If you are going to post an image on the web, always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS convert it to sRGB (note: do NOT "assign" it to sRGB).

If you are sending the image to a printer, you need to check with them whether they can correctly handle color spaces other than sRGB. If they can, and if they actually produce a better print using it, and don't just do an automatic conversion to sRGB, you're in luck. Typically, most local, business oriented printers (eg, Staples, Office Depot, mom&pop operations) don't have a clue about such matters. If there is a doubt, again, convert it to sRGB. (It looks like your on-line printer couldn't handle ProFoto..)

Like you, I prefer making all my adjustments in ProFoto. I find that even if you eventually have to convert to the "least common denominator" sRGB color space, you still gain substantially by staying in ProFoto for as long as possible, converting only at the very end of the editing process.

Tom M

 

[Mike Griffiths]

When i checked in color settings adobe 1998

 

[Mike Griffiths]

The first image you posted was in ProFoto. It's a crap shoot if all the different browsers (and versions thereof) that people will use to view the image will display it correctly. Some do, some don't. Also, the software used to upload images (ie, to forums, printers, etc.) sometimes strips the color space information, and, in effect, assumes everything is sRGB.

The general rule is: If you are going to post an image on the web, always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS convert it to sRGB (note: do NOT "assign" it to sRGB).

If you are sending the image to a printer, you need to check with them whether they can correctly handle color spaces other than sRGB. If they can, and if they actually produce a better print using it, and don't just do an automatic conversion to sRGB, you're in luck. Typically, most local, business oriented printers (eg, Staples, Office Depot, mom&pop operations) don't have a clue about such matters. If there is a doubt, again, convert it to sRGB. (It looks like your on-line printer couldn't handle ProFoto..)

Like you, I prefer making all my adjustments in ProFoto. I find that even if you eventually have to convert to the "least common denominator" sRGB color space, you still gain substantially by staying in ProFoto for as long as possible, converting only at the very end of the editing process.

Tom M

Thanks tom that makes sense, what i have just tried is once i have finished an image, i have just converted to profile and set as RGB and then in the drop down box sRGB, so my question now is do i need to do this every time for printing.

so in my color settings im best off setting it at prophoto, if thats the case do i then need to use the convert to profile afterwards

 

[Mike Griffiths]

Ok next question

when i use soft proofing what do i set it to to check how the color will look when printing, when i set it to sRGB and toggle on and off the colors are way off but when i set it to CYMK and toggle on and off the colors on screen hardly change, is this now down to monitor calibration or am i looking at it wrong

 

[Tom Mann]

Mike: "...so my question now is do i need to do this every time for printing. ..."

As I described in my previous printer, it depends on the printer. For the on-line printer you already tried, the answer is almost certainly, "yes, every time".


Mike: "...so in my color settings im best off setting it at prophoto, if thats the case do i then need to use the convert to profile afterwards..."

The benefits of using ProFoto are clear, but, in the grand scheme of things, relatively small. The cost of using ProFoto is that you have to spend your time converting to sRGB each and every time you want to post something to the web, or use a not-very-savvy print service. The danger is that you'll forget to do this and possibly wind up wasting money producing an order of prints with horrible colors.

BTW, when you are done editing, always keep a copy of your PSD file in the ProFoto space. This will come in handy should you ever need to do further work on your image. Make a copy of the file with a different name, convert that to sRGB, and from it, make JPGs or whatever else you need.
There is an alternate method: Use the file / "save for web" command. In it, there is a checkbox where you can specify that you want the saved file converted automatically to sRGB. For various reasons, I don't particularly like the "save for web" route, but many people do. Your call.


Mike: "...when i use soft proofing what do i set it to to check how the color will look when printing, when i set it to sRGB and toggle on and off the colors are way off but when i set it to CYMK and toggle on and off the colors on screen hardly change, is this now down to monitor calibration or am i looking at it wrong..."

Long story - lots of possible sources of error from what you described. Unfortunately, I don't have time to start to answer this right now. Perhaps someone else will jump in.

Cheers,

T

 

[Mike Griffiths]

Thanks tom you have been a great help, i understand it a lot better now ,

Thank you very much

Mike