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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Quality Loss?
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Showing posts 1 - 17 of 17, (reverse)
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 10/29/2006 03:46:24 PM · #1
Why is it when I upload my photos to DPC the quality drops? Does this happen to everyone? Is there anything I can do to compensate? Thanks.
 10/29/2006 03:55:19 PM · #2
We need to know more about your workflow; can you take us through the steps you follow?

R.
 10/29/2006 04:06:55 PM · #3
Convert from Camera Raw
Save as PSD
Levels usually first to check black and white points
Curves to adjust overall brightness and contrast
Further selected curves to adjust selected areas(unless in Basic Challenge)
Dodge/Burn if needed in new layer
Crop if needed
Save as "Working" when happy (seldom)
duplicate document (close "Working")
resize for DPC
Sharpen (usually SmartSharpen at about +-1.0 radius)
Save for Web as close to 150kb as possible
10/29/2006 04:12:34 PM · #4
That's a rational workflow. What exactly is the quality drop you are referring to? The overall crispness/detail of the image, or color issues? If it's color, make sure you're doing the DPC version in the SRGB color space. If it's crispness/detail, you pretty much have to put up with it. It's a real problem with extreme wide angle lenses, where relatively large details (in actual, rel-life size) tend to get rendered to a threshold so tiny that the 640-pixel image can't resolve them. Many of my best WA landscapes are very unsatisfactory renderings to my eye.

In general, 640-pixel images with a lot of detail need to be somewhat oversharpened to render the appearance of being as crisp as they actually are at larger image sizes...

Hope this helps.

R.
 10/29/2006 04:18:42 PM · #5
make sure you're doing the DPC version in the SRGB color space.

Exposing my ignorance, here, but how do you do this?

Hope this helps. I appreciate it.
 10/29/2006 04:21:41 PM · #6
What exactly is the quality drop you are referring to?

To answer your question: yes, mostly color loss, but also sharpness and contrast.
 10/29/2006 04:22:40 PM · #7
first thing I do when I start with editing a photo for a challenge, is proof colors on monitor RGB. This is the way the photo is gonna look when you've uploaded the file.

otherwise it will be lighter and with less contrast :)
 10/29/2006 04:25:38 PM · #8
first thing I do when I start with editing a photo for a challenge, is proof colors on monitor RGB.

OK, you lost me here.
 10/29/2006 04:51:17 PM · #9
I just discovered the color and crispness quality loss is happening when I save my picture for the web.
 10/29/2006 05:07:56 PM · #10
so just to be sure you have answer, I think you need to resize your image and then save for web. That should keep you from losing too much in quality.
 10/29/2006 05:28:34 PM · #11
Sorry for hijacking this thread but I'm having this problem too. I am losing so much in the sharpness of the image I am reluctant to enter challenges right now. I have never had this problem before, just with this latest batch of images. I havent changed any settings in camera and have only converted from RAW, levels, contrast, saturation, touch of sharpening and resized. I don't know what to do :o(

Can someone point me in the direction of 'instructions' on resizing for DPC (web) so that I don't lose the sharpness of my image???
10/29/2006 05:32:51 PM · #12
Originally posted by talj:
Sorry for hijacking this thread but I'm having this problem too. I am losing so much in the sharpness of the image I am reluctant to enter challenges right now. I have never had this problem before, just with this latest batch of images. I havent changed any settings in camera and have only converted from RAW, levels, contrast, saturation, touch of sharpening and resized. I don't know what to do :o(

Can someone point me in the direction of 'instructions' on resizing for DPC (web) so that I don't lose the sharpness of my image???


If the images are really busy, they tend to save at lower qualities to get in at the 150K mark, so it will probably vary from batch to batch depending on the "clutteredness" of the composition. One thing that can help, depending on editing rules, is to mask off the subject and apply gaussian blurs, dodging and burning, etc. to the nonessential areas - this removes some of the intricate data that causes huge file sizes which lose a lot of quality when saved for web.
10/29/2006 05:33:22 PM · #13
One more thing: sharpening should be done after you resize, not before.
 10/29/2006 05:57:15 PM · #14
Originally posted by karmabreeze:
One more thing: sharpening should be done after you resize, not before.


Oh dear, I seriously do things wrong! I know nothing about PS!

I understand what you are saying about the busy images but the solutions to this seem beyond my capabilities :o( I need to have a think!!!
 10/29/2006 05:58:00 PM · #15
I've had the same problem lately. It may because I'm working in 16 bit now, but I think it may be a change cause by a recent update.

Once in Photoshop, after the RAW conversion, go to View, and check the Proof Colors (the 2nd from the top). Also make sure the Monitor RGB is checked on the Proof Setup section of View.

Do this before doing any editing. Then when you use "Save for Web", your colors will remain what you've been seeing.
 10/29/2006 06:07:51 PM · #16
The proof colours thing:

view > proof setup > windows RGB

then:

view > proof colours

You'll see in PS what you'll see on the web.

Check all you save for web settings; go for all the highest quality settings, and then pull the slider down until you're under 150K. This, in my experience, can be as low as 50.

Ed

edit: s l o w . . .

Message edited by author 2006-10-29 18:08:23.
 10/29/2006 06:11:27 PM · #17
Originally posted by e301:
The proof colours thing:

view > proof setup > windows RGB

then:

view > proof colours

You'll see in PS what you'll see on the web.

Check all you save for web settings; go for all the highest quality settings, and then pull the slider down until you're under 150K. This, in my experience, can be as low as 50.

Ed

edit: s l o w . . .


It should be noted for older versions of PhotoShop that it may be under "Image > Mode > Profile to Profile", then you set it to convert from whatever it's in to sRGB. I use 5.5, so when this advice was given to me a couple months ago I really had a hard time finding it.
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