File saving question - losing contrast and sat.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

05/22/2007 06:42:44 PM · #1

I'm using PS CS3. The color working space I'm using is the Monitor RGB -sRGB IEC61966-2.1 When I save as, I'm saving in JPEG and I leave the box checked that says ICC Profile: sRGB......

I have sent a few pictures to my friend through Gmail, and then have gone back and looked at them....and they have lost a significant amount of saturation and contrast, and really don't look much like the ones I saved in PS....I have opened both at the same time and done the old switch back and forth, and the difference is very noticeable.

Should I be saving in a different color profile? Or is it just 'normal' to have this quality loss when e-mailing a picture? I'm worried, because I like to get some of my pictures printed from mpix.com, and don't want something to be printed that doesn't look like I want it to....

Thanks for your help!

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

05/22/2007 06:48:36 PM · #2

Honestly i cant say if this the problem, but if your coming down from raw and saving to a JPEG instead of a tiff or PNG. JPEG saves data in 8x8 blocks based on luminance. JPEG modifies the colors slightly in each 8x8 block in favor of file size.

And how are you sharpening, if your downsizing images for passing around in emails are you using USM on the small image before saving?

Either way i would figure this isnt something that your all of a sudden noticing. Curious as to whats changed is it just with CS3 for you?

Message edited by author 2007-05-22 18:49:31.

05/22/2007 06:50:52 PM · #3

they were RAW files that I edited, then the final step was converting them to 8-bit files before saving. Even after these steps they still look much different when opened in PS..

I sharpen, downsize, then sharpen again. I can't see a noticeable difference in the sharpness of the images after being e-mailed, though.

jaysonmc

Nikon D200

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

05/22/2007 06:52:29 PM · #4

What profile are you using on your monitor?
Make sure you are using an sRBG monitor profile.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

05/22/2007 07:01:10 PM · #5

but would that really matter? I mean, even if my monitor profile was off, the pictures would still look the same to me, regardless of if they weren't 'right'....correct?

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

05/22/2007 07:04:29 PM · #6

Originally posted by Mulder:

but would that really matter? I mean, even if my monitor profile was off, the pictures would still look the same to me, regardless of if they weren't 'right'....correct?

If there was some change on the same screen maybe. But if your saving in a different color profile then the image really is (was shot or last saved) its going to change the colors some.

Photoshop doesn't show you every change as far as im concerned im probly wrong though.

Chinarosepetal

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM

05/22/2007 07:05:36 PM · #7

I've had exactly the problem you've described and I just can't work it out.

jaysonmc

Nikon D200

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

05/22/2007 07:08:10 PM · #8

Originally posted by Mulder:

but would that really matter? I mean, even if my monitor profile was off, the pictures would still look the same to me, regardless of if they weren't 'right'....correct?

Depends if you are soft-proofing or not. Sounds like you aren't.
I don't use PS3, but Nikon Capture NX behaves this way.
I would check your monitor profile first, or turn on proofing.

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/22/2007 07:09:37 PM · #9

Originally posted by Mulder:

...
I have sent a few pictures to my friend through Gmail, and then have gone back and looked at them....and they have lost a significant amount of saturation and contrast, and really don't look much like the ones I saved in PS....I have opened both at the same time and done the old switch back and forth, and the difference is very noticeable.
...

The vast majority of the time this has to do with saving an image in a rich color space, such as Adobe RGB (1998), but sending them to a place where it is automatically converted to a lower color space, such as sRGB.

Try this test:
Upload the "good" looking image, as is, from your machine to the web and then bring the image up on the web and look at it. If color space is the problem then it will have lost saturation. That is because web supports sRGB only and converts images to that regardless. If it looks "good" then there is a different problem. But if you do lose saturation then you will have to review your workflow and make a correction.

It probably is unrelated to Gmail. I've sent and recieved many images through Gmail and never had a problem.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

05/22/2007 07:11:00 PM · #10

Originally posted by Mulder:

but would that really matter? I mean, even if my monitor profile was off, the pictures would still look the same to me, regardless of if they weren't 'right'....correct?

Not necessarily. Somewhere along the line, there is a color space conversion process that should happen and is not. The assumed profile of the viewer is different than the profile used by the editor, and that's the source of the issues.
The first thing to do is to do a half-decent calibration of your monitor. Start here. It's a lot to wade through, but using the guide and test patterns on this page, you should get a pretty good calibration.
Next, make sure your RAW converter is outputting in the sRGB color space. Edit and save in that color space. Your problem should go away.
FWIW, it's not worth using the larger Adobe RGB or Prophoto RGB spaces if you don't really understand color management, and it is *not* something you learn in a day or even a week.

05/22/2007 07:15:22 PM · #11

Oohhhh :) I tried opening a RAW file and noticed it was being opened in Adobe RGB......so I'm trying a test image now!