How come Save For Web Messes up my Pics?!?!?!?!

01/22/2009 02:49:12 PM · #76

ok... soooo what are my options for calibrating my monitor???

01/22/2009 02:51:53 PM · #77

currently I have a 19" LCD dell monitor running off of a MacBook. The laptop has a dongle comverting the mini DVI port on the side to a VGA then the screen is running on VGA

01/22/2009 02:53:43 PM · #78

Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

ok... soooo what are my options for calibrating my monitor???

Well...the most reliable way is to use a hardware calibration device, such as a Spyder or an eye one. In a pinch, you can use Adobe Gamma (installed with Photoshop) to get somewhat sorta close.

01/22/2009 02:54:42 PM · #79

ok i'll start with Adobe Gamma... how do I do that?

01/22/2009 02:59:40 PM · #80

Originally posted by Ann:

None of this stuff is going to work until your monitor is calibrated.

True, and from my experience the calibration is WAY off in Dell monitors when shipped (generally too bright and too blue). Calibrate first or you can't really know what you're looking at.

Once that's done, choose "Use Embedded Profile" when you open the file, and immediately preview with Proof Setup> MonitorRGB. You don't have to convert to sRGB right away, but what you see via MonitorRGB is what your file will look like when you Save For Web and post it (whether anyone else sees it that way depends upon how closely your monitor matches theirs, hence the need for calibration).

01/22/2009 03:00:42 PM · #81

Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

ok i'll start with Adobe Gamma... how do I do that?

I honestly can't remember. It's been a couple of years, and I'm not at home to look on my machine. Someone else will have to help. But it's a program that is usually installed when PS is installed. Run it, and follow the prompts (it'll have you matching grey swatches and stuff).

01/22/2009 03:01:25 PM · #82

ok... i'm in... buuuuuut how do I do this Adobe Gamma thing on a maC?

01/22/2009 03:03:59 PM · #83

Originally posted by scalvert:

Originally posted by Ann:
None of this stuff is going to work until your monitor is calibrated.

True, and from my experience the calibration is WAY off in Dell monitors when shipped (generally too bright and too blue). Calibrate first or you can't really know what you're looking at.

Nearly every "consumer" monitor is way too bright out of the box. They're set that way to look good on the shelf at Costco.

01/22/2009 03:04:04 PM · #84

Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

ok... i'm in... buuuuuut how do I do this Adobe Gamma thing on a maC?

Open System Preferences and choose Displays. Select the Color tab on whichever monitor you want to adjust, hit the Calibrate button and follow the instructions. It's very rough, but better than nothing I suppose.

01/22/2009 03:06:22 PM · #85

ok, i'm going through it now... if that doesn't work on this monitor or the new one coming tomorrow, I'll look into the hardware calibration....

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

01/22/2009 03:07:10 PM · #86

Originally posted by Ann:

Nearly every "consumer" monitor is way too bright out of the box. They're set that way to look good on the shelf at Costco.

Sadly, it's getting worse. Current 24" iMacs, for example, are too bright for proper calibration even at the lowest brightness setting, and I have to use a third party utility to dim the monitor further.

pointandshoot

Canon EOS-10D

01/22/2009 03:07:59 PM · #87

Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

ok... soooo what are my options for calibrating my monitor???

for Mac

01/22/2009 03:25:46 PM · #88

Thanks, that actually helped a bit...

ok... i'm still unclear on something... the two pics I recently posted, is it my monitor/computer, or does the first one look messed up on my cheeks? like, some sort of weird constrasty edges around where the light hit my cheek?

01/22/2009 03:42:59 PM · #89

It looks OK to me. WB is a little on the cool side, but I don't see any artifacts.

01/22/2009 03:52:16 PM · #90

why do I?

01/22/2009 03:57:35 PM · #91

Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

why do I?

Ah, I see now. That image is still in AdobeRGB (well, not sRGB anyway- you've got some bizarre "Good for Adobe" profile on there). I didn't see it because Safari handles ICC profiles and adjusts for them. Drag the image into PS and Convert the profile to sRGB and the artifacts will be gone when you Save for Web and post it.

Message edited by author 2009-01-22 15:59:16.

dassilem

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/22/2009 04:04:07 PM · #92

I've read through this thread....and I seem to have the same problems but I'm not 'saving for web' except for my DPC entries. Does the sRGB solution work for all pictures? I can't confirm until I get home, but I think my problem lies back on the posts regarding the camera is shooting one way and the PhotoElements is set another.

Sound right? the photos on my D90 screen are so sharp...even when I zoom in on them, but they are never sharp on my laptop/print. (and yes I know, my monitor is not calibrated..that will be my next step)

01/22/2009 04:07:32 PM · #93

Originally posted by dassilem:

Does the sRGB solution work for all pictures?

The principle is the same, but will change depending upon your intent. If you were printing a photo in a magazine, for example, you'd edit in AdobeRGB using CMYK as your proof setup to preview it while editing, and then convert the profile to CMYK before printing.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

01/22/2009 04:08:30 PM · #94

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by soup:
Originally posted by Gordon:
My post was more a suggestion to spend the time to learn about it, rather than trying to spell out all the details. It's more complicated than a few lines in a forum post will clear up, but there are plenty of well written articles and books out there.

and this why i got frustrated, and suggested some sort of guidance be highlighted ( a link, a tutorial, something ) and permenantly displayed where the 'site news' is.

i would say this same question - worded differently - comes up about once a week.

it isn't that complicated, and if you want to shoot digital at any level above family gathering snapshots you HAVE to understand how it works.

You could write a tutorial and get a free month's extension on your membership. :-)

I've found that frequently the very best way to learn something is to try to explain it to someone else.

There's a reason that 'real world color management' by Bruce Fraser is 608 pages long. Part of that is that half of it covers CMYK, but that still leaves a good 300 pages on how to set things up well for photo editing.

Tim Grey's Color Confidence: The Digital Photographer's Guide to Color Management is only 256 pages but is a bit more focused in scope.

Main reason is, there isn't a one size fits all answer to how you 'should' do color management. It depends a lot on your workflow, output requirements etc.

dassilem

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/22/2009 04:10:31 PM · #95

THANKS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/22/2009 04:21:51 PM · #96

Originally posted by Gordon:

After reading this thread, I was considering writing a tutorial that was just focused on color management while preparing images for DPC. I wrote a short outline. The outline filled an entire page.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

01/22/2009 04:27:43 PM · #97

Originally posted by scalvert:

If you were printing a photo in a magazine, for example, you'd edit in AdobeRGB using CMYK as your proof setup to preview it while editing, and then convert the profile to CMYK before printing.

If you're pinting in a magazine you better convert the acutal file mode to CMYK, not just the profile ...