Why does Lightroom display my photos warmer than they are?

[rajah sulayman]

I could've sworn I'd seen this subject in the past, but no matter what search terms I use, I can't find it. So apologies for any reposting.

That said - why is Lightroom displaying my photos warmer than they are? It's definitely Lightroom at fault, as seen below:

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/8810/lightroomwarmhz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Same B&W conversion in both the top and bottom. Obviously Photoshop (below) is rendering it correctly, in black and white tones. Lightroom (above), meanwhile, has decided to give it a sepia tone. Same photo, no adjustments or differences between the two. It does this for all photos, but I used a B&W for the screenshot since that was the most objective sample.

So why is it doing this? I know I can't change my working colorspace, but there must certainly be some way to fix it so that what I see really is what I get. I can't believe a piece of software so robust and complex and nuanced as Lightroom would have so fundamental a flaw to it.

[rajah sulayman]

GOT IT!

And I also found the forum post that I was thinking of. Of course, it was on the Adobe forums.

I tend to forget where I see things.

Anyway, here's the post - http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc33e02/18 (http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc33e02/18), and the problem was my monitor colorspace. I was using a custom colorspace (courtesy of a calibration tool) and that was apparently mucking things up. I set ProPhoto as my default colorspace (since that's what I work in with Photoshop anyway) and everything is good again. Lightroom and Photoshop are displaying photos the same way.

Yay. :)

[René Damkot]

Let's go slowly here...
Where did you have that "monitor color space" set?
As an output space in LR2?

Or as your monitor profile?

In the first case: You wouldn't want to do that. Use a working space as a working space. sRGB, AdobeRGB or ProPhotoRGB. Or maybe another output profile, if you know why.

In the second case: I sure hope you didn't set ProPhotoRGB as your monitor profile? You didn't, right?

If you've set your monitor profile (created by a calibrator) as monitor profile in windows, and LR is the only color managed application that displays the image wrong, chances are your monitor profile is partly corrupted.

Try creating it again. If your calibrator offers the option of creating either LUT or Matrix based profiles, try Matrix if recalibrating didn't solve it.

[rajah sulayman]

Actually, yeah. I set my monitor profile as ProPhoto. Re-reading the Adobe post now, I realize I'd misread the solution. I thought it'd said that the solution was to set your Monitor profile as sRGB. And since I work in ProPhoto, I figured that was a better choice.

Luckily I haven't done any new work since setting it at ProPhoto.

I can't make a new calibrated profile due to the fact that the calibrator was borrowed. So with that in mind, what should I do in terms of monitor profiles? I've currently removed the ProPhoto one and have none installed. Lightroom is still displaying colors correctly, so I guess my old profile was corrupted somehow.

That said, what should I do for a monitor profile now? Just leave it blank?

[René Damkot]

Borrow the calibrator again?

If that's not an option; hmmm.
Whichever profile is closest. Maybe the manufacturers.
But that does throw accuracy out of the window off course.

What profile is used at the moment? (Since "none" isn't an option ;))

[rajah sulayman]

Actually, it really is none. At least, as far as I can tell. I removed the monitor profile and now the window is just empty.

I'm at work right now so I can't show you the exact window, but I was able to replicate it here. Just ignore the monitor and video card shown in this window.

[RAWuser]

I can't make a new calibrated profile due to the fact that the calibrator was borrowed. So with that in mind, what should I do in terms of monitor profiles?

Another option: how about buying a colorimeter yourself? It is too useful not to have, lol.

There are some "cheap" colorimeters out there. Here's what I am using ($80):
Link #1: huey at Pantone site (http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=79&ca=2)
Link #2: huey at BHPhoto.com (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/419940-REG/Pantone_MEU101_Huey_Colorimeter.html)

Its program is a very simple one. It'll make a profile and adjusts for room brightness. That's it, lol. Which is good enough for me. A huey pro version is available, though.

Love the b/w portrait, by the way.

[rajah sulayman]

Thanks. :)

I've actually been meaning to get a colorimeter of my own for a while now. I'd just heard that the cheap ones aren't really that great, so I've been waiting until I had the money to get something a little better. Specifically, a Spyder 3 Pro.

Oh well. May as well bite the bullet already.

[rajah sulayman]

Looks like I'll be able to hold off on that Spyder for a little bit longer. As it turns out, my corrected profile hadn't been corrupted. Somehow, the default Dell 2005FPW profile got swapped back in -- probably when I upgraded video cards not long ago -- and replaced my calibrated profile. Now that the proper profile is back in place, everything is right again.

Horjay.

[snyper77]

I have an Eye-One Display 2 (supposedly one of the best calibrators made)....and I have a world of trouble trying to get my monitor "dead on". I've been fighting it for months and finally gave up. Very irritated!

[René Damkot]

Actually, it really is none.
Shows what I know about windows ;)

Glad you got it sorted!

I have an Eye-One Display 2 (supposedly one of the best calibrators made)....and I have a world of trouble trying to get my monitor "dead on". I've been fighting it for months and finally gave up. Very irritated!

The iOne is a good calibrator.
What are the issues you have (had)?

Here (http://www.imagescience.com.au/ColourControl/colourProducts/gmUsingEyeOneDisplay.html) is a "how to".