Color tones not right

I can't seem to get my color right. What is wrong with this image regarding color tone?

Hi

at the moment it's just looking very flat
looks like it could do with some vibrance and or saturation adjustment

when you do do some adjustments ... be aware of the notable difference in skin tones
between the arms and the face and chest

what pp have you done so far? and what program(s) do you use ?

cheers
Dave

I wish I could post the raw file here. I am using Lightroom and PS CS6. I desaturated to correct the whole image from a pink tone.

A 'pink tone' might be an imbalance in the Tint (Magenta-Green axis of the color circle)...fix that, rather than reducing Saturation.

mdaddyrabbit wrote in post #17121755
I wish I could post the raw file here.

You could always post it to drop box or another file sharing site and post the link here.

Wilt wrote in post #17121828
A 'pink tone' might be an imbalance in the Tint (Magenta-Green axis of the color circle)...fix that, rather than reducing Saturation.

Yes, very definitely the wrong solution to your problem. Show us the unaltered shot if you can.

The image is in ProFoto RGB but has no embedded profile. I have no idea how you managed to get a ProFoto image with no embedded profile. The problem is your workflow, but tracking it down would be tricky.

Do EVERYTHING in sRgb until you completely understand color management. Anything you've heard about advantages of other color spaces is negated if you use them incorrectly, and the advantage is minor at best when used properly anyway.

^^ Tim is likely correct. If you open the image in PS and ASSIGN the ProPhoto profile, the color and tone appear more reasonable. After assigning ProPhoto, CONVERT to sRGB and do your thing.

Was this image converted from raw in Lightroom or ACR (into the ProPhoto color space) and then saved in ProPhoto but using something like Save For Web or otherwise not embedding the profile?

If you are going to save your images for web display in something other than sRGB, you are going to need to embed the color space tag in the image so color aware applications can render it correctly. Many photo sharing sites strip the color profile tag out of the image anyway, which will foil your attempts to post an image in something other than sRGB. It is best to convert to sRGB and then save that version for web display - applications that are not color aware will most likely assume sRGB, so the image will look "correct" on almost anything.

kirk

There is nothing in that image that would require the use of ProPhoto RGB, it wouldn't fill 50% of sRGB. LR may use an ultra wide gamut working space because it has to cover all possible contingencies, both in terms of subject matter and in terms of display media, but staying in ProPhoto RGB in PS is a choice made by the photographer, either by commission or omission, and he needs to know that choosing wrong can have consequences.

How does this look ?

Amamba wrote in post #17123323
How does this look ?

Still very wrong. The problem is the color profile, assign ProFoto RGB and it looks fine.

I was incorrect before. The sRgb profile is embedded but it's wrong, ProFoto should be embedded. That's a pretty screwed up workflow, I don't even know how you could do that accidentally.

The image isn't great to start with, like you said, blown in places.

http://1drv.ms/1vTAM58


Here is a link for a image I took tonight. This is a straight out of the camera RAW file before any editing. I will edit it and load it either tonight or tomorrow.

kirkt wrote in post #17122606
^^ Tim is likely correct. If you open the image in PS and ASSIGN the ProPhoto profile, the color and tone appear more reasonable. After assigning ProPhoto, CONVERT to sRGB and do your thing.

Was this image converted from raw in Lightroom or ACR (into the ProPhoto color space) and then saved in ProPhoto but using something like Save For Web or otherwise not embedding the profile?

If you are going to save your images for web display in something other than sRGB, you are going to need to embed the color space tag in the image so color aware applications can render it correctly. Many photo sharing sites strip the color profile tag out of the image anyway, which will foil your attempts to post an image in something other than sRGB. It is best to convert to sRGB and then save that version for web display - applications that are not color aware will most likely assume sRGB, so the image will look "correct" on almost anything.

kirk

I did just as you stated....I am all jacked up!

Just be careful with your color profiles and you'll be fine, like I said above.

Here is an example of what can go wrong if you do not pay attention to your color profiles. I converted your linked file into the ProPhoto color space. I made thee versions:

1) ACR conversion into ProPhoto. In PS, convert the color space to sRGB and embed the color space tag in the resulting saved JPEG. This would be the best way to go for web images if you intially need to convert from your raw converter into the ProPhoto (or other non-sRGB) space.

2) Same as (1) but WITHOUT the color space tag embedded - this will still probably work on most systems because most displays are sRGB-like, or most non-color-aware applications likely assume sRGB or something close to it.

3) ACR conversion into ProPhoto and then save the image as a JPEG WITHOUT a color space tag. This is bad, because most systems will incorrectly assume a color model for the untagged image that will be sRGB-like and the image will look flat and horrible because the RGB numbers are ProPhoto. (image posted in next entry in thread due to 2-image attachment limit).

kirk