Color management is killing me (samples)

I process a RAW file in Adobe Lightroom. Export as JPEG.
The JPEG looks different. Reds more saturated or whatever.
Import the JPEG back into Lightroom and compare them side by side and you can see the difference.

Lightroom compare view screenshot below. RAW on left, JPEG on right.

What am I doing wrong?

Are both images using the same color space? sRGB? Adobe RGB 1998?

The image posted is a screenshot from Lightroom.
The RAW file has no colorspace, as I understand it?
The JPEG is sRGB, according to my Export settings.

Curtis N wrote in post #7049053
The image posted is a screenshot from Lightroom.
The RAW file has no colorspace, as I understand it?
The JPEG is sRGB, according to my Export settings.

Raw has no color space? I have my camera set to RAW and I'm pretty sure the color space is recognized by Adobe when I open it.

I'm pretty sure you can set the in-camera color space - I've seen it in the menu before.

Then again I KNOW I have mine set to sRGB in camera and Adobe always asks to convert it to my working space in CS2 which is sRGB... odd huh?

Jen D.

I just checked my RAW files and all colorspace says 'untagged' while once put into Adobe PSD the color space shows.

Intersting, so what is that camera setting for then? Only effective if shooting jpg?

Sorry, I did not mean to get away from the original questions, but I learned something I never knew.

I'm not sure but I do believe that a RAW file has no color space, that's done when the file is converted or opened in PS. That may account for the change you're seeing as the JPEG is processed into the sRGB color space (or whatever color space you selected). I'm really just guessing here though. Hopefully someone in the know will chime in....I'm interested to know what's happening here.

hmmm - good piont, maybe it is a .jpg setting. I shoot manual in RAW and it always asks to convert, its quite annoying actually...

Jen D.

Lightroom displays raw files in ProPhoto RGB. I don't think you can change that in the settings anywhere. ProPhoto RGB is very large. If you export to JPG with an sRGB or Adobe RGB colorspace, it may look different. See link.

http://www.oreillynet.​com …troom_color_spa​ces_1.html

Ed

madddman wrote in post #7049142
Lightroom displays raw files in ProPhoto RGB. I don't think you can change that in the settings anywhere. ProPhoto RGB is very large. If you export to JPG with an sRGB or Adobe RGB colorspace, it may look different. See link.

http://www.oreillynet.​com …troom_color_spa​ces_1.html


Ed

That makes a lot of sense being ProPhoto can display so much more information than sRGB. BTW, thanks for the article link as it's a good article even though I do not use Lightroom.

Ed,

Thanks for that link.

I still have a terribly time understanding color management in general, but it's nice to know I'm not doing something wrong.

Does this mean that if I export using Prophoto RBG, the resulting image will look the same as the RAW in a color managed application?

RAW has no color space, it's just sensor data. This data is converted to a digital image with a color space by the raw converter. Internally there may be a color space used to show the RAW file on the screen.

I don't know the answer to the original question.

Tim is (as always) right. The first step in LR's internal work flow is demosaicing, the second is assigning a generic device profile based on camera model and the third is converting the color space to a linear variation of ProPhotoRGB. However, LR is color managed and that means that what you see on your monitor is not ProPhoto or sRGB or AdobeRGB, it is always in your monitor's space. That's why we calibrate our monitors, so that any color managed application will know how to translate the image from its space (whatever that might be) to the display space. This means that if the CM is doing its job properly there should be no difference visible between versions of the same image in different spaces.

Curtis - I just tried doing the same thing you did, convert to sRGB jpg, import the jpg and compare, and I see no color shift. I did no output sharpening , but looking at your post the jpg looks sharper than the RAW. If you did output sharpening that may be the culprit. I will do another test with sharpening.

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No. even with output sharpening at Print/Matte/High there was no color shift beyond the expected increase in contrast

Elie, thanks for your input.

Here's the thing - I've been using Lightroom for over a year now, and this is the first time I've seen such a noticeable difference.

What changed? My monitor. It's a new HP LP2475w, which I chose because of the great reviews it got, including the fact that it can display the entire AdobeRGB color gamut and beyond. Also, it's calibrated with my new Spyder3Pro. My previous monitor was never calibrated.

I will do more experimenting, but the difference is more than just output sharpening. There are definite color differences, most noticeable in the girl's skin and hair.