FAQ: "Why is the contrast/color of my images different when I save as a JPEG??!!!!"

[Elwell]

First of all, it has nothing to do with the JPEG format itself, or with working in CMYK. You have Photoshop set to use a different working color space than your monitor's. Depending on the settings you are using (especially gamma settings), this can cause things either to look more contrasty or washed out when viewed outside of PS.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=68966
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82322
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=87274
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=103692

[Seth Mulvey]

Right on Tristan thank you.

[Wasker]

Alright, I've tried pretty much everything and nothing seems to work for me. I even posted a thread over at the adobe forums and was told that;
1. I should convert to sRGB before saving.
2. cs3 doesn't have color calibration utils anymore. Adobe gamma stopped shipping with cs2 and that I should download calibrators.

So now I've read up on color managment in the help section of photoshop cs3 and followed the advice, downloaded monitor calibrators for my monitor (duh) and tried converting to sRGB before saving.

I've also been adviced to use monitor rgb under "View>proof setup>monitor rgb" and then mark 'view>proof colors'/ctrl+y. This works for me. The colour I work with is the color I see when I hit 'save for web' as well. However, I've heard that using monitor rgb will make the image look funny on monitors of different brands, I've been unable to verify this myself but it sounds credible.

so wtf, I might be a blonde swede but this shit is getting on my nerves. :wtf:

Here's my settings. For monitor colour matching I've tried having Adobe RGB1998 and the sRGb profile just as I in photoshop have tried to have the hp9500 profile.

I added one of David Briggs' pics because the contrast is really obvious in it.

http://www.wasker.com/colours.jpg

I havent noticed these kind of colour mismatchs in photoshop before cs3.

[daveneale]

OK, I'm in CS3 as well. I have no idea if this will help, but you have different settings to mine, dont know if I'm set up right (I haven't really touched since installation, but might be worth a try):

255329

[+mw.pmi]

I usually get that, but what I do is change it from a RGB to a CYMK, and most often, if what I am working on is or looks different from my project window, than the SAVE TO WEB window, I press Cancel, go back, up to Adjustments and MODE, and press RGB, place it at 16bit, and close. Then SAVE AS WEB, as either a JPG or PNG. Usually that helps, as sometimes, on rare occasions and often times common system persuasions of the scratch disks, CYMK is chosen as the default coloraiton over RGB. You can still keep 8bit and press RGB and SAVE TO WEB, and it will look exactly like your working template window.

Play with these Adjustments until you get your desired imagery results. ;)

[Terminal]

I went to color settings and turned color management off. In rgb still looks washed out, but in cmyk looks fine.

[RedHotKitchen]

Does anyone have the kinds of settings for PS7?

[Illustrium]

Had the same frustration. Finally figured out that the monitor profile as set in windows display properties had to be changed to SRGB, the monitor hard settings (by pressing the external buttons on my monitor) had to be verified as SRGB. Photoshop color profile had to be SRGB AND the workspace had to be SRGB.

Just make sure one of those settings isn't throwing the colors off.

[AutumnRush]

not many buttons on my lapotop and since it isnt really mine i dont want to start pushing buttons. how can i change to sRGB?

[1212works]

I was trying to solve the same problem, but the more i read the more muddled i get.....:nohope: Different people are giving different opinions, i really want to clarify this problem once and for all..

Some of my questions:


1. Should I work in "AdobeRGB 1998" or "sRGB"? I've read that "AdobeRGB 1998" gives a wider gamut of colours and is better for printing, in CMYK or otherwise.

2. So if i am working in "AdobeRGB 1998" and I want to post an image onto the web, i should convert it to sRGB? But then the colour will change! Is there a way to prevent this? Or must I work in sRGB?

3. When I save as.jpg, i should tick "save ICC profile" right? To ensure other photoshops will display the file the same way?



I've attached a screenshot of all my settings, and i would be very, very grateful if someone could give a definite,definite answer to the questions.

[Corgi]

Hey, I realize this post is fairly old and I apologize if I'm necroing -- all the same I'd like to share the fix I've found for the Proof Colors problem. It's saved me a lot of heartache.

http://www.viget.com/inspire/the-mysterious-save-for-web-color-shift/

Follow the instructions on this site. I'm far from a pro but my colors have all come out correctly on all formats since I adjusted mine accordingly.

Hope it helps :)