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iceny
iceny
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LR4 and CS4 color mismatch

May 27, 2012 9:31 AM

I'm working on an image to print and I had to take the image from LR4 to CS4 for more extensive editing I couldn't get done in LR (major clone brush usage - pain in the neck to do in LR). I did lots of research and did the suggestions given to similar (but different) cases with no avail. So here's the results of my experiments:

 

  • LR4 files opened in CS4 via LR looses a lot of the orange shades, loses contrast and just generally look washed out and anemic. File was open using LR copy with adjustments applied.
  • LR4 exports (JPEG, TIFF, PSD) looks ok in Mac Preview/Finder just as they are in LR4.
  • LR4 exports still look anemic when openened manually/separately in CS4.
  • I imported the export files back to LR4 and they look just fine (not washed out like in CS4).
  • I did the cloning brush anyway in CS4, saved the file under different name, they look washed out in CS4 but look okay when opened in Mac Preview AND when imported back to LR4.

 

I tried changing the export settings in LR and color working space in PS to both match each other (sRGB, AdobeRGB and ProPhoto RGB) and the color discrepancy is still noticeable. I'm using an early 13" 2011 Macbook Pro with the native monitor only, calibrated using Spyder3 Elite. Spyder 3 assesment says the color space of the monitor is closest to AdobeRGB with more yellow/orange covered than AdobeRGB.

 

OpenGL box checked or unchecked also made no difference.

 

Can anybody help me please? At this point, I am ignoring the washed out color in CS4 and just using LR4 as my reference.

968 Views   11 Replies   Latest reply: emil emil, May 28, 2012 11:58 AM
 
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  • twenty_one
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    1. twenty_one,
    May 27, 2012 9:50 AM   in reply to iceny
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    Again, as I said in the other thread concerning Ps / Lr mismatch, this has "monitor profile" written all over it. Either the Spyder is doing something strange, or the profile isn't loaded correctly.

     

    I'm not a Mac user, but I very much doubt that a MBP has a wide gamut screen. If the Spyder tells you so that should be a red flag right there.

     

    Are you really sure that the image is "washed out" in Ps, and not oversaturated elsewhere?

     
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  • emil emil
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    2. emil emil,
    May 27, 2012 9:57 AM   in reply to iceny
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    If the two programs are displaying the image in the same color space, using the same monitor profile, and all color profiles are supported, the colors will match. One or more of these conditions are not met in your case.

     
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  • iceny
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    3. iceny,
    May 27, 2012 3:10 PM   in reply to twenty_one
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    That's what Spyder says and I calibrated it several times already. My old white Macbook has smaller gamut (I think closer to sRGB) according to Spyder3. I tried looking for any information regarding this but found none. Maybe other MBP users in this forum can confirm it?

     

    I was pretty sure it was PS but now I don't know anymore.

    Correction: LR exports look much more vibrant in Preview (profile used: Spyder 3 calibration). I tried changing the Profile to ProPhoto RGB but it crashed every time I did - maybe the TIFF file is too large?

     

    Any recommendation on what else can I do in Spyder to resolve this issue?

     

    LR4-PS4-Mac Preview

     

    Screen shot 2012-05-27 at 11.32.31 AM.png

     
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  • gator soup
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    4. gator soup,
    May 27, 2012 6:00 PM   in reply to iceny
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    hi, i didn't read the other thread, but i would

     

    download a copy of the tagged ProPhotoRGB PDI .jpg here

    www.gballard.net/photoshop/pdi_download/

     

    then open it in both Lr and Ps (using the embedded profile, don't do any conversions)

     

    which one is off?

     

    if Photoshop is displaying bad, you are likely being hit with scene referred, OpenGL, or version 4 profile bugs

     

    more on bad profiles and bugs here

    www.gballard.net/psd/colorlooksbad.html

     
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  • emil emil
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    5. emil emil,
    May 27, 2012 7:05 PM   in reply to gator soup
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    gator soup wrote:

     

    ...

    which one is off?

     

    if Photoshop is displaying bad, you are likely being hit with scene referred, OpenGL, or version 4 profile bugs

    ...

    But if the monitor profile is bad the op can't say which one is off because there is no correct reference - all programs will be using a bad monitor profile. Usually people like to believe that the program displaying the image nicer is the correct one while this may not be true at all.

     
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  • gator soup
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    6. gator soup,
    May 27, 2012 8:04 PM   in reply to emil emil
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    But if the monitor profile is bad the op can't say which one is off because there is no correct reference

     

    the 'correct reference' is being savvy enough to evaluate the PDI image for proper color balance, neutrals and steps

     

    i understood the OP said Lr is displaying the same file noticably different that Ps (yes?)

     

    if it were merely the monitor profile, would not both color managed apps display the file the same?

     

    i suspect something else is going on, including profile issues and color management policies, but it is hard to say from here...

     
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  • emil emil
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    7. emil emil,
    May 27, 2012 10:45 PM   in reply to gator soup
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    gator soup wrote:

     

    ...

    if it were merely the monitor profile, would not both color managed apps display the file the same?

    ...

    In the other thread with similar problem it turned out a monitor profile with icc v4 was used. v2 and v4 profiles are not compatible which means if the monitor is v4 the image profile should be v4 too or the translation will not be correct. And from the common RGB color spaces so far only sRGB  has v4 profile proved from the ICC web site. Adobe RGB and Prophoto are not updated yet. And while Photoshop supports v4 I'm not sure if Lr supports it at all. So if v4 monitor profile is used, depending on the image profile and the program, it can become quite messy.

     
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  • iceny
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    8. iceny,
    May 28, 2012 8:16 AM   in reply to gator soup
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    gator soup wrote:

     

    hi, i didn't read the other thread, but i would

     

    download a copy of the tagged ProPhotoRGB PDI .jpg here

    www.gballard.net/photoshop/pdi_download/

     

    then open it in both Lr and Ps (using the embedded profile, don't do any conversions)

     

    which one is off?

     

    if Photoshop is displaying bad, you are likely being hit with scene referred, OpenGL, or version 4 profile bugs

     

    more on bad profiles and bugs here

    www.gballard.net/psd/colorlooksbad.html

     

    The tagged ProPhoto RGB file still looks washed out in PS more than in LR. The font looks so much softer in LR zoomed out but zoomed in, they actually look just fine. Here's another screenshot for comparison:

     

    Screen shot 2012-05-28 at 8.12.38 AM.png

     

    I changed the OpenGL again and it didn't make any difference whether the option is checked or unchecked.

    I'm reading more about the bug from the link you gave me.

     
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  • gator soup
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    9. gator soup,
    May 28, 2012 9:04 AM   in reply to iceny
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    including the document profile in your screenshot would take one more question mark out of the puzzle

     

    doc.jpg

     

    not sure why a genius would design a "Soft Proofing" checkbox there in your other window (since probably have the people using that feature don't understand it), but that would be something to rule out (that neither app is using soft proofing)

     
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  • iceny
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    10. iceny,
    May 28, 2012 9:09 AM   in reply to gator soup
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    Problem solved!

    I read about the bug and the culprit was the Desaturate Color box was checked and 11% desaturation was applied automatically. The setting is under Photoshop: Edit>Color Settings. Click on More Options on the right so the box will show all options like this:

    Screen shot 2012-05-28 at 9.02.05 AM.png

     

    I unchecked "Desature Monitor Colors By" box and it took care of the problem. Here's what the same image look in LR and PS:

    Screen shot 2012-05-28 at 8.55.27 AM.png

     

    Not exactly the same as I feel LR still shows more saturated colors than PS by very slightly but it is negligible. It could also be that different areas of the monitor (LR on the far left, PS slightly more toward the center of my tiny 13" monitor) have something to do with it. However, I wouldn't worry much about it. Thank you gator soup

     
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  • emil emil
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    11. emil emil,
    May 28, 2012 11:58 AM   in reply to iceny
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    As I said in my first reply, among the other 2 things, make sure that the image is displayed in the same color space in both programs. Things like desaturate in the color settings in one but not in the other program, soft proofing and different color profiles will show a difference. The fact that they are still not matching perfectly means that the three conditions I mentioned earlier may still have not been met. Once you make sure about these things, only then you can consider eventual bug problems.

     
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