Photoshop not seeing export color space setting in Lightroom 4

[howdego]

MY LR or PS programs are not acting as expected.

When my Lightroom 4 is set to export to Photoshop in either the sRGB color space or the AdobeRGB color space, and Photoshop is set for the sRGB space, Photoshop gives a color mismatch error in both cases, saying the image is an AdobeRGB embedded image.  However, if the color space in PS is set for AdobeRGB, even if the export setting in Lightroom is sRGB, there is no mismatch error. 

Apparently, PS sees every image as embedded with AdobeRGB.

I have a Sony NEX6 camera.  I have taken pictures in the camera sRGB color space and the AdobeRGB space, which I used for this test. Since I shoot in RAW, this should not matter, so I don’t think it is the issue, and, in fact, I get the same result no matter which color space the camera is in.

If LR export and PS color space are the same, why should there be a mismatch, and why is PS not seeing the sRGB space?  Might there be a setting in Lightroom or Photoshop that I am missing?

[Todd Shaner]

howdego wrote:

I have a Sony NEX6 camera.  I have taken pictures in the camera sRGB color space and the AdobeRGB space, which I used for this test. Since I shoot in RAW, this should not matter, so I don’t think it is the issue, and, in fact, I get the same result no matter which color space the camera is in.

Raw image files do NOT have a color space assigned to them, only JPEG camera files.

howdego wrote:

If LR export and PS color space are the same, why should there be a mismatch, and why is PS not seeing the sRGB space?  Might there be a setting in Lightroom or Photoshop that I am missing?

You need to slelect the target color space with your Preferences> 'External Editing'> Color Space, or in the Export module 'File Settings'> Color Space.

[howdego]

trshaner,

As I described, it doesn/t seem to matter what I set the External Editing color space to be.  PS sees every image coming in as adobeRGB.  So if the LR target space is sRGB, or adobeRGB, and PS color space is sRGB, I get an error in both cases.  I should not if the target is srgb.  On the other hand, if the target inj LR is sRGB, and PS color space is adobeRGB, I do not get an error.  The image just opens.  This should not happen, should it?

[Guest]

It seems that you're trying to edit a JPEG or a TIFF file in PS ... a file AdobeRGB is already embedded in it.

Please check your file type ...

[howdego]

No, the files are RAW files, being exported to PS

[Todd Shaner]

Please post a screenshot of the PS profile mismatch warning you are seeing, which should look like this based on what you are saying:

[howdego]

I have the error messages set to default to the working space.  As you can see, if LR and PS set for sRGB, PS says the image is adobeRGB

[TheDigitalDog]

howdego wrote:

I have the error messages set to default to the working space.  As you can see, if LR and PS set for sRGB, PS says the image is adobeRGB

There should be a dialog box that presets itself prior to the one above. That one above, with the Don't show again check box represents Photoshop's final attempt to remind you that if you dismiss this after showing don't show again, you'll no longer have a warning, indicating your color settings don't have the warning check boxes on. It's key you keep those warning check boxes on unless you resort to letting Photoshop automatically handle this process which is dangerous. Set your policies to Preserve as trshaner has suggested. Then allow Photoshop to preserve the embedded profile in what was sent from LR. In the dialog above, it's clear that you have sRGB set as your preferred RGB working space in color settings and the data is embedded with Adobe RGB (1998). There's a mismatch which is fine, you want to allow Photoshop to provide this data in that color space.

You might want to post an image for download that you are sure isn't in Adobe RGB as indicated above.

[howdego]

Response to Andrew, comment 13.

I get this box because I set PS to "not ask when opening" as I assume if LR is set to export in sRGB and the color space of PS is sRGB, I should not have to be asked.  If I were to now set the policies to preserve, I assume I would be getting an adobe RGB image, when I want a sRGB image. Right?  And what is your thought about keeping the image in prophoto and the monitor in sRGB while I edit for display on TV?

[TheDigitalDog]

howdego wrote:

Response to Andrew, comment 13.

I get this box because I set PS to "not ask when opening" as I assume if LR is set to export in sRGB and the color space of PS is sRGB, I should not have to be asked.  If I were to now set the policies to preserve, I assume I would be getting an adobe RGB image, when I want a sRGB image. Right?  And what is your thought about keeping the image in prophoto and the monitor in sRGB while I edit for display on TV?

Preserve just does that, it preserves whatever profile is embedded and that's exactly what you want. It is pointless to have the warning check box OFF and not tell the dialog you show to continue to show. That is why there is a "Dont Show Again" check box. But dialog you show does indicate there IS an embedded profile in Adobe RGB (1998). If that is what you wish, the Preserve policy will provide that.

Maybe this video will help:

http://digitaldog.net/files/Photoshop_Color_Settings.mov

[howdego]

Andrew, comment 20:

But that is the glich. I set LR to export in sRGB.  But it I tell PS to preserve the embedded profile, it will open in adobeRGB, not Srgb.  Either LR or PS is not doing what is should

BTW, excellent tutorial.  My only question is why it does not address the gray working space.  I believe Jeff Schewe recommends using the 1.8 or 2.2 gamma setting for this selection.  Or is that something that I, in my situation, should not be concerned with?

[TheDigitalDog]

howdego wrote:

My only question is why it does not address the gray working space.  I believe Jeff Schewe recommends using the 1.8 or 2.2 gamma setting for this selection.  Or is that something that I, in my situation, should not be concerned with?

Because it's rarely used these days. It's only for grayscale (single color channel data). If you're posting such a document for screen presentation, you'd pick a gamma setting, if going out to some printing device that actually needs or expects a single channel grayscale file, you'd pick a dot gain that's based on the output device. But these days, most post sRGB 'B&W' images to the web and send RGB data to their local printers (Epson, Canon etc). I can't recall the last time I needed to output a single channel grayscale doc. So unless you are sending images to say a newspaper that's demanding a grayscale file, yes, you don't have to be concerned about it.

[Todd Shaner]

howdego wrote:

As I described, it doesn/t seem to matter what I set the External Editing color space to be.  PS sees every image coming in as adobeRGB.  So if the LR target space is sRGB, or adobeRGB, and PS color space is sRGB, I get an error in both cases.  I should not if the target is srgb.  On the other hand, if the target inj LR is sRGB, and PS color space is adobeRGB, I do not get an error.  The image just opens.  This should not happen, should it?

Just to be clear the LR 'External Editing' color space setting only affects the 'Edit In' PS color profile. For 'Exports' you need to set the Color Space under 'File Settings' in the Export module.

What are your PS Edit> Color Settings. This is what I suggest using with LR, which will indicate a profile mismatch for anything except ProPhoto RGB:

As a test try setting BOTH the External Editing Preferences and Export>File Handling> Color Space to ProPhoto RGB color profile and do an 'Edit In' PS and an Export. With the two files open in PS see what profile shows at Edit> Convert to Profile under 'Source Space.' Tell me what you see here for each file!

[howdego]

If I set external editing in LR to prophoto and PS to prophoto, file opens.  If I export asa PSD  prohoto image, and open that image in PS with prophoto color space, file still opens.  In both cases, the Convert to Profile shows the source space of the images opned in PS to be prophoto.  Did the same for adobergb, got the right result, i.e., files opened in both cases and the source space is adobe RGB.  HOWEVER, if I set external editing in LR to sRGB, and PS to sRGB, I cannot open the file in PS as a get the error that the photo is adobeRGB (not sRGB).  BUT, if I open the exported sRGB file image in PS, with PS set for the sRGB color space, it does open.  So, is seems that LR is not converting the photo to the sRGB color space when sending it to PS directly, but is doing so on export.  

[Todd Shaner]

It seems you are changing your PS Color Settings. I suggest leaving both LR External Editing Preferences and PS Color Settings with ProPhoto RGB, TIFF, 16 bit format. If you decide you want to 'Save' the file inside PS as an sRGB JPEG (instead of TIFF), convert the profile, and use 'Save As.' You'll need to do a folder Synchronize to import the JPEG back inside LR for these exception cases, but this is not a big deal. This insures the best image quality when applyng PS edits.

I would suggest resetting your LR Preferences file. I usually rename the current file by adding a .old extension to the name.

http://members.lightroomqueen.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/1148/198/how-do-i-delete-the...

[howdego]

I am not trying to change my color settings.  I just noticed this happening, and I am trying to find out why.  I am beginning to believe after these exchanges with you that either LR or PS is corrupted, as all settings seem correct.  Resetting my LR preferences file might be something I could try, but I will have to do some fixing thereafter as I use the ProShow plug-in.  So if you cannot think of anything else, I guess that is my next step.

I am, however, trying to decide on the right color space to use, which is how I noticed this problem. I rarely make prints of my photos.  I make bluray movies using Proshow Producer.  I recently got a new monitor and Samsung LED HDTV, and found that my photo videos did not display right and I am trying to find out why.  I found the normal viewing settings of the TV have too much color and sharpness, so I established another group of settings for photos, which helped.  However, I am still not satisfied.

I use prophoto as my color space, PSD as my master format (similar to TIFF), when I save to LR after downsizing in PS, and 16 bit depth.  But when I make my movies, I use the Proshow plug-in to change my images to 8 bit JPEGs in sRGB color space and load the now reformatted photos into Proshow.  I do the latter as HDTVs only support sRGB, or a similar space called rec. 709. I have not used the latter space, although PS supports it, as I do most of my editing in LR anyway, and my monitor does not explicitly support it.

So it occurred to me that some colors might be wrong, or too saturated, because I am not seeing them on my monitor as they will appear on the HDTV.  I am thinking that since sRGB is my final color space, I would try to do everything in the sRGB space, including setting my monitor to sRGB (I have a Dell 2413 which supports adobeRGB too).  I was inn the process of trying this when I found the issue at hand.  Might you have any thoughts about this color space choice?

[Todd Shaner]

howdego wrote:

I am not trying to change my color settings.  I just noticed this happening, and I am trying to find out why.  I am beginning to believe after these exchanges with you that either LR or PS is corrupted, as all settings seem correct.  Resetting my LR preferences file might be something I could try, but I will have to do some fixing thereafter as I use the ProShow plug-in.  So if you cannot think of anything else, I guess that is my next step.

I also use the ProShow Producer plugin. Resetting LR Preferences should not affect any of your plugins, just the settings in the Preferences panel.

Try resetting your LR Preferences file. I usually rename the current file by adding a .old extension to the name. I had a number of issues with LR and PS where resetting the preferences fixed the problem.

http://members.lightroomqueen.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/Vie w/1148/198/how-do-i-delete-th...

If the above doesn't fix it then try restting PS Preferences:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/375776

Logic would say this has to be a LR Edit In PS issue, but I'd still try the PS Preferences reset if the LR reset doesn't fix it. Again, I usually first rename the current preferences file by adding a .old extension to the name. That way you can restore it and you original preferences if it doesn't help. It will NOT affect any of your PS plugins, just PS preferences settings and anything "wacky" with PS's defaults that is causing the problem. Ditto LR.....

Also post a screenshot of your LR Preferences> External Editing panel so we aren't overlooking something there.

[howdego]

MOved the preferences file in LR and reset all the tools in PS.  Reopened LR and set file handling as shown in attached snip.   No help!   if PS is set for the sRGB color space, and LR is set to export to PS in sRGB, PS shows the embedded profile mismatch box, saying the imalge is adobeRGB. This is very weird! 

Oh, one more thing.  I did lose the ProShow Producer plug-in from the export file window.  Any idea where it is stored?

[D Fosse]

You say you reset all the tools in Photoshop, but that won't do anything. Reset preferences is what you want. Hold ctrl + alt + shift and launch. If you do it right you'll get a confirmation dialog.

howdego wrote:

if PS is set for the sRGB color space

Just to be clear, the Photoshop working space only affects new documents created in Photoshop. It doesn't affect existing or incoming documents, as long as you have PS color management policies set to "preserve embedded profiles" (which as already mentioned is the only sensible setting).

[howdego]

Twenty_one

I normally do have the PS color settings set for Preserve Embedded Profile.  So if I want sRGB,  I set LR to export in sRGB, and set the  PS color space in sRGB, so the image should open in PS as sRGB, and I would not be concerned.  But, based on the error message I get, if i were to set PS to Preserve Embedded Profile, and LR preference was set for export in sRGB, the profile I would get in PS would be adobeRGB, not sRGB, because PS thinks the embedded profile is adobeRGB.  And that may not be what I want. 

Also, I reset the preferences as you instructed, but the problem persists.

[D Fosse]

If you have reset Lr preferences (moved/renamed) and reset Ps preferences (ctrl/alt/shift - you did get the confirmation?), there must be something we've overlooked, because this isn't supposed to happen.

So just to cover the obvious - this is "edit in" (ctrl + E), not Export? And not "additional editor" (ctrl + alt + E)?

One thing you can do in Photoshop to keep track, is to set the notification area at the bottom of the image frame. This way you have instant confirmation:

And again: With "preserve embedded" Photoshop will honor any incoming profile. There is no need to "set" Photoshop for anything.

[howdego]

To twenty_one, comment 21:

Definitely using the "edit in" selection from the pull down menu.  I rarely use keystroke commands,   I also have the document profiles on, and if I use the error dialog box to use the embedded profiole, it come up as adobeRGB, not the sRGB I selected.

[Todd Shaner]

What happens when you change your Camera Raw 'Workflow Options' color space to sRGB and then try 'Edit in PS' with LR 'External Editing' color space also set to sRGB?

[D Fosse]

I'm itching to get my hands on this computer, to find out what the heck is going on here...

We need to back up a little and plug every hole here, so bear with me: Is the Camera Raw plugin involved at any point in this process? Because that's the only thing that can override the settings in Lightroom or Photoshop.

Glitches in expected behavior can happen, but I've never heard of or seen a case where a full preferences reset didn't fix it. That's supposed to return the application to its pristine factory state.

Edit: trshaner beat me to it.

[Todd Shaner]

howdego wrote:

Oh, one more thing.  I did lose the ProShow Producer plug-in from the export file window.  Any idea where it is stored?

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Modules

There are two ProShow plugins you will need to 'Add' back from inside the LR Plugin Manager.