LR darkening images

[jozo10]

After I import images into LR, it appears to be darkening the image in the preview window. I've never seen it do this before. When I export the raw files - the photo is unaltered (not darkened). Why does it darken the image in the preview window? Note: I do not want to make any adjustments to the original. I want to keep the original raw file unaltered.

Also, it it normal when exporting from RAW to RAW for there to be XMP files? I did not do any editing in LR, so I don't understand why LR is exporting XMP files? I just want it to export the original.

[jozo10]

PS I have a Macbook Pro OSX Yosemite

LR version up to date

[ManiacJoe]

Which screen are you seeing this darkening at? The Import dialog? The loupe view in the Library?

Keep in mind that the first view of the image is the imbedded preview JPG that contains all the camera's baked-in settings. You will see this until LR has created an image from the raw data file, which will have none of the camera's settings applied.

[jozo10]

the Images are darkening both when you click on Library and Develop tab. I tried to re-import them to see if it was just a glitch. Problem still persists. When I exported them as JPEG, the images are darkened (like they appear in LR). When I exported them as original, they are not darkening. I've never had this issue before with LR. I export all the time as jpegs, and the image does not darken like this.

For instance, when I create jpegs from CR2 files (by changing the extension - not through LR). The jpegs are not as dark as what I see in LR.

How can one edit using LR, if the image is darker than it should be in reality? I've never had this issue with Camera Raw in PS. 

[JP Hess]

It's possible that you underexposed the images when you took them with the camera. The camera compensated for this with its internal settings that were applied to the JPEG preview, but those internal adjustments do not get applied to the raw image data. Lightroom displays the JPEG preview while it generates a preview of the raw data. You don't ever have to worry about making adjustments  to your  raw files. They are never modified in Lightroom. All images remain in their original state. The adjustments that you make in Lightroom are stored in the catalog and applied whenever the image is displayed in Lightroom. When you want to share an image with someone that has all of the adjustments applied, it is necessary to export a copy and provide that copy.

[Jao vdL]

jozo10  wrote

the Images are darkening both when you click on Library and Develop tab. I tried to re-import them to see if it was just a glitch. Problem still persists. When I exported them as JPEG, the images are darkened (like they appear in LR). When I exported them as original, they are not darkening. I've never had this issue before with LR. I export all the time as jpegs, and the image does not

darken like this.

It sounds like you are opening the raw images in preview? raw images have no default rendering and the way they look in preview is how Apple has decided to render raw files from your camera. That has nothing to do with how Adobe renders raw images or how the camera manufacturer renders raw files. A raw file opened in preview will ALWAYS look different than what it looks like in Lightroom. Also, only Adobe programs can read the rendering instructions written into the xmp sidecar file. When you export as original, Lightroom copies the original raw file (unaltered!) and accompanies it with a xmp sidecar that contains rendering instructions and metadata. The same thing happens with jpeg and tiff originals if you export as original only the xmp data gets written into the file itself. Again even with those files, you can only see the edits in Adobe software. If you want a fully rendered file, you have to export as jpeg, tiff, or psd. That will render the original image into a new file with baked in develop settings.

That said, it is possible that you have by accident set a default develop setting for your images that darkens them. To check this, go into Lightroom's preferences, open presets and click on "reset all default develop settings". Also make sure you are not applying a preset upon file import.

[jozo10]

Thank you for your response. The raw file looks different in PS vs. LR. LR is definitely darkening the image (and flattening it). I've never seen this before. Yes of course a RAW file in Mac Preview will look different than in PS or LR. I reset the develop settings and re-imported the images again. I made sure nothing weird was checked during the Import. So it looks like when they first get imported, they look fine (not dark). But as soon as I create a collection and click on one of the images (in the bottom scroll bar), they all start to darken one by one on their own. I've never seen such a discrepancy before between LR and Camera Raw. Why would anyone use LR to edit photos if it is not an accurate representation of what the photo actually looks like? What else can I do to fix this? Am I accidentally adjusting the exposure some how? I'm not doing anything different than I would normally do to look at the original photos I've taken.

[Jao vdL · Accepted solution]

LR and camera raw should look absolutely identical. If they don't, something else is going on such as some edits being applied in either one of those. It's also possible you are dealing with a bad monitor profile. The latter is very rare on Macs but can happen sometimes and is fixed by a recalibration.

>So it looks like when they first get imported, they look fine (not dark). But as soon as I create a collection and click on one of the images (in the bottom scroll bar), they all start to darken one by one on their own.

This is normal behavior. At first after import you see the embedded jpeg file that every raw file has. Those are replaced progressively by previews generated by Lightroom. My guess is indeed that there is some sort of preset or default applied. Can you go into Develop and post a screenshot of the develop settings. Alternatively, export the raw file as a dng and post that somewhere for us to check out. It will contain any Develop settings applied.

It is also possible that you are shooting using one of the dynamic range extending modes on your camera. Nikon, Canon and other manufacturers have these modes that automatically underexpose the raw file (so that you have a bit more highlight headroom) and contain a (proprietary) tag in the file that instructs the camera maker's software to compensate. This tag cannot be read by Lightroom or Camera raw. If this were the case, both Lightroom and Camera raw would look too dark.

[Adoshame]

I have the same problem in Win10 using LR5.7. I've been using LR since the original beta and this problem began recently.

[shangrawj]

I encountered the same problem when I attempted to Copy the image (Control + Shift + C) and the picture went dark. Why did this happen?  Jenny