Images not exporting as how they appear in catalog

[fynkynd5]

Recently the way my images appear in my Lightroom 5 catalog has changed. Now the colors look muted, the noise is more obvious and overall they are just mushy... I don't really know how to explain it. They look like this in my catalog but when I export them they look good(normal).
Here is a comparison of the same image in Lightroom and exported in my documents.

Lightroom:
Documents:

See the difference? What is causing this and what can I do?

Thanks,
Fyn

[Per Berntsen]

Please tell us what application you are viewing the exported image in.

Also tell us the exact version of Lightroom 5 (go to Help > system info), and your operating system and version.

Generally speaking, Lightroom is color managed, and most other applications are not.

So Lightroom will be right, and non-color managed applications will be wrong.

But if Lightroom all of a sudden has begun to display your photos differently, there could a problem with the monitor profile.

Have you calibrated your monitor with a hardware calibrator?

Does the image display identically in Library and Develop?

[fynkynd5]

I am viewing them in the Picasa Photo Viewer.
I have version 5.0.

I have not calibrated my monitor.
The photos are identical in library and develop.

[Todd Shaner]

Check to see if Color Management is enabled in Picasa Viewer. If it is then try unchecking it. Close and restart Picasa Viewer to apply the setting change. Tell us your results.

Picasa - Enable color management in photo viewer

[fynkynd5]

It is unchecked. It isn't a Picasa issue, it's with Lightroom, I think. When I upload the images to Instagram, for instance, they appear how they look in Picasa Viewer.

[Per Berntsen]

Lightroom is color managed, and will display your photos correctly, if you have sound monitor profile.

Most other programs are not color managed, and will not display them correctly.

If you turn on color management in Picasa, they should display identically.

And if they don't look right in Lightroom, you need to edit them to look right.

If Lightroom all of a sudden has begun to display your photos differently, there could be something wrong with your monitor profile.

What is the make and model of your monitor?

Are you on Mac or Windows?

[fynkynd5]

I turned on color management in Picasa and now they do look the same as in Lightroom, but when I upload them to Flickr they look the same as how they did in Picasa without color management, which is how I want them to look.

I am on Windows and my monitor is a Dell SE198WFP.

[TheDigitalDog]

fynkynd5  wrote

I turned on color management in Picasa and now they do look the same as in Lightroom, but when I upload them to Flickr they look the same as how they did in Picasa without color management, which is how I want them to look.

I am on Windows and my monitor is a Dell SE198WFP.

Your web browser may not be color managed and that's why they would appear different in Flicker. If that browser or site implemented color management, they would match!

See:

sRGB urban legend & myths Part 2

In this 17 minute video, I'll discuss some more sRGB misinformation and cover:

When to use sRGB and what to expect on the web and mobile devices

How sRGB doesn't insure a visual match without color management, how to check

The downsides of an all sRGB workflow

sRGB's color gamut vs. "professional" output devices

The future of sRGB and wide gamut display technology

Photo print labs that demand sRGB for output

High resolution: http://digitaldog.net/files/sRGBMythsPart2.mp4

Low resolution on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyvVUL1gWVs

[fynkynd5]

So do my photos on social media appear different to other people? Also why did Lightroom change for me all of a sudden?

[TheDigitalDog]

fynkynd5  wrote

So do my photos on social media appear different to other people? Also why did Lightroom change for me all of a sudden?

You really can't. You can't control what other's see. You can't control if they use color management or color managed applications. You can't control if they calibrate and profile their display (you state you are not). Best you can do is control your viewing conditions which means calibrating your display, then uploading the images in sRGB. But if you view the video, you'll see that alone isn't a guarantee that others will see the image as you do.

[fynkynd5]

And it's not just a color issue, the noise is also different.

[Per Berntsen]

when I upload them to Flickr they look the same as how they did in Picasa without color management, which is how I want them to look.

I'm guessing that you are using Internet Explorer or Edge to view the images on Flickr. These browsers are not color managed, and will therefore display like Picasa without color management. I suggest that you use a color managed browser - like Firefox, Chrome or Opera.

Try setting the monitor profile to sRGB, if Lightroom then displays like it used to do before, you should ideally calibrate the monitor with a hardware calibrator. But using sRGB might be good enough for your requirements.

If setting the monitor profile to sRGB doesnt change anything, you have to edit your photos in Lightroom so that they look how you want them.

Press the Windows key+R, type colorcpl, and hit Enter.

Add the sRGB profile, then set it as Default profile. See screenshot below.

Make sure that Use my settings for this device is checked.

And it's not just a color issue, the noise is also different.

Noise (and sharpening) can only be evaluated at 1:1 view. Any other view will be inaccurate and misleading because the image has been scaled, and you are not seeing the true pixels.

[fynkynd5]

I am using Chrome. I will try changing the color profile.

[TheDigitalDog]

fynkynd5  wrote

I am using Chrome. I will try changing the color profile.

Setting the display profile to sRGB is a very bad idea! The profile needs to reflect the actual conditions of the display itself! See:

Introduction to display calibration (TakeGreatPictures):

https://web.archive.org/web/20070119043614/http://www.takegreatpictures.com/HOME/Columns/Digital_Pho...

[Per Berntsen]

thedigitaldog wrote

Setting the display profile to sRGB is a very bad idea! The profile needs to reflect the actual conditions of the display itself!

Well, using sRGB may not be ideal, but it's usually better than the low quality profiles provided by some monitor manufacturerers.

I did mention in my post that ideally, the monitor should be calibrated with a hardware calibrator.

[TheDigitalDog]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Per+Berntsen  wrote

thedigitaldog  wrote

Setting the display profile to sRGB is a very bad idea! The profile needs to reflect the actual conditions of the display itself!

Well, using sRGB may not be ideal, but it's usually better than the low quality profiles provided by some monitor manufacturerers.

I did mention in my post that ideally, the monitor should be calibrated with a hardware calibrator.

It's a lie! It doesn't reflect the conditions of the display. Further, sRGB is a very specific set of aim points that very few displays today produce*. No, it's far more likely a generic display profile from the manufacturer closer defines the conditions of the display, at least before someone mucks around with the OSD controls. But both options are a kludge. You need to use hardware to calibrate (to a desired condition), the display and then build an ICC profile that describes that condition. Any other method is half baked in terms of sound color management.

*https://www.w3.org/Graphics/Color/srgb

sRGB spec is a display producing a backlight intensity of a mere 80 cd/m^2! Let alone spec's for the white point and primary. 

[D Fosse]

Let's not go overboard here...no, sRGB is not ideal, nobody said it was. But a manufacturer profile that is completely broken is even less ideal. These broken manufacturer profiles are distributed through Windows Update all the time, leaving unsuspecting users with a completely unusable setup.

That's when I say, "if you don't have a calibrator, use sRGB until you do". I am, of course, more than happy to discuss how to profile a display, in depth, with those who decide to do it properly.

[TheDigitalDog]

D Fosse

https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse  wrote

Let's not go overboard here...no, sRGB is not ideal, nobody said it was. But a manufacturer profile that is completely broken is even less ideal.

Broken profile?

IF indeed it's broken, then a new one, that defines display conditions is needed.

[D Fosse]

Broken profile?

Broken profiles from monitor manufacturers is a huge problem. This is what Per is referring to.

[TheDigitalDog]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse  wrote

Broken profiles from monitor manufacturers is a huge problem. This is what Per is referring to.

How is it broken? It may be very old, it may not define current device behavior. But then does sRGB? Huge assumption.

ICC display profiles can break (they can get corrupted). That isn't what it appears some here are suggesting (Per).

And who's to say one cannot download the original profile if indeed it's corrupted, or find one from a back up.

Best approach of course is just calibrate and profile the display. No assumptions. If done correctly.

[Todd Shaner]

Agreed, and the Dell SE198WFP TFT monitor was introduced about 10 years ago so has probably aged quite a bit. Because of this the monitor profile supplied by Dell is not going to be valid. The LR color managed black level is lower in the provided screenshot than the sRGB JPEG Export file, so clearly the display profile is incorrect.

It can't hurt to try assigning the sRGB profile and see if the LR and Web viewed Export images look closer. The ideal solution is to use a monitor calibrator. Unfortunately, this may simply reveal the Dell SE198WFP monitor is no longer capable of outputting a very bright image. This would explain why the original files are being incorrectly adjusted inside LR (i.e. brighter). ERGO–It may be time to buy a new monitor.

[TheDigitalDog]

trshaner  wrote

Agreed, and the Dell SE198WFP TFT monitor was introduced about 10 years ago so has probably aged quite a bit. Because of this the monitor profile supplied by Dell is not going to be valid.

How invalid, compared to sRGB is something one can, with the proper tools, evaluate colorimetrically AFTER the display is actually measured so that's kind of moot. Measure the display and build a profile!

But simply suggesting one substitute sRGB for the older display profile is based on massive assumptions and a kludge.

Assigning sRGB is one thing but doing so still uses the display profile, good, bad or ugly to render the preview.

Loading the sRGB profile for the display can be done and it may look better but we still have no idea what the RGB numbers should look like with a good display profile that defines the display condition.

You either care that the big pile of RGB numbers preview correctly or you don't. If you do, you calibrate then profile your display.

[TheDigitalDog]

trshaner  wrote

Unfortunately, this may simply reveal the Dell SE198WFP monitor is no longer capable of outputting a very bright image. This would explain why the original files are being incorrectly adjusted inside LR (i.e. brighter). ERGO–It may be time to buy a new monitor.

Then lower the target calibration for cd/m^2 or buy a new display. But at least create an ICC profile, used in color managed applications to produce a preview, correctly.

[fynkynd5]

Thanks everybody. I had been putting off getting a new display for a while, this is a good excuse to just do it.

Nobody answered why all of a sudden it happened... It's been perfect for a year.

[Todd Shaner]

fynkynd5  wrote

Nobody answered why all of a sudden it happened... It's been perfect for a year.

If you're running on Windows 10 it is possible a recent Windows update assigned a new color profile to your monitor. Regardless of what monitor you're using it's always a good idea to calibrate it using an i1 Display or Spyder hardware device.