Adobe Camera Raw Color Problems

[TylerBkk1]

I have read many posts here on the Adobe forums from people having a similar problem, but without any useful solutions. That problem being that the colors I see in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) when adjusting a Raw file in ACR are very different than the actual colors once the file leaves ACR and opens up within Photoshop.

As with everyone else having similar problems, this makes it difficult to accurately process images in ACR. I am running Windows 10 (with all the latest updates), PS CC 2018, and ACR v10. I also have a custom color profile installed on my system that I created by calibrating my monitor using an X-Rite monitor calibration device and their i1 Profiler software.

Basically it appears that ACR is making the colors look very nicely saturated and contrasty when I am working on a photo in ACR, but, then, when the photo opens in PS, the colors turn very dull/flat and destatured.

What appears is happening is that ACR is using the monitor’s own colors that are set within the hardware of the monitor and not the color profile I have created and which is running properly with my system in all other situations.

I have read all the posts here on the forum suggesting about disabling “Using Graphics Processor” in the ACR preferences, but turning this on or off has no effect on my system or my color issue.

Attached is a screen shot showing the issue I am having. On the left is the photo already processed in ACR and then open within Photoshop with its flat colors. On the right is the photo still open in ACR with the nice contrast and well saturated colors.

How the screen shot will look for you may vary depending on your monitor, color profile, and how your system is set up. So the difference in the colors between the two images in my screen shot may be a bit different for you than what I am seeing, but at the very least you should be able to see a noticeable difference in the colors from right to left.

So the question is how can I force ACR to use the computer’s correct color profile and to stop it from using the monitor's hardware preset colors when I am processing a photo in ACR?

Thanks for an kind support you may be able to provide.

[D Fosse]

Is this a dual display setup, like a laptop + external monitor?

In that case it's very likely a bug that seems to happen occasionally (but not for everyone) - where ACR is using the wrong display profile. It's using the profile for the main display even when the application is on the secondary display.

This has been reported many times here, but still no official word from Adobe. A workaround is to swap main<>secondary display assignments in the OS.

If it's a single display setup, the display profile is defective. This can affect applications differently. Make a new one, and make sure i1P is set to produce version 2 matrix-based profiles - not version 4 and/or table-based. The latter two are known to be problematic in some scenarios.

[TylerBkk1]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I am using a desktop computer with a dual monitor setup, yes, but the second monitor is not being used in this situation. It is fully powered off and has its own separate color profile created by i1P. The secondary display is rarely used for anything. Photoshop is being used on the main display (a Dell 30") and so the secondary display doesn't even come into play here. Also, the colors are fairly consistent across the two monitors if I were even to turn on the second monitor (an old 24" Apple Cinema display).

I can try making a new color profile with i1P, but I am not sure the profile is defective either. The profile seems to be doing the job correctly in PS. It is just ACR that has the problem.

[D Fosse · Accepted solution]

Yes, but the profile is still active if the unit is detected by the OS.

The display profile is loaded by the application on startup. It just uses the profile it's given by the OS - and if ACR reports the wrong display to the OS, then it's given the wrong profile.

Disconnect the Apple display entirely, and make a new profile. Then check again.

[TylerBkk1]

Great, thank you, that seems to have done the trick. Good advice. I unplugged the Apple display from the graphics card, then I ran i1P, created a new profile for the Dell monitor, then I opened Adobe Bridge, and brought a Raw file into ACR and all looks good now I think.

By the way, I checked my i1P settings that I have always been using and and for the ICC Profile Version I have been using Version 2 and not Version 4 and for Profile Type I have been using Matrix Based and not Table based. So no mistakes were made there. So that was all correct already.

At this point is there any way I can reconnect the Apple monitor and have things still work correctly, or is this not an option at this point?

[D Fosse]

OK, good. Then we know that is indeed the problem.

I've only used single-display setups lately, so I can't test or reproduce anything here. But I would think that if ACR is on the main display, as seen by the OS, it should work. That's what others have reported.

[GFred22]

What is your recommendation then, for Apple Macbook Pro?