Lightroom changes the appearance of my images after import

[jodiekellyphoto]

This was the title of a post by ninjapimp a couple years ago, this feed went on for a couple years.  Until the WONDERFUL geoff the kiwi locked it because NOT one of the ACP could give a rational answer.  The processing of RAW images, settings on camera BLAH BLAH BLAH, any answers yet??? Because I can have a perfectly sharp image, and when it opens the image in Lightroom it instantly losses contrast and looks much softer!!! Well, if this is a "camera setting problem" or a RAW image problem, or computer monitor problem, why can I open the image straight into photoshop RAW and the image not change.  Looks perfect.  I can also open the image in Phase One, and once again NOT CHANGED one bit.  Looks perfect!!! ONLY IN LIGHTROOM! I would love to use Adobe products to process my images, but looks like I will move on to Phase One since this IS A LIGHTROOM ISSSUE, and they don't care to fix it!!! Or admit it!!!! So if anyone would like to once again start this feed with me please do so.  I ask the question once again.  Why is this happening???

[dj_paige]

Because I can have a perfectly sharp image, and when it opens the image in Lightroom it instantly losses contrast and looks much softer!!!

This is normal behavior for Lightroom. In other words, Lightroom is doing what it was designed to do. So it's not a bug, and there's nothing to fix.

If you don't like this behavior of Lightroom, you can:

• design develop presets that are applied at import that make your photo more pleasing and more contrasty to your liking (which many people do, and seems to resolve this issue for those people)
• move on to Phase ONE
• keep complaining, which won't change a thing

[jodiekellyphoto]

So Lightroom is designed to corrupt images? To change images?  I doubt that dj! I complain because I pay a great deal of money to use Adobe products.  Unfortunately they have the market cornered, so I have to use Photoshop.   I am not the only one with this issue.  Maybe you are used to sub par "soft images".  If I am paying for a service, I expect issues to be dealt with and questions answered; not for threads to be locked when questions CANT be answered.  Maybe you are used to sub par "soft images" but I am not.  

[dj_paige · Accepted solution]

Lightroom is showing you the un-adjusted raw image, exactly as your camera captured it. The other software is adjusting your image based upon camera settings and possibly other things in the software algorithms, in other words, the other software is giving you an edited RAW image.

My images are neither soft nor un-pleasing after I apply a develop preset. Many professional photographers use Lightroom, and do not have this issue because they understand what Lightroom is doing and they accept that and work with it (perhaps by applying the preset).

What objection do you have to applying a preset and having all your photos look much more pleasing, without you doing any work whatsoever?

But again, if you don't like what Lightroom is doing, you have choices.

[jodiekellyphoto]

I apologize for my remark above dj.  I just don't see the need to go through extra steps.  Especially when the processing of images is already so time consuming.  I don't understand why you and the people from Adobe say that the "other software" is editing the image.  I can look at the image on the back of my camera, and compare the image when opened in Phase One and the image is spot on.  However when I compare the image to the image I see in Lightroom it is way off.  I AM a professional photographer, and I do understand what is going on.  What I don't understand is why adobe doesn't do something change the way the file is processed.  If my camera is showing me an image, photoshop raw, Phase One, and other means are showing me the EXACT same image. and then Lightroom is showing me another.  Lightroom seems to be the one "editing" or changing it.  I myself being a PROFESSIONAL award winning photographer, complain like MANY other PROFESSIONALS because I don't feel like I should have to take EXTRA steps to take my image BACK to the way it should be when imported.  Thank you for your input, and I once again apologize for the "soft" comment.  Just a little heated.  Have a great day 🙂

[dj_paige]

I don't understand why you and the people from Adobe say that the "other software" is editing the image.

Just to be 100% clear, I am not associated with Adobe in any way. I don't know if you meant to imply that, or not.

If the pixels you see on the screen are not the RAW data as captured by the camera sensor, then somehow the image has been changed or edited. And depending on who you talk to, that is either a good thing (and these people probably don't like Lightroom) or that is a bad thing (in which case these people have no problem with Lightroom showing the unchanged pixels).

What I don't understand is why adobe doesn't do something change the way the file is processed.

Because (I'm guessing) they don't want to. It was not a design feature. They didn't want to design a product that was identical to other software. They listened to (some) photographers who wanted the unchanged RAW pixels that was seen by the sensor in the camera.

[TomKredo]

Hi there, I had this same problem and went searching for answers and didn't find any. But I think I know what the problem is, and have a solution. LR is importing to a DNG from my raw, which is fine. However when I go to look at them the default color profile is Adobe Color which is adding contrast that I do not want into my images. All the sliders are set to zero, so it looks like that is the raw file out of the camera. So under the develop module, if I change the profile to Adobe Neutral, it looks exactly like the thumbnails. In order to make this the default after import, you have to create a new preset under the Develop tab, and then assign this preset under the Edit/Preferences/Presets tab/Raw Defaults/Global. You can even set different profiles for different cameras. Hope that helps.

[Michael J. Hoffman]

There's a ton of functionality that you can enable by setting the defaults to the way you want them to be. See this page for more:

Set Up Raw Defaults