Photoshop cc 2015: Export as... Color shift issues

[Thlayle]

I am sure there must be a fairly simple answer to this, but I am not finding it on my own:

Since the latest upgrades in Photoshop and Lightroom CC, I am finding some issues with color shift that takes place when I try to use the Photoshop "Export as" command. In all cases, it is with photos I have taken from Lightroom to Photoshop, either with or without processing in Lightroom first.

When I use the "Export as" line in Photoshop to save the project as a JPEG, I get a very noticeable color shift in the image. This does not happen when using the "Save for Web (Legacy)" command line.

Also, all the instances of this are with Raw files carried over to Photoshop as PSD files from Lightroom.

I have a feeling this is an issue with color space, but of course i am just guessing. Currently, Lightroom is set to "ProPhoto RGB" which it says is the best choice for preserving color detail from Lightroom.

Thanks,

Randy

[chauncey]

FWIW...Adobe made some changes that have forced some of us to alter the way we "save for web".

My method now is to>Resize image>Edit.convert to sRGB profile>Image mode 8 bit>add adjustment
layers as necessary>"save as" a jpeg image>you'll get a pop-up asking about quality.

[davidedric]

Hi Randy,

Certainly, prophoto rgb is what you are best using to pass to Photoshop. I don't use Photoshop, but if the dialogue is similar to Lightroom you are best choosing sRGB as the exporting colour space.

Cheers,

Dave

[Manfred M]

Randy - the default setting for Lightroom is the ProPhoto colour space (unless you change the defaults). This should pass through to Photoshop (I use the Adobe Camera Raw to Photoshop workflow and my default colour space is ProPhoto).

I use this to work the image (16-bit mode) and will only convert to sRGB if I save to jpeg. A colour shift is definitely noticeable in some instances. Something has to give when you change from a 16-bit wide-gamut colour space like ProPhoto to a 8-bit sRGB for jpegs.

[DanK]

I think this might depend on the monitor. I don't have a wide-gamut monitor, so even though I use ProPhoto as my working space, LR and PS both map to sRGB in order to display on my cheap monitor. I don't notice a color shift when I export.

Zerene doesn't map the display to sRGB, and when I export ProPhoto TIFs to Zerene, I see a very striking color shift. It vanishes when I import the resulting composite back into LR.

Randy - the default setting for Lightroom is the ProPhoto colour space (unless you change the defaults). This should pass through to Photoshop (I use the Adobe Camera Raw to Photoshop workflow and my default colour space is ProPhoto).

I use this to work the image (16-bit mode) and will only convert to sRGB if I save to jpeg. A colour shift is definitely noticeable in some instances. Something has to give when you change from a 16-bit wide-gamut colour space like ProPhoto to a 8-bit sRGB for jpegs.

[Thlayle]

Chauncey: (wm? c? or...)

Ok, I can go that way. It sounds like it works out much the same as with the "Save for Web (Legacy)" choice. Thanks.

Manfred,

A couple of questions then:

1) Is ProPhoto RGB the default in Photoshop? Even when going directly from Lightroom to Photoshop? I notice when I choose 'edit in Photoshop' from Lightroom, it opens in Photoshop without opening the Camera Raw filter. I subsequently don't go to Camera Raw if I have done adjustments in LR first, unless I decide on some additional adjustments with Camera Raw.

2) I am normally editing in 16-bit mode in Photoshop. I assume from my experience & what I am reading here that the "Save for Web (Legacy)" step is converting to 8-bit sRGB (probably shows in the dialog but I am not 'seeing' it in my head right now). So if I am going to use the "Export as" line, should I first always resize the image & convert it to sRGB before using the "Export As"?

3) I am getting confused about the export process, I think. Is there an advantage to the "Export as" over the "Save for Web" command, say with images that are intended for print per se, rather than just the web?

Dan,

I am not sure on my monitor. That is a bit of a thorny subject for me. I am working mostly from my laptop display (I know, Manfred: it isn't for serious editors/photographers to do it that way). My laptop is a MBP and I am assuming it doesn't have the 'wide gamut.' I have a desktop monitor but is definitely a low-end POC. I hardly ever use it. Someday I will get a better monitor. In fact, I have been considering getting a high quality desktop monitor for my next computer equipment upgrade. My MBP just won't quit and I don't think I will ever want to totally lose the portability. So, for another day, that will me my question for the CIC forum: what to get in the way of a good monitor that can be connected to my laptop (please, don't tell that won't work...).

[Manfred M]

Randy - so far as i know:

1. Photoshop doesn't have a default mode per se. It will use whatever colour space information is embedded in the file you are opening. Colour space assignment for a raw file will occur in the raw editor, regardless of what you use. I happen to have set my "usual" raw editor to assign the ProPhoto colour space when I open my raw files and I have also set the default to 16-bit. In the "old" days, Lightroom would be 100% ProPhoto, but more recent versions let you select the colour space. In my view, Adobe was correct in suggesting the default they did as it is one of the most commonly used wide-gamut colour spaces.

If you create a new file in Photoshop, the creation screen will left you set the colour space and bit depth as part of the creation process.

2. I never use the "Export As" or "Save for Web (Legacy) commands. I do the "Save As" command and choose one of the file formats / quality levels. I see no advantage in going through those extra steps.

3. I think the export process is one of those legacy processes that they kept because people still use it. I can't see any advantages what so ever. As I print most of my own images, I print from the PSD file I've worked the image with and use the "smarts" in Photoshop and the printer's print engine to do the conversion. I do play around with the rendering intents a bit. I tend to stick with for "Perceptual" landscapes and "Relative colormetric" for portraits and product shots.

I will Soft Proof from time to time, but as I generally stick to one paper in my colour work (I'm a bit more adventurous in B&W), I'm generally okay without it.

The reason I don't like using my laptop for editing is that the colours are awful (even after profiling) and only use it on the road for posting to the web. I'll redo the colours on my wide-gamut screen when I get home just because I trust it. Sure you can plug your laptop into a screen. I did this all the time at work before I retired. I like working on a larger screen.

[Thlayle]

Randy - so far as i know:

1. Photoshop doesn't have a default mode per se. It will use whatever colour space information is embedded in the file you are opening. Colour space assignment for a raw file will occur in the raw editor, regardless of what you use. I happen to have set my "usual" raw editor to assign the ProPhoto colour space when I open my raw files and I have also set the default to 16-bit. In the "old" days, Lightroom would be 100% ProPhoto, but more recent versions let you select the colour space. In my view, Adobe was correct in suggesting the default they did as it is one of the most commonly used wide-gamut colour spaces.

If you create a new file in Photoshop, the creation screen will left you set the colour space and bit depth as part of the creation process.

2. I never use the "Export As" or "Save for Web (Legacy) commands. I do the "Save As" command and choose one of the file formats / quality levels. I see no advantage in going through those extra steps.

3. I think the export process is one of those legacy processes that they kept because people still use it. I can't see any advantages what so ever. As I print most of my own images, I print from the PSD file I've worked the image with and use the "smarts" in Photoshop and the printer's print engine to do the conversion. I do play around with the rendering intents a bit. I tend to stick with for "Perceptual" landscapes and "Relative colormetric" for portraits and product shots.

I will Soft Proof from time to time, but as I generally stick to one paper in my colour work (I'm a bit more adventurous in B&W), I'm generally okay without it.

The reason I don't like using my laptop for editing is that the colours are awful (even after profiling) and only use it on the road for posting to the web. I'll redo the colours on my wide-gamut screen when I get home just because I trust it. Sure you can plug your laptop into a screen. I did this all the time at work before I retired. I like working on a larger screen.

Thanks, for the reply, Manfred. The main thing I am learning right now is how much I don't know: about things like color space & the 'awful' colors on my laptop. I didn't know they were awful and now I am curious (if nothing else) about what a better color display would look like. But then if I (hypothetically) go to a better display at some point, will it do anything of value for me when I go to print--assuming I continue to send out all my print work to labs?

If you or anyone has anyone has any suggestions about where I can find resources to help bring up to speed on how color space works, how to manage it & how to navigate the confusing options for converting digital to print, I will appreciate it. Adobe's help files seem very limited and the Photoshop tutorials I normally find don't seem to go anywhere near these technical points.

Meanwhile, I will see how I do with the 'save as' command or the 'save for web (legacy) command and just continue to stay away from 'export as.' (THAT seems to generate extra steps for me if I am going to avoid the color shifts I have been seeing.)

[chauncey]

You could start here...https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+using+PS+2015

[Manfred M]

Randy - There's this really good website called Cambridge in Colour that I would check out first.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/co...t-printing.htm