colour management

[curtis_savage@adobeforums.com]

Hello,

I have noticed that photos I take appear very dull and unsaturated when I preview them outside of Photoshop, but in Photoshop they appear more saturated. For instance when I set a picture as the Desktop photo for my computer it appears really dull and unsaturated, but when I open it up in Photoshop to add more saturation, it is already nice and saturated. What gives?

I have calibrated my ibook monitor using SuperCal and am using Adobe RGB 1998 as my workspace in Photoshop and imbedding the files I open (taken with a Fuji Finepix 3800) with the workspace profile.

Unfortunately I don't own a printer so I don't know what image to trust. What image is more accurate to the actual photo from the camera? Is there anyway of guessing how it will turn out in the print without actually printing?

Thanks

[Rene_Walling@adobeforums.com]

What image is more accurate to the actual photo from the camera?




The one viewed in Photoshop as it is the colour calibrated one.

Is there anyway of guessing how it will turn out in the print without
actually printing?




Viewing it in Phootoshop on a colour calibrated screen (which you are doing).

To reduce the shift in colour (say if the images are destined for the web) convert the file to sRGB.

[g_ballard@adobeforums.com]

ya!

[Tim_Lookingbill@adobeforums.com]

I have to hand it to curtis. He's really doing his homework.

He'll soon have this stuff memorized by trial and error like I had to do.

Keep with it, curtis! ;)

[curtis_savage@adobeforums.com]

Okay, thanks for the advice Rene. That is reassuring. Yes Tim things are slowly starting to piece together!

One last question: Is there any way to make my monitor more saturated. I don't want to mess the calibrated profile, but I would like my desktop pictures to look a little less drab...

Thanks

[Rene_Walling@adobeforums.com]

One last question: Is there any way to make my monitor more saturated.
I don't want to mess the calibrated profile, but I would like my desktop
pictures to look a little less drab...




The thing to do is not to change your calibrated monitor, it is to convert the files to a profile that will display properly using an uncalibrated software/viewer.

sRGB usually works OK for this as it is (relatively) close to most monitor profiles

[Tim_Lookingbill@adobeforums.com]

If it's your LCD off your ibook, there's not much you can do. This is the limitations you're seeing with LCD's that can only be put in an ideal state with software only methods.

Whatever those neutralizing SW slider adjusts give you after establishing black point and then setting gamma, that's what you're gonna get. You can choose a darker based gamma in the SW, increasing perceptual saturation, and CM apps will adjust, but you may loose VISUAL (not data) shadow detail system wide.

They are now making LCD's with the LAB/HSB equivalent hue, saturation knobs included on TV's since the '60's. Why they haven't put it on computer monitors until now is beyond me.