Files look funny when opened

[David Lehnherr]

I am a newbie with Photoshop Elements. I was using Microsoft Picture It, and when I opened a JPEG with Picture It the picture looked like it was supposed to. When I open a JPEG with Elements the picture is very grainy and or the colors are very bizarre. How do I get the JPEG file to open so that it actually looks like it's supposed to, and how it looks when I open it with everything else (Microsoft Picture It, the generic Windows XP viewer, etc.)?

[Kenneth Liffmann]

David,
Have you calibrated your monitor with Adobe Gamma (Start>Control Panel>Adobe Gamma?)
Do you know the resolution of your file?
Ken

[Beth Haney]

To elaborate a little on Ken's answer - what you're seeing is the difference between viewing the image with software that includes color management, which would be Elements, and software without color management. That's why he suggested monitor calibration, and it would be my recommendation, too.

[brent bertram]

<http://www.computer-darkroom.com/ps7-colour/ps7_2.htm> is a good tutorial on the calibration utility . This chart , Ian Lyons Image Flow <http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.lyons/ps7-colour/ps7_color.gif>

, shows in simple form some of what affects how your image is viewed. Note that the monitor profile ( created by the Adobe Gamma utility ) is integral to a good view of your image.

:-)

Brent

[David Lehnherr]

I had calibrated my monitor with Adobe Gamma, but I must have done it incorrectly. I tried again and now the images open with a normal appearance. Thanks for your suggestions!