Desaturated Images after export in PS

[RLSON]

Lightroom Version Number

LR Classic, PS CC 2023

Operating System

1. macOS 13 Ventura

I am hoping to get to the bottom of years of frustration. I have edited on multiple screens, shot Canon always in RGB as I distribute both file and print, work in both LR and PS with all setting sRGB or RGB but mostly Photoshop. I am pretty consistent with all my settings across the board. I have tried calibrators, tried not calibrating to see if anything changes. PS always displays my images slightly different that what I see on screen (which right now is a calibrated 2019 MacBook Pro). When posting to social media or even saving images, I always end up with images that are desaturated and almost brighter, all my red and warm tones are lost (ie. rosy cheeks). Print is also the same, somewhat desaturated but not always as bad as what I see on my phone or social media or exported to send to clients. I've tried switching to Adobe 1998 but no difference after converting to sRGB. Tried Export AS and Save As with the box always checked and same results with both save options. I am just looking for some ideas what it might be, I feel like no one has ever really seen what my actually work should look like and so depressing. I have almost learned to accept it. I have worked with so many friends using the same settings and even on their phones, images look the same.
Any ideas or thoughts that I haven't already tried would be amazing! Please be kind, I may not know everything but could be something simple I just never knew or tried.

 

[Replytoken]

Welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear about your color issues. My first question is are you using a calibrated monitor, and what color space is is set to show? There are other color management issues that need investigating, but it is good to know what your screen is displaying.

--Ken

 

[RLSON]

Welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear about your color issues. My first question is are you using a calibrated monitor, and what color space is is set to show? There are other color management issues that need investigating, but it is good to know what your screen is displaying.

--Ken

Hello, thank you! Yes, I am working on a calibrated monitor. I am working on a calibrated 2019 MacBook Pro, I use XRite Color Munki display calibrator. In my color settings in PS I am working in sRGB color space as well as LR and my monitor I use my color calibration when editing. It's such a struggle.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

In my color settings in PS I am working in sRGB color space as well as LR

The external editor settings in Lightroom Classic do not allow you to choose sRGB for editing in Photoshop. Only AdobeRGB and ProPhotoRGB can be chosen. If your Photoshop color management policies are not set correctly, then it’s possible that Photoshop assigns sRGB to the AdobeRGB image when it comes in. That would desaturate the image.

 

[Replytoken]

Hello, thank you! Yes, I am working on a calibrated monitor. I am working on a calibrated 2019 MacBook Pro, I use XRite Color Munki display calibrator. In my color settings in PS I am working in sRGB color space as well as LR and my monitor I use my color calibration when editing. It's such a struggle.

+1 to Johan's comments.

I am assuming that the Color Munki created a profile for your monitor that automatically loads and that you have not assigned any other profile to the monitor. And what color space have you set up the monitor to display? I do not use Macs, but my understanding is that this machine may not support displaying 100% Adobe RGB, but that it may display P3. If you are viewing P3, that is not going to help the situation.

 

[RLSON]

The external editor settings in Lightroom Classic do not allow you to choose sRGB for editing in Photoshop. Only AdobeRGB and ProPhotoRGB can be chosen. If your Photoshop color management policies are not set correctly, then it’s possible that Photoshop assigns sRGB to the AdobeRGB image when it comes in. That would desaturate the image.

When using LR, I open CR2 files and export as PSD in RGB and don’t directly save and export to PS. I export only which does give me the RGB option. I also recently only started using LR to jump on the preset bandwagon as I found it much easier, but always had the same problem only using PS. Again, if I open a file in PS, ACR, no LR, same results.

 

[RLSON]

+1 to Johan's comments.

I am assuming that the Color Munki created a profile for your monitor that automatically loads and that you have not assigned any other profile to the monitor. And what color space have you set up the monitor to display? I do not use Macs, but my understanding is that this machine may not support displaying 100% Adobe RGB, but that it may display P3. If you are viewing P3, that is not going to help the situation.

The profile does not automatically load, I have to chose it. When I do you can see the adjustment. When calibrating, I use the RGB option or generic. I’ve tried working in both and same results, just slightly different in color. I always use my calibrated adjustment. I wondered if it was a gamma issue but again, I’ve worked on many screens, calibrated and un-calibrated and same results. I do at times proof but seems even farther off. Would you have any recommendations for screen that do display Adobe RGB properly, would this be wide gamut?

 

[Johan Elzenga]

When using LR, I open CR2 files and export as PSD in RGB and don’t directly save and export to PS. I export only which does give me the RGB option. I also recently only started using LR to jump on the preset bandwagon as I found it much easier, but always had the same problem only using PS. Again, if I open a file in PS, ACR, no LR, same results.

You'll have to explain this better, using the proper terminology. RGB is the color model, like CMYK and Lab. It is not a color space. Color spaces are sRGB, AdobeRGB, ProPhotoRGB, etc.

 

[Replytoken]

Would you have any recommendations for screen that do display Adobe RGB properly, would this be wide gamut?

Yes, there are some recommendations, but right now I would focus on resolving this issue. You can work on a monitor that displays P3, or sRGB, and still export files to a color space like Adobe RGB, but it takes a bit more effort, like soft proofing before you export to make sure you do not have colors that are out of gamut.

If you did want a wide gamut monitor (i.e. 100% Adobe RGB) that can be calibrated, the two heavily recommended brands tend to be BenQ and Eizo. They are at different ends of the price spectrum, and there are other companies that do make wide gamut monitors, but there are less issues, like panel lotteries, with these two companies.

Getting back to the issue, and following Johan's recommendation above, perhaps you can describe the issue in more detail? There are a lot of possible things that could be happening, and eliminating them in some kind of systematic way is one way to find the culprit.

--Ken