Colours Change/Darnken when exporting to JPG

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Dave Neltins

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Apr 17, 2016
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4.x
Hello,

I am new to this forum and I have a question about exporting photos from LR to JPG files.

When I export photos with saturated colours/high dynamic range (i.e. photos of sunsets, etc) to JPG files, the exported photos look darker and some colours are lost. However, the photos without high-saturated colours, look exactly the same when exported in JPG. Am I missing something?

I tried to open the JPG file using many different image viewing programs and web browsers. With some programs it is a little better than others, but the colours are still different comparing to the photo in LR.

I usually export the photos in sRBG to publish them on the web. I also tried to export them in ProPhotoRGB and AdobeRGB, but it is the same effect.

Also, I tired to use the soft proofing option to simulate how the photo looks in sRGB before exporting, but the sRGB copy looks almost the same as the original. I am using an old version of LR (4.1.). Are there any known issues with soft proofing not working as expected in older versions?

I'll appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Dave
 
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There are two reasons for that. First of all, sRGB cannot hold the most saturated colors, so converting to sRGB will indeed make you lose those colors. And secondly your exported JPEG will often be opened with a non-color managed application, so AdobeRGB and ProPhotoRGB images will even look worse. For this reason I would advise against exporting JPEGs in AdobeRGB, unless you know for certain that they will always be viewed in appropriate (color-managed) apps. On the web, you will never know that. Never use ProPhotoRGB for JPEGs. ProPhotoRGB is so large, that it needs 16 bits per color to avoid banding. JPEG doesn't support 16 bits/color however. Conclusion: learn to live with it if you export for the web.
 
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Thanks for the input Johan. It makes sense loosing colours when exporting in sRGB. However, the difference shouldn't be visible in soft proofing? When I select the soft proofing option with sRGB, the result looks exactly the same as the original image.

You said there is no point of exporting to JPG using ProPhoto RGB. What are the suitable formats? i.e. Can I export to TIFF files using ProPhotoRGB, if I want to open the files in another colour-managed app?

Thanks,
Dave
 
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When you soft proof, you view the simulated sRGB file in a color managed application (Lightroom). When you export the JPEG and view it in something else, that may be the problem.

You can indeed export a ProPhotoRGB TIFF, but make sure you use 16 bits/color in that case.
 
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Dave, i am assuming your monitor is calibrated/profiled. Just to get one obvious point out of the way. Gerard
 
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I am viewing the exported JPGs in color-managed applications. I used 2-3 different applications and they recognize the color space of the JPG file (I can see that within the application), but the photos still look different than in LR.

Gerard, I didn't calibrate the monitor, but if this was the issue it shouldn't also affect how the photos look within LR? Both in Develop module and in Soft Proofing with sRGB profile the photo looks fine. The exported JPG from a color-managed application looks much darker. Does this make any sense?

Thanks,
Dave
 
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