Monitor Profiling: Why does my color on my monitor look right to me but not others?

[Asher Kelman]

I don’t know what “ballpark” means, especially when dealing with non color managed apps.

IF the image is tagged in sRGB and someone views said image in a color managed web browser, its going to be in the “ballpark” and preview the same for all users.

Are you making some argument that there's no need to have a monitor profiled accurately to display sRGB colors as someone else with a profiled monitor would see with that same file. When a monitor in mis-mapped, the colors after adjustment will not be reproduced as seen on this monitor anywhere else!

Only if the said local monitor being used can reasonably show those specified sRGB colors mapped in that way. If person A makes extreme adjustments using a monitor that is ill-mapped, then the colors seen on that monitor will not be the same as those that a reasonably correctly factory profiled mass-porduced monitor would show correctly.

Asher

 

[Andrew Rodney]

Are you making some argument that there's no need to have a monitor profiled accurately to display sRGB colors as someone else with a profiled monitor would see with that same file.

Ain’t going to happen. Nor is there a reason this is necessary. The sRGB color space is a theoretical space based on the behavior of a theoretical CRT circa 1993, using P22 phosphors in a well defined, theoretical reference media. You need to have a display accurately profiled. It doesn’t have to behave anything like sRGB nor do most modern displays behave this way.

IF all nature of displays could or did behave like sRGB describes, there would be no need to calibrate nor profile them. Obviously this isn’t the case. Just alter one parameter, the luminance target and you no longer have sRGB.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Andrew,

I don't need to be refreshed on the origins of the sRGB color space. That's not the topic. It's the ability to be able to communicate the look of an image over the internet.

Look at the two pictures shown above. Does the second one look to you as if shows colors likely to have been present and optimally adjusted. Imagine this person worked for you and the file was needed to be sent to you for approval.

Are you satisfied that you are seeing anything like the image Cody is seeing? I feel the second image, that he feels is optimized, is dark and muddy looking and the boot colors and skin tones weird. Tell me that you would be proud of these colors.

He got to these color by making adjustments of his file on a monitor which I believe is out of whack. This is the issue.

Asher

 

[Cody White]

Maybe I will just go back to the stone age and switch from 32bit back to 8bit of color.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Maybe I will just go back to the stone age and switch from 32bit back to 8bit of color.

Cody,

Likely your files are in sRGB and 8 BITs of color anyway!

What I have advised is what one needs to do if one wants pictures to look rather similar in another reasonably ordinary buy ballpark correct monitor somewhere else on the planet.

Something you might so, BTW, is to take a CD with your images and look at them in the Apple store on their monitors. You might have a surprise!

Asher

 

[Andrew Rodney]

Look at the two pictures shown above.

Got zero to do with sRGB and everything to do with color managed app’s that use the display profile (in whatever condition that display may be in), the embedded profile in the document (can be in any color space) and the Display Using Monitor Compensation architecture that produces matching color.

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Andrew,

I have little experience with Photoshop. I am currently learning to use Photoshop CS5. I don't know whether you have that version or not.

Can you tell me where in Photoshop we enable/disable the Display Using Monitor Compensation feature? (I am assuming this refers to presenting the image on-screen taking into account the monitor profile - is that correct?) (Perhaps it is called something else in the CS5 version.)

Where do we tell Photoshop what profile to use for the monitor?

Perhaps it always uses the profile we have "nominated" as the default for our monitor in Windows.

There are settings in Edit|Assign Profile, but they seem to be more for assigning a profile to the document than dealing with the monitor.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Andrew Rodney]

Can you tell me where in Photoshop we enable/disable the Display Using Monitor Compensation feature?

Not possible. It was an option in Photoshop 5 and was removed in version 6. Photoshop always looks at the display profile and the working space (or makes an assumption for untagged documents) when producing a preview. There is no, No Color management option.

Photoshop, like other ICC aware applications gets the display profile from the system (on the Mac, its what’s set in Display control panel). You can go into the Color Settings, RGB working space popup, at the top of the dialog is a setting “Monitor:XXX” where XXX is the name of the display profile the system, and Photoshop is using.

The Assign profile command is for untagged documents, or incorrectly tagged documents (rare). Otherwise, the RGB, CMYK working space set in Color Settings is the assumption PS uses as the source for untagged data.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Got zero to do with sRGB

Of course! It could be in any color space and I could see it well unless it's tagged incorrectly perhaps.

and everything to do with color managed app’s that use the display profile (in whatever condition that display may be in), the embedded profile in the document (can be in any color space) and the Display Using Monitor Compensation architecture that produces matching color.

Andy,

Can you go further, in simple terms:

1. Do you feel that Cody's second picture is giving "good", "nice" pleasant color that the average person or good photographer would be happy with?

If you are fine with that second picture and don't find it dull or muddy or too brown then there's no further need for discussion. If however you also find it out of whack, in some disturbing way, as others do, then:

2. What is the likely explanation and solution

• Monitor needs calibration-profiling
  
• New Monitor
  
• File tagged incorrectly
  
• Photoshop/Lightroom or other error in the setting: if so, where would that be?
  
• Other?
  

Thanks,

Asher

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Andrew,

Not possible. It was an option in Photoshop 5 and was removed in version 6. Photoshop always looks at the display profile and the working space (or makes an assumption for untagged documents) when producing a preview. There is no, No Color management option.

Photoshop, like other ICC aware applications gets the display profile from the system (on the Mac, its what’s set in Display control panel). You can go into the Color Settings, RGB working space popup, at the top of the dialog is a setting “Monitor:XXX” where XXX is the name of the display profile the system, and Photoshop is using.

Ah, I see that.

The Assign profile command is for untagged documents, or incorrectly tagged documents (rare). Otherwise, the RGB, CMYK working space set in Color Settings is the assumption PS uses as the source for untagged data.

Thanks. That all fits.

Best regards,

Doug