Archive 2017 · Out of control reds

Batty_F
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Out of control reds

Something has happened with my workflow that is causing odd behavior most notable in the reds of JPEGs saved for the Internet. I've double-checked all my settings but I do not see what the problem is, but when viewed in a browser, my images prepared in Photoshop are much redder than they appeared in Photoshop.

In the included image, on the left is what I saw in Photoshop, on the right is how it looks in Chrome, the difference in the reds should be obvious. I have my monitor set to SRGB, I have Photoshop's workspace set to SRGB and convert from Lightroom to SRGB when importing. I also convert to SRGB when using the Save For Web to save the JPEG.

Where am I going wrong? This is extremely annoying and affects skin tones by making them way too pink.

https://www.wingedmammal.com/action_photos_2017/reds.jpg

Aug 12, 2017 at 11:11 PM

melcat
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Out of control reds

Most likely you're not saving a profile with the .jpg file. The profile tells software what the R, G and B values in the file actually mean. If it is not present, some browsers (notably Chrome in recent versions) assume R=255 means "as red as the monitor can go" rather than the intended behaviour of "the red that corresponds to 255 on sRGB".

It may have been going on for a while without you realizing it. Chrome used to do the sensible thing and assume sRGB for unmarked files, but reverted to the bad behaviour a few months ago. Regardless of browsers, it is best to always save the profile with the file.

Aug 13, 2017 at 03:09 AM

Batty_F
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Out of control reds

@melcat Thanks, that was indeed the problem. In the past, color profiles in JPEGs did not help at all, since browsers did not use them. Apparently some browsers now do use them, so not having a color profile embedded in a JPEG is no longer the same thing as having the SRGB color profile embedded in the JPEG.

I checked "Embed Color Profile" in the Save for JPEG dialog in Photoshop, and now the image in Chrome looks much more like the image in Photoshop.

One interesting thing about this is that Facebook appears to use the original color behavior unlike Chrome, so the Deadpool image without the color profile looks like it did in Photoshop on Facebook, but fortunately it looks the same in Facebook with the SRGB color profile as well.

Aug 13, 2017 at 11:33 AM

Alan321
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Out of control reds

Firefox has long been able to use the embedded profiles if the feature is turned on. Years and years.

search the web for browsers and icc profiles. You'll find a test image that reveals whether or not your browsers are paying any attention to colour profiles. I don't have those links at present (too many computer crashes and rebuilds).

Aug 14, 2017 at 12:47 AM

Batty_F
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Out of control reds

Was just processing another red image, and I noticed another annoying inconsistency: the Windows 10 "Photos" app, which is what opens JPEGs for quick viewing, ignores profiles, so if you double-click a JPEG with a profile for a quick check before uploading to the Web, it will look massively different than Chrome.

https://www.wingedmammal.com/action_photos_2017/red.jpg

Oct 18, 2017 at 06:47 PM


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