Why Is My Color Off?
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What do you do when your image looks off?
How many of you have heard from a client that the images you delivered look pink? Or green or flat or or… Anything but what you thought you delivered?
Above image is set to CMYK
It’s definitely a common issue and one we see come up often in our Facebook group with people asking for help or asking what the image they are posting looks like because one of their clients complained about the colouring in their gallery.
Before you panic, know that a lot of things can go wrong, but the most likely culprits are monitor calibration and color space. So, how can you fix this and ensure that it doesn’t happen again?
Above Image is set to ProPhoto RGB
Make sure your monitor is calibrated. For best results, you’re going to want to use a colorimeter – there are a few options out there, (more on that here: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/how-to-calibrate-monitor.html)
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- In the lighting conditions you’ll use
- In the room you’ll edit in (paint color on the walls, reflections can change how it looks)
- You should be calibrating at least monthly
Above image is set to Adobe RGB
Make sure you’re exporting in the right color space:
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- If images are going to be viewed online, you should (almost always) export in sRGB. This is the color space most computer monitors, mobile devices, and web browsers use. If you try to view an image in another color space, it will be automatically converted to sRGB, and the conversion won’t be as nice as if you do it on export.
- Export settings – you might have to scroll down in Lightroom, but you’ll see a File Settings section, make sure Color Space is set to sRGB. If you’re exporting from Photoshop, go to Edit, then “Convert to Profile”, and make sure Destination Space is sRGB (sometimes there are other numbers and letters after that, that’s fine).
- If you’re printing images, check with the lab on their preferred color space. If they support Adobe RGB, and your monitor is a calibrated wide gamut monitor (not an iMac or a standard monitor), then use it, but otherwise, make sure you’ve exported as sRGB as well, or their system will probably do it when you upload the images, and that’s where a lot of dull images come from.
Above image is set to SRGB
Keep in mind, that you cannot control the printers at Shutterfly or Wallgreens, often times when a client decides to go that route for a printer instead of one of our professional recommendations, they will often be subject to their terrible filters and printing quality. All we can do as a photographer is ensure that the digital files we delivered are in optional shape!
Join me in Embracing The Storm! Embracing the Storm is my in depth editing course that covers everything from importing right to delivering your images and literally everything in between! We are revamping it and relaunching it on November 18th, 2022!
