New HDR Image darker than preview

Today I was using Adobe Bridge to combine sets of 3 photos with different exposures to create HDR images and sending them to Photoshop. So far today I made 20+ such images and successfully saved them into PSDs.
I just ran into an odd problem. After clicking 'Merge to HDR' in the Bridge -> Photoshop option, Photoshop did it's thing of merging my 3 images. The preview window came up, it looked perfect, so I clicked 'Ok'. Then it created an Untitled document (as it always does), except that this image is much darker than what was shown in the preview. I tried doing some light adjustments, can't get it to be what I saw in the preview window.
All of my other HDR creations were exactly the same as I saw in the preview window. What's going on?

One important thing to keep in mind is that what you see on screen when working with 32-bit images IS NOT the actual image. There are no monitors at least consumer priced monitors that can show 32-bit's of data. What you are seeing is a faked representation. You will only see the real image when you convert out to 16-bit or 8-bit. Also, many video cards allow you to set 32-bit color in the control panel (Windows, can't speak for the Mac) this is NOT the same thing as a 32-bit HDR image. The 32-bit color is the number of colors NOT the dynamic range from darks to lights it is this dark to light data that can't be seen on monitors. BTW I just recently learned this from a podcast from the digital photography connection. The have Lightroom and Photoshop podcasts and just recently covers HDR for both programs, this was covered as was PhotoMatix. <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected].. > Once you hit okay in the preview window and Photoshop creates the 32-bit > image, you may want to try going to your view menu and adjusting your > 32-bit viewing options. > > [edited by host] > > Hope this helps! > -Kurt

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Photoshop saves images darker than they appear in-program

I am using Photoshop CS6 64-bit version, and I also had this problem with the previous Photoshop CS5 (64-bit aswell). (Windows 7 64-bit)
I've had this problem for a very long time and I've been looking for answers for tons of times however this time around I really want it fixed because it is very annoying.
Whenever I save most images that I've edited or created in Photoshop, they get saved as darker than they are in the program;
It shouldn't be a monitor problem. I have two monitors and it occurs on both. When I save the image and open it on the same monitor for comparison, it is darker than it was in photoshop.
If I use a screen-cap tool like Gyazo directly in photoshop to upload a screenshot of the image to the web, it appears just as light as it should (I am not sure if it's 100% as light as it should, however it's definitely way better and lighter than saving the image then uploading it).
Here's a comparison. On the left it is the wallpaper opened in Photoshop. On the right side I have the image saved as a .PNG and shown using the default Windows Photo Viewer:
http://i.gyazo.com/02f434cce077a672e0169f7c2875b3ef.png
You can see that there is a clear difference, and that it's way darker than it should be. It pretty much ruins the image in this case due to how dark it gets.
(Yes, I've tried saving a very wide range of image filetypes with no success)
Continuing on the monitor/screen-cap part above... So logically there should be some issues with the actual saving of the image in Photoshop. Am I using sRGB? Yes. I have checked all the settings in the color settings countless times to make sure it's right. I also tried playing a bit around with them to no avail. Here is a picture of my color settings (Ctrl+Shift+K): http://i.gyazo.com/b3f993b61e2e9c701d0820886670da36.png
I have both tried to reset my settings and re-installed Photoshop. As I also said I've had this problem with an earlier version of Photoshop aswell. I have tried to convert color profiles before I save the image and I've made sure it's saved using sRGB.
I'm convinced Photoshop is saving the image wrongly or something due to the screen-cap case.
If anyone has any leads on how to go about fixing this then please speak out. If you require any more information about my hardware/software or what I've tried, just ask.
Thanks!

This has nothing to do with Photoshop. The problem is that Windows Photo Viewer displays the image incorrectly. Apparently it's choking on the display profile, while Photoshop manages to work with it.
Both applications are fully color managed and should display identically. If they don't the problem is nearly always the display profile.
Try to set sRGB as default display profile in Windows. If the difference disappears you know you have a bad profile and need to replace it. If you don't have a calibrator to make a new profile, just use sRGB for now. Manufacturer-supplied profiles are notoriously defective in any number of ways and should be avoided.

Why do images I export look darker than they do in Aperture?

I'm using Aperture 3.2.3. Onscreen Proofing is on and set to sRGB IEC61966-2.1. In my image export settings, I've also selected sRGB IEC61966-2.1 and Gamma Adjust is set to 1.0 (which should mean no change, right?).
If I export an image and then view that image outside of Aperture (using Photoshop, Preview, even just selecting the image in the finder and pressing spacebar to view it), the image looks darker than the same image looks in Aperture. But I'm using the same Onscreen Proofing and image export setting of sRGB IEC61966-2.1. What's going on here?

Thanks Leonie, the second part revealed that I have been an idiot, although the behaviour is still surprising. The folder has a mix of DMC-G3 raws, Fuji X10 raws, and DNG files produced from both. For the Fuji X10 files, the DNGs produce images and the raws produce the "Unsupported file format" message. The latter is not surprising, the former a little surprising (as I've heard that DNGs only work when the associated raw works). The last two remarks don't directly address my problem (or perceived problem), but they perhaps set the frame for my expectations.
For the G3 files, when I look at it more closely, the G3 raws DO display correctly, while the G3 DNGs give "Unsupported file format". I had managed to fool myself into thinking it was the other way round (Aperture does rather hide the full file name).
So I was completely wrong, Aperture does support DMC-G3 raw, it's just it's DNG support that's a bit weird. However, it's on my side if I need to use X10 raws (via the DNG step). In fact so far I've given up the latter, as the noise levels are so much greater than in Fuji's in-camera JPEG conversion.
So, thanks very much for your help. Now I remember the first rule of system support: never trust what the customer tells you! (I know you're not really customer support, but I guess the same rule applies.) Thanks again

Lightroom 4 NEF files/D5100 - fully loaded preview image dark

Hi Team,
I shoot in raw (NEF) with a Nikon D5100 and I notice that when the preview fully loads, it loads much darker than what is showing for the preview while it is loading. Does anyone know why this might be? The image I'm seeing while the image is loading in Lightroom is the image I want to work with, not the darkened image that is showing after the image preview fully loads.
-photorobot2010

The image that you see while LR is loading your picture is the JPEG that is embedded in the raw file by the camera. LR replaces it with its own preview which it renders from the raw data. Probably you have Active D-Lighting set in your camera's menu. That causes the image to be underexposed, and then boosted when the JPEG is created. LR ignores ADL, so you'd be better off setting it to "off".
Hal

Images seem to print much darker than they appear on screen?

I have been using iPhoto to create cards and then I later save them as .pdf files so I can take them to another mac connected to an Epson 1400 printer and print them. Prior to making the cards in iPhoto, I do basic levels and auto color adjustments in Photoshop. Some of the cards that I am printing seem to be so much darker than the way they appear on screen. I understand that there is a differene between what is presented on a display and the way something may print, but the difference is so drastic. Is this something to do with iPhoto?
Thanks.

rick.pearl
Because every maker of computer, software and printer have a different definition of the various colors Apple and others got together to agree definitions that would work together. So if you assign a color space to an image - sRGB, say - then any software or hardware that respect the color space will be using the same meaning for 'green' or 'blue'.
In iPhoto Preferences -> Advanced, check the box for Embed Color Sync Profile, and this will embed a profile on every pic you add from now on.
As to the one's already in, Old Toad has kindly created an Automator action that will add an sRGB profile to pics already in iPhoto. You can downlaod it from here.
http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/wa/default?user=toad.hall&tem platefn=FileSharing7.html&xmlfn=TKDocument.7.xml&sitefn=RootSite.xml&aff=consume r&cty=US&lang=en#
Regards
TD
as to the points: most everything I do is pointless

Merge to HDR Pro: Result different than preview

Hi all,
at the moment I use Photomatix 3 Pro to create HDR images, but since Photoshop CS5 offers this functionality too, I wanted to try it out.
I selected my three differently exposed images in Mini Bridge and loaded them into Photoshop via "Merge to HDR Pro...". The preview window opened and I could adjust the settings, so far so good. I adjusted the settings until the preview image met my expectations and pressed OK, but the result looked pretty different to the preview image. Especially the saturation was way too high. Converting the photos to JPEG first or using the raw files makes practically no difference.
I followed a video tutorial, but there the preview and the result matched almost exactly.
In a different thread I read about a similar problem, but the only solution given there was checking the 32-bit view options. I am using the 8- or 16-bit mode only, so that wasn't helpful for me.
I hope someone can help me, otherwise I have to stick to Photomatix.
Two pictures to illustrate my problem (this is the german version of Photoshop, click on the image to see the original size):
This is how the preview looked right bevore clicking OK:
And this is how the generated image looked afterwards:

I can only guess you have some kind of color-management problem on your system, as I just did a test and didn't see any differences between the preview display in the Merge to HDR Pro dialog and the final result.
What color profile are you using for your input images?
Is it the same as your default working profile?
I shouldn't think it would matter what profiles you're using - Photoshop should handle them all properly - but clearly something's causing your saturation to be massively different, which is the kind of thing you might see if a narrow gamut image is being interpreted as though it has a wide gamut color profile (or displayed without color management on a wide gamut monitor). I do know that HDR processing converts images to your default working profile under some conditions.
Another possibility is that the display of the image in the HDR Pro dialog is misinterpreting (or neglecting to use) the image color profile.
That's a very pretty sunset shot, by the way.
-Noel

Is it possible to use Aperture to make a new image from two existing ones--ie, in a new jpg? I essentially want to create a collage that I can then print as a single image, rather than in a book. Any advice will be most welcome!

Is it possible to use Aperture to make a new jpg from two existing ones? I'd essentially like to create a photo collage (without using existing templates) that I can then print as a single image, rather than in a book. Any advice will be most welcome! Thanks.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15678716#15678716
(Added)
The main point is that Aperture is used to make digital negatives as good as they can be (for the uses you define), but it does not ADD date to your digital negatives, nor does it produce NEW combination files. For those tasks you need a Graphics program.
Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger

Why are the photos i print much darker than the monitor image?

why are the photos i print much darker than the monitor image?

Please read this post then provide some details. What printer model? What operating system? What program are you printing from?
Some programs such as Photoshop give the option to print to CMYK or sRGB color spaces. Even though the printer uses CMYK inks the driver is expecting sRGB data. If CMYK is selected the prints will be much too dark.
Another thing to check is the media type. If you are printing on plain paper and have seelcted Photo paper the prints have too much ink.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button ------------V
If my answer was helpful please click the "Thumbs Up" to say "Thank You"--V

Dark green previews and images

i've seen alot of comments about this, but can't get any of the previously mentioned fixes to work
i import RAW and JPG files from the card placed in the card slot of my iMac. images captured on Lumix GX1.
all images prior to 10.7.4 update have normal preview and full view image. images since update have dark green preview and full view in aperture. in other applications, images display normally.
have tried the terminal script idea and no luck (yes, removed the space). any ideas?
dan

dan,
what is your Aperture version? Have you upgraded to the latest version?
Maybe your raw decode presets file is corrupted.
Try to move the presets from your user library to the desktop, after quitting Aperture and logging off and on again. The presets file is located here:
Your home folder > Library > Application Support > Aperture > Raw Decode Presets.plist
To reveal your user library in the Finder use the Finder's "Go" menu from the main menu bar: select "Go" and hold down the alt/options key, until the library appears in the drop down menu, then select and open it.
Then navigate to the subfolder "Application Support > Aperture" and drag the Raw Decode Presets.plist to the Desktop; launch Aperture and try again.
Regards
Léonie

Photoshop cc print dialog box image dark

I'm on a MacBook Pro running Mt. Lion with PS CC, an Eizo monitor, printing with an Epson 3880, calibrated and profiled with a ColorMunki. When I preview an image to print, the image is darker in preview, and the color is much different than the actual image. When I print with the proper paper profile, (photoshop manages color and the space is Adobe 1998) it prints looking like the preview image rather tha the one on the monitor. I also run Snow Leopard on a partition with CS6, and the above does not happen, everything works fine. A photog friend of mine with a similar setup is experiencing the same problem since upgrading to Mt. Loin. Another graphic designer friend is running Mavericks and is has the same problem. I have another photog friend in Nashville who is having THE SAME PROBLEM!! Does anyone know what the heck is going on? I'm the only one who kept Snow Leopard so I can still print, which I do on almost a daily basis. What broke what? Is it a bug with PS CC, or did something in MT. Lion break? This is very frustrating for all of us and I find it totally unacceptable.
If anyone has a clue and can help, we would be eternally greatfull.
Thanks,
Greg Nikas

Thanks for the tip on inserting photos. I'm new here, won't post a link in the future.
I'll try to simplify my issue;
1. In CS6 in Snow Leopard, the original/source image looks just like the image in the print dialog box and prints beautifuly. See images below.
Original image.
Print dialog box image.
2. In PS CC and CS6 in Mt. Lion, the original/source image is redder and more saturated than the image in the print dialog box, but the print looks like the the image in the print dialog box. The image in the print dialog box looks like the original/source image in CS6 in Snow Leopard! See images below.
Original image.
Print dialog box image.
3. The issue seems to be with how the original/source image in PS CC and CS6 renders in Mt. Lion. As I said in my intial post, I have three friends who are having the same problem and none of us can figure it out, and I'm the only one who kept Snow Leopard.
4. I'm on a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard and Mt. Lion on a partitioned disk.
5. I have an Eizo CG222W monitor, which is calibrated with an x-rite ColorMunki. Each OS has it's own calibration profile.
6. I print on an Epson 3880 using the latest driver, and all papers have thier own profile and look the same when printed from either OS.
7. All settings in PS CC, CS6 and Bridge are identical in both OS's.
I hope this is stated more clearly.
Greg

CS5 64 bit merging HDR image problem

Hello,
I am doing a HDR image lesson (Adobe CS5 Classroom in a Book, page 139) using three .DNG files from the training CD.
If I use CS5 32 bit all (model's face and background) is ok.
If I use CS5 64 bit the image has bad background colors and a portion of the model's face is dark red.
So I a wondering if possibly the DNG was created by CS5 32 bit and cannot be opened and processed in CS5 64 bit HDR?
Note:
Each DNG image looks good using CS5-64 File Open.
I have two jpg if needed to show.
Vaughan

Has anyone tried this on an installation of Adobe Photoshop CS5 or CS5.1, with an older version of Adobe Camera RAW installed?
I had this issue reported to me by a faculty member who is attempting to teach this lesson in one of our Mac Labs. She has taught this lesson in the past without issue, but, recently reported this issue. We recently upgraded our photography lab's equipment, which included new iMacs, and updates to software installed in the lab, including the CS5.5 Design Premium suite. I'm able to replicate the issue on all the computers in the photo lab, with the same issue as others described above. I then went to try to replicate the issue on my personal computer with CS5.5 installed, and, surprisingly, the HDR merge worked successfully. The only signifigant difference on that computer was that it was running Adobe Camera RAW 6.6, rather than the current 6.7. I then went ahead and updated the Camera RAW on that computer up to version on 6.7, and the problem doing the merge with these specific files returned as it had in the photo lab.
So perhaps this is a combination of 64bit and Camera RAW 6.7? I can't get the 32bit workaround to work on the Mac's I'm testing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Lightroom images darker in Photoshop

After I edit images in Lightroom 4, I export the jpg images to a new folder. When I open the jpg's in Photoshop or Bridge they are noticeably darker than they were when exported from LR. What am I doing wrong?

pictureguysteve02 wrote:
After looking into it more I think my problem may be with the color profile. I'm using the eye-one display 2 with eye-one match 3 software on my i mac cinema display. The general options on the eye-one software are set to ICC specification version 2. Monitor profile size is set to "Small (Matrix)" Should I change something there?
What can be an issue is if you build V4 profiles which depending on the software generating said profile, LR can have issues with. You could try a LUT profile but that's sometimes the cause of issues you see (again, depending on the package that writes the ICC profile). By all means try LUT or double check that the settings is Matrix.
You do want to view Photoshop and LR whereby LR is in Develop module and as said, at 1:1. Zooming out can affect the accuracy of the preview.

Bridge CC - Content Panel looks different than Preview

Problem - Images in the Content panel look dull and desaturated. The view of the same image in the Preview Panel, as well as Photoshop CC, looks fine (ie, like I expect from working with these images in CS6). This applies to NEF, JPEG and PSD files. In the attached screenshot, note the distinct lack of red in the skin tones in the Content Panel compared to Preview. Blues look a little dull as well. This is a PSD file. This image is tagged sRGB, verified in the Metadata panel as well as in Photoshop CC.
I have read similar threads here (where all of Bridge was dull and desaturated), but I don't see anything that mentions the two panels in Bridge displaying images differently.
Background - 10 years as a pro photographer, and I know what I'm doing around a Mac and color management. I finally "upgraded" from CS6 to CC when I got my new Mac.
System -
Retina iMac w/Yosemite. Second monitor - HP LP2475w (Bridge sits on the HP monitor)
Both monitors have profiles generated with an i1 Display and the i1 Profiler application.
Both monitors are using their correct profiles
Steps Already taken (condensed)
1. Purge cache (multiple times throughout the process).
2. Check color cache and cache permissions.
3. Reinstall Bridge at the behest of Adobe support, even though this was a new install.
4. Check that "Always high quality" thumbnails is checked in Bridge (this seems to have no effect either way).
5. Check color settings - NA GP2 in Bridge. Interestingly, the same behavior is exhibited no matter what I select here.
6. Drag Bridge to the iMac display - everything now looks good. Drag back - now BOTH Content and Preview are desaturated. Will stay like this until Bridge is restarted.
7. Recalibrate the HP (Bridge) monitor. No change in behavior.
8. Verify no sidecar xmp for this image, to rule out ACR in the problem.
9. Open Output module to verify that the content panel looks the same way there (it does).
10. Investigate ~user/Library/Caches/Adobe/Bridge CC/Cache/ folders. Wow, the preview for this particular image in /1024/xxxx LOOKS CORRECT (like it does in the Preview panel). So Bridge IS generating high quality previews correctly.
Thoughts -
1. This seems unlikely to be a monitor profile issue. Bridge itself is displaying the same PSD two different ways. A bad profile would make everything on that monitor look wrong, wouldn't it?
2. Some of my images sit on an external drive, but the screenshot here is from the internal mac drive, to try and rule that out.
3. It's not some strange issue with the HP monitor not displaying color evenly across it's surface - if it were, than the screenshot would not show the difference between the panels. I also moved the Bridge window around the display to further verify that color is the same across the whole panel.
4. Maybe Bridge ignores the profile for the content panel - but in the case of no profile, it assumes sRGB (or does it?) which is exactly what this image is. I have tried this with Adobe RGB images and the same behavior is exhibited.
5. Previews are being generated correctly, but do not seem to be what is read off disc to display in the Content Panel.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. My gut feeling is that for some reason, Bridge is not showing me the saved high quality preview in the Content panel. But why?

Is your file tagged? I.e. does it have the proper color profile embedded?
Is your monitor accurately calibrated and profiled?
What are your preferences in Bridge re previews and profiles?

HDR too dark

I've recently upgraded to 5.1 and have been working through "Classroom in a Book". No problems until the lesson about Merging Exposures in HDR. The example uses 3 DNG raw files. They look awful on my laptop monitor, way too dark and blotchy. I'm running 32-bit, so I tried PS with that turned off and the problem persists. One of the Help files led me to the View>32bit Preview Options in menu but that is grayed out. Could this be a limitation of the laptop monitor? System = 10.6.8. Hoping there is a fix for this, thanks for any help.

Most people don't use the term LDR. I'm just trying to make the different more explicit when explaining it, since you seemed to be a bit unclear on the concepts.
If the result is 8 or 16 bit, then it is not HDR. High Dynamic Range only exists in 32 bit/channel.
If the image is 8 or 16 bit, then it is Low Dynamic Range (LDR), even if it was created originally from an HDR image at one time.
Yes, the 32 bit image may look bad - because you haven't done anything to bring that High Dyamic Range data into the range o your low dynamic range display. The purpose of a 32 bit/channel image isn't to look good - but to represent the range of light values you actually photographed (or rendered if working in 3D). think of HDR data like a negative - it doesn't look good on it's own, but does represent a lot of the scene photographed, and you can manipulate it to look good in a print (LDR).
For 32 bit HDR images - you don't make it look good in MergeToHDR. Merging is onbly the first step (and many people stop at this point because they need the full HDR data).
To make the image look good on a conventional display, you need to apply additional processing or toning to reduce that High Dynamic Range data down to LDR for print or display.

Prints always come out darker than in lightroom

I have a iMac, keep my screen calibrated using x-rite. I have found that all my prints come out darker than what I am seeing on screen. It almost seems like when I export a RAW file to JPG in lightroom it converts it to a denser image. As if it were taking 1/3 of the exposure out. I have done experiments with my own printer at home, as well as with two different labs here. I have downloaded the icc profiles of the different labs and have used PS4 to preview my images. There is no comparison and I can not see what step I might be missing to complete the process from image on screen to image on paper. Any help?? Thanks.

True, I have seen a difference in the density of the prints from the lab and from my home printer and it is possible that I have used the printer settings in lightroom incorrectly. It is interesting that the prints from the lab are much denser than what I see on my screen. I loose overall brightness and detail in the shadows. It seems like my colors are correct but with the loss of brightness it is hard to tell exactly. It almost seems to me as if somehow the conversion that lightroom does has something to do with how it is interpreted by the lab printer. The first test I did was to use the printer wizard (I have a cheapie epson home printer, epson stylus 405) just to see what would happen. My print came out EXACTLY as I see it on screen. That is what is my challenge. I can attach a file if it would help. THanks for all your responses.

New HDR Image darker than preview

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