MacBookPro/photo applications to email problem!

[JGW]

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Anyone using a late 2008 MacBook Pro?

 

I hope this is not considered too off topic. I'm a photographer and all my computers are colour calibrated. It seems that whenever I put a photograph though any photographic software on my MacBookPro, and email it to a client, it will arrive on the recipient computer too dark! This will happen if I transfer the photo by any means, whether it's email, file sharing, cd, flash drive etc. So it's not a Mail problem. My usual workflow is, Capture One 4, then Photoshop CS4, sometimes the plugin, LensFix 4.5. I get this result whether I use this workflow, or if I use any of these applications alone. The result -which looks correct and good on my monitor- will be too dark when received by the other computer to the point where some images are unusable. Now strangely, if I don't put my photos through any software, i.e., if I send a jpeg straight from my Digilux 2 camera, it will not be affected in this way and will be received looking the same as it did on my monitor! Put this same image through any software, and it will arrive too dark!. Something is going wrong when I put any (including M8 or D2) images through any photo software. I've done diagnostic checks: HD verification; Safe mode/boot etc. everything is okay.

 

I realise this is a 'computer' problem, and I've mentioned this issue on a Mac forum with puzzlement to everyone! And I do not have this problem when using my PowerBook Titanium nor G4 desktop computers. I would like to know what others who do photography on this forum think. You'll all know of this software/hardware combination, whereas I'm sure many people just email their mobile/iphone or even digicam images without using photo software and therefore never discover such an issue. Any ideas anyone please? Or is it just an expensive repair for me?!

 

J.

[sandymc]

I would guess that somewhere along the line, your images are being put into a non-sRGB color space. Suggest you open an image with the Mac's Preview app, and then open the inspector ("Tools->Show Inspector"). You will then be able to see what the ColorSync Profile is. If its not sRGB, then that's almost certainly your problem.

 

Sandy

[stunsworth]

If you've calibrated your monitor do you have gamma set to 1.8 rather than 2.2?

[JGW]

sndymc, thank you for your suggestion.

When I open these same three in Preview, the colorSync Profile is sRGB on all of them.

I use a D2 and I test for this problem by sending an email with the same image 3 times: one jpeg straight from the camera, one having gone through my workflow, and one just using stand alone LensFix. The results are always that the two having gone through software are way too dark. The one straight from the camera stays unaffected i.e. as it should be and not darker. I've tested with different photo software, and always the same. If I send the pictures back to my computer from the one that received them looking too dark, they arrive back on my computer monitor looking correct again!

 

stunsworth, thanks, and I can see where you're coming from with this. 1.8 will give a slightly lighter screen than 2.2. But my monitor is calibrated to 2.2. with colour temperature of D65. I would think that 90% of the computers I email to are Macs. My emailed photos that go through software are really dark; imagine moving the brightness tool almost all the way to the left in Capture One! It's bizarre and I can't think what's causing this.

 

Any more ideas anyone please. Presumably, none of your MacBookPros do this?

 

J.

[Michael-IIIf]

Any more ideas anyone please. Presumably, none of your MacBookPros do this?

 

J.

 

I've never noticed a problem on mine.

[pop]

Can you meet with a client so that you can look at the same unmodified jpg out of your D2 on both screens side by side?

 

If they look the same, it's presumably your workflow. If they look differently, I would presume it's your monitor calibration or even your monitor.

[sandymc]

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When I open these same three in Preview, the colorSync Profile is sRGB on all of them.

 

Really? The same sRGB V2 profile? Not a sRGB V4 profile or anything else on any of them? Because that sure sounds like a bad profile....

 

Sandy

[JGW]

Can you meet with a client so that you can look at the same unmodified jpg out of your D2 on both screens side by side?

I've done that and they look the same.

 

If they look the same, it's presumably your workflow. If they look differently, I would presume it's your monitor calibration or even your monitor.

Don't think it's my workflow, i.e. both Photoshop and also LensFix as a stand-alone create this problem. An image straight from Capture One without Photoshop or LensFix does too. The monitor works perfectly with any photography I view online, or films I watch etc. It does go very bright, (compared to my previous PowerBook titanium laptop) so I do turn it down to a little over half way for viewing photography etc.

 

 

Really? The same sRGB V2 profile? Not a sRGB V4 profile or anything else on any of them? Because that sure sounds like a bad profile....

 

Sandy

Well, firstly the 3 versions of the same D2 image I've emailed for testing are: !st. usual workflow of Capture One - Photoshop CS4 with LensFix plugin. 2nd. jpeg straight from camera with no software used. 3rd. use of LensFix as a stand alone (to rule out a photoshop problem). The ColorSync Profiles in Preview in this same order are: 1st. sRGB IEC61966-2.1, 2nd. sRGB IEC61966-2.1, and 3rd. HueyPro sRGB(D65 G2.2 A21.75). This last profile did not go through photoshop, so presumably logged the computer monitor calibration. Both this one (3rd) and the 1st. are too dark. The middle 2nd. image (jpeg straight from D2) which has the same profile as the 1st. Photoshop image, stays correct. What do these profiles mean to you? I don't see a V2/V4 anywhere.

 

I do hope it is some weird software conflict I've yet to discover. I've never had this problem with my previous Macs, and thank you for your help.

 

J.

[pop]

The monitor works perfectly with any photography I view online, or films I watch etc. It does go very bright, (compared to my previous PowerBook titanium laptop) so I do turn it down to a little over half way for viewing photography etc.

 

There you are. There must be some setting in your computer which is being used by your photography software but not by the software you use for watching photography online or films.

 

Your computer displays your image much too brightly. You then correct the photograph instead of the (yet to be found) setting in your computer. The photographs are then much too dark to be of any use on a "correctly" adjusted computer with display.

[JGW]

There you are. There must be some setting in your computer which is being used by your photography software but not by the software you use for watching photography online or films.

Well I hope there is. If I could find this it would be helpful. But no, I certainly don't have the monitor brightness fully turned up and then 'correct' my photographs for this brightness The MacBookPro screen just does go very bright. Don't they all?. I just turn it down to a comfortable level for working. For instance, a correctly exposed jpeg off my Digilux 2 has a correct density of contrast; i.e. it looks right and is, and doesn't need brightening or darkening. This 'straight' image emailed to someone would then arrive darker than I sent it; it would become darkened. It's not anything I'm doing to it.

J.

[pop]

I'm stumped as I don't use any of the software you mentioned. Perhaps it might be helpful if you posted a "bad" example here. Make sure that all the EXIF data is conserved, though. Then, some of the folks using the same software could analyse your problem picture.

[JGW]

Well, This really isn't helping! (or perhaps it is) I was about to post two images; one straight from D2 camera, and the other having gone through my workflow, but as I previewed my post they both looked the same! So I didn't save. So, this has taught me something in that posting to a website doesn't have this affect! What this means I don't know, but it does mean I can post to my site which I do need to do! I'm willing to send images via email to someone who might be able to detect something if this is possible?

J.

[JGW]

...or perhaps it's just my monitor that shows them correct!? I don't know anymore. It's late here in the UK and time for bed! We'll see tomorrow.

J.

[sandymc]

The ColorSync Profiles in Preview in this same order are: 1st. sRGB IEC61966-2.1, 2nd. sRGB IEC61966-2.1, and 3rd. HueyPro sRGB(D65 G2.2 A21.75).

 

I'd be worried about that HueyPro profile. Can post all three images somewhere for us to take a look at?

 

Sandy

[coup de foudre]

have you upgraded your system?

 

i am finding my old MacBook Pro is much darker since i upgraded to Snow Leopard. not only that, i seem to be having troubles with the luminance settings (bumping up all the way and the program still tells me it's not light enough)... i'm still trying to sort out the problem.

 

as a tip, in Photoshop if you adjust the exposure -- it will compensate (1.00 to make it brighter) for non-Mac computers... i frequently email my pics to both platforms and have never had someone say the image was too dark unless, indeed, it was. i don't think your email program is the issue.

[carylwithay]

Why not make an appt at your nearest AppleStore Genius Bar. There is no charge to have them just look at it as far as I know. They have been very helpful when I have a problem.

Caryl

[ndjambrose]

There are only two probable reasons:

 

1. The screen on your Mac is excessively bright, causing you to process your images darker than normal.

 

2. The recipient's screen has insufficient brightness, causing 'correct' images to appear too dark.

 

Since you think it's not 1, you need to send your file to a screen of known brightness so you can check how it looks. Suggest you ask a few people on the forum who use both Macs and PCs with correct colour profiling to give you feedback on an example image.

 

A test along those lines will get your closer to discovering the problem. If images appear too dark for people who have correctly profiled monitors, then you should suspect the quality of your profiling.

 

You could also consider directing your clients to a screen with a gray scale so they can confirm they see all zones correctly.

 

And if you want to test your profiling for yourself, consider doing a round-trip from scan -> screen -> print. This is the best way to find out if your colour workflow is correct, since you start and end with an image of known luminance and colour values. Any deviation becomes apparent immediately.