Windows 7 Color discrepancy w/Photoshop/Lightroom/Win Photo Viewer... need help

[Harold Fritsche]

Recently I decided to put up a website, using Smugmug. After creating it and uploading a few of my photos, I noticed significant desaturation of color, not drastic but significant. The vibrant colors of a golden sunset on red rocks is noticeably desaturated, making it appear somewhat drab.


At first I suspected the Smugmug site. After discussion with their help desk and some further investigation and thought, I no longer believe that. I have found that the only 3 programs that display my photos normally are Lightroom, Photoshop, and Windows Photo Viewer. If I import into anything else, Word, Excel, MS Paint, etc., the photos are "drab".


If I email any of these photos, they are received (on numerous devices) in their "drab" condition. I have sent them to my wife's PC laptop, and her iPad... drab. I have pulled up the Smugmug website on other computers... drab. However, if I take any of these emailed photos, or download one back from the website and pull it into LR, PS, or Win Photo Viewer, it is back to normal.


My monitor is calibrated regularly using Spyder 3. One complicating factor... I very recently replaced my graphics card. I'm using a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970. Drivers are up to date.


I'm at a loss and could really use some help.


Thx,

Harold Fritsche

Win 7
NVIDIA GTX 970 GPU
Lightroom CC 2015
Photoshop CC 2014

 

[Pauli]

We don't have this problem with text documents, although we do have it, since for instance some fonts used in writing aren't available in a program someone reading hasn't available, due to copyrights and so on. Looking at a Windows text document straightly in Linux may get weird...

In an image, or a video, there are many more variables. Especially in videos as sounds add up to it. Calibration is, both for sender and receiver, crucial. As well as for the provider of the service. Earlier, with films in color, we had mainly two alternatives: daylight and tungsten, nowadays variations may be practically unrestricted because the voltage in computer may affect it. Plus comes manipulation of the picture - a photo worked with Photoshop is, probably, best viewed with Photoshop. Comes along different versions of software, different graphics cards, different monitors. The only way to truly balance it is to have the same standards of sending/receiving, and that those values and measurement methods are the same.

Creating multitude, multitude has been created. A thought that hits me is, you need to send the RGB or eq. and gamma and darkness info, in order to get your audience to see it like you meant it to be seen. But if the monitor isn't balanced, what do values really mean? And what can be considered flawless?

With my present monitor I got the document enclosed as attachment. How many get this? How many know what their monitor stands for or is capable of?

http://i514.photobucket.com/albums/t350/Hamarahakki/Monitor report.jpg

True quality is a way of professionals, of which group I don't claim to be a member of, within IT. But we alwaya have people who don't know, even if they think they know, and on the other side of edge we have people who do know --- counting the fact I wouldn't really trust my life in their hands. And nothing against you Harold.

It's actually as simple as with phones:
"I can't hear you clearly. Can you hear me?"
"Yes I hear you loud and clear..."
"WHAT? I just hear some buzz... did you say something"
"Eh? Can't hear you..."

If everything was that simple, Microsoft would have produced the perfect OS by now. And Linux folks wouldn't need to mock them. But it just doesn't seem to be that simple, and whilst geeks work their way and money makers work their way, ordinary people still have to plow the field. In order to get a carrot. Like my childhood friend used to say, Nothing is as sure as the insecure.

All of this with very best wishes. But to get things in order, you need to get them in order. And that means labor, comes with monetary cost most probably. Like Bruce Springsteen sings in a song, You want it, you take it, you pay the price.

You need to know. And I can assure you, we are not tired of this topic. We see it as a topic and question to overcome, at least we try. It's been said that the 11th commandment is "Never give up".