Photo Editors v Windows Color inconsistency

Permanently deleted user

• February 18, 2019 01:06

I'm hoping this is an easy question . . .. When I edit a picture in any editor (capture one, luminar, affinity photo), get what I want, export it as jpg or tif, and then open it in Windows with the "Photos," the Windows version is much more saturated and brighter. The explorer thumbnail is likewise more saturated and brighter. I can drag the file to the Chrome browser, and the picture looks normal. The same file looks great everywhere except the explorer thumbnails and the Windows "Photos" app.

Not a huge issue, but in fact, the Windows version is much closer to what I'm seeing when I view the picture on my Samsung S9 phone, so I'm hoping that if I can understand what is going on, I can more realistically edit for viewing on phones (which is much more important than printing for me).

My display is calibrated, but I wouldn't think that would make any difference because I'm comparing images on the same screen.

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  cdc

  • February 18, 2019 07:35

  Windows Photos app is not color managed so it will show overly saturated sRGB images compared to your color managed picture editors using your calibrated monitor. Chrome is color managed so it displays the image as intended. I'd suspect your phone is not(?) if the pictures look closer to Windows Photo app but perhaps this is also just a difference in displays. You could use a color managed picture viewer such as Fast Picture Viewer instead of Windows Photos App if you'd like to see an accurate representation of your JPG's outside of your photo editor. People also recommend IrFan View but I've never had any luck making that one work an differently than Windows Photo app.
  
  Does anyone have any good links to color space and color management information websites or videos, I'd love to have a stronger understanding as well.
  
  Ultimately you can not control what people will be viewing your images on so it is challenging to prepare for that. Even two of the same phones/monitors will have a slightly different looking display. And then there are things like Apples "True Tone" which changes the display color to match the ambient light. I think it's best to make the image look how you want it in your photo editor and hope for the best once it is released to the world.

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  Permanently deleted user

  • February 18, 2019 14:21

  Thanks! Yes, that was simple! Apparently Windows Photo Viewer (as opposed to the Photos program) is color managed. It is gone in Windows 10 but you can get it back.
  
  And I found this, which has a simple explanation regarding Android phones.

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