I received a note last week from a student who was on a photo trek to Tucson with me this spring. His images look different depending on what software he's using. It's a common problem, and involves color management, or the lack of it. Todd was kind enough to let me use his note and photos for today's post.

Reed:

I was on the Tucson Trek recently. I have a question that has been bugging me for awhile about how different pieces of software interpret color.

Disclaimer: I have not calibrated my monitor yet (even though I took the oath at Nikon School ;)

Attached are screenshots of the same image - the first loaded into Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 editor. The second loaded into the Windows Picture and Fax viewer. These are displayed on the same monitor. The Elements view appears "warmer" more yellow/brown almost Sepia to me compared to the other. I also viewed it in PhotoMechanic and it is closer to the Windows one. CaptureNX looks more like the Elements one... I am confused.

Will calibrating my monitor really "fix" this? It appears to me to be a difference in the software used to display the image. Am I missing the boat?

Thanks! Todd

I always appreciate honesty, though I'm a bit disappointed that you took the oath and didn't follow through :)

As you guessed, the main problem is likely not the monitor, but with the preferences in the various programs. Elements 5 has good basic color management capability, if set properly. Photo Mechanic will also show images properly (honoring the embedded profile), if that's turned on. NX too. Windows XP has limited color management, and with Picture and Fax viewer my bet is you're seeing an sRGB rendition of the scene, regardless of how the camera was set. Go through the other programs and make sure color management is turned on and the preferences set properly (Adobe RGB if you've set the camera that way, or sRGB if that). Photo Mechanic and Capture should both show the same way, Elements has a good shot of it too. I'd forget about Picture and Fax Viewer.

The more serious you get about your photography, the more time you'll spend learning and understanding how to use color management. The next step, of course, is calibrating and profiling your monitor, but it only works if your software is color management capable and set properly. If you're looking to learn more on the subject, one of my favorite books about this is "Color Confidence," by Tim Grey. Good luck!