#1 (permalink)

Hi everyone,

Can anyone tell me why when I open a picture in Photoshop it looks a lot darker than the real image?

Also, when you compress an image for the web, is it better to size it first (trim) and then compress it or is it better to compress it at the large size, like a photo from a digital camera?

Thanks in advance.

#2 (permalink)

Size it first, then compress.

Not sure on the Photoshop question. I know there are some monitor settings when you first set up photoshop, maybe that's it.

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#3 (permalink)

Thanks a lot for responding. I'll check it out

#4 (permalink)

Yes, read about color management in the help section. It is fairly complex. You probably have something called Adobe Gamma around so you can tweak your monitor. Only problem is when I did that on my LCD monitor it didn't work well at all and I eventually just fiddled so my print out would look the same as the monitor. Adobe Gamma worked fairly well on my previous monitor so it can be helpful. Do you have CS or what version?

#5 (permalink)

Okay...now for a little lesson on light.

The reason your prints look different from what's on your monitor (especially depending on what kind of monitor you have), is because the difference between additive colors and subtractive colors.

Additive colors (i.e. you monitor) add colors, starting from nothing (blackness). So, you monitor adds colors to black until you see the desired colors.

Subtractive colors (i.e. printed, ink, dyes) reflect light off the surface. Unlike the monitor, where light is actually generated to produce colors, printed material reflect (and/or absorb) light to let you view colors.

You're basically working with two totally different mediums.

There's also the color differences too. Additive colors use Red Green and Blue, where as printed use Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. And if you combine two additive primaries, you get a subtractive primary, and vice versa.

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