Photobucket - uploaded images look flat/desaturated

[mattcambs]

Hi, hope someone can help?
Embarrassingly, this is something I've only just noticed (after posting my "Brightlingsea" series in the Landscape forum). I have been using Photobucket to host images for uploading to forums such as this one, however PB reduces contrast and desaturates the image.
Is this something common to other image hosting sites or is it something to do with the colour space I'm using?

 

[SarahLee]

That's the precise reason that I stopped using Photobucket.
These days I prefer pix.ie for general hosting and I've grudgingly given in and opened a Flickr account for stuff I want to keep and share with friends / family.

 

[mattcambs]

Ok, I've just opened a Flikr account and the images look exactly the same as they do on photobucket!

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[OlyPaul]

You are probably posting them with a Adobe RGB1998 profile instead of a srgb profile, this tends to desaturate and lower contrast on the web unless they are viewed with a colour managed browser.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

To the op, you're quite right it's a colour space issue. As OlyPaul says, make sure you export your images from PS or LR in sRGB, the default for these programmes is AdobeRGB, change it and all will be well again

 

[Mikesphotaes]

Yep, absolutely nothing wrong with bucket!

 

[mattcambs]

Delete

 

[mattcambs]

Thank you guys. What would you recommend I set my camera to? Adobe or sRGB?

 

[scottthehat]

srgb for me others will say argb, but if your shooting raw(it make no difference to which one you use as its raw), just make sure you save them as srgb(in what ever software your using).

 

[mattcambs]

Sorry, I'm still not quite getting this. My workflow would typically be to:
> open the RAW in ACR to make edits
> open file into PS
> make any necessary small tweaks/fix blemishes, etc
> save file as PSD
> resize image for web (700 pixels high)
> save a JPEG copy

I just tried un-ticking Adobe 1998 colour profile in the Save As dialogue box and the resulting image when viewed in Windows Viewer is the desaturated version.

My question is should add in a stage in the workflow before saving as sRGB that increases contrast so that it compensates for the reduction upon saving? Seems a bit cackhanded, though.

 

[mattcambs]

Ok I've figured it out

Camera Raw was defaulting to Adobe RGB when opening RAW files, so by clicking on the blue text under the image preview this can be changed to sRGB. Once a RAW file has then been opened into PS, it saves the new default colour space as sRGB.

Thanks again for all the previous help.

Interesting link re. this topic here