Question about file format and uploading to sites

[jmdfd415]

Ok ive recently started taking photos and ive been trying out some hdr. Whenever I do them I save them as TIFF files but to put them online ive had to convert them to jpegs and when I do this I lose alot of detail. Is this just something Im going to have to live with? Is there a better way of saving these that im missing?

[Cliff3]

What software are you using to perform this conversion?

[jmdfd415]

currently im taking my raw files and merging them to hdr then saving the file as a 16bit tiff and if i want to post it online i just open it in lightroom and export it as a jpeg

[r.j.s]

Anytime you save to JPG, you're going to lose a lot of detail. It doesn't have the dynamic range of TIFF.

[Cliff3]

currently im taking my raw files and merging them to hdr then saving the file as a 16bit tiff and if i want to post it online i just open it in lightroom and export it as a jpeg

What settings are you specifying for the color space and jpeg quality on the export dialog in Lightroom? Are you applying any sharpening as part of the export process too?

[jmdfd415]

I changed quality to 100 and left the color space on sRBG.

[Cliff3]

I think my edit was simultaneous with your reply - how about sharpening?

[jmdfd415]

No the quality was the only thing I have changed when exporting in lightroom.

[Cliff3]

No the quality was the only thing I have changed when exporting in lightroom.

I usually check the box to apply sharpening for the screen specifying a 'normal' amount on my exports. Can you post a sample that you're not happy with?

[jmdfd415]

Can you explain where you choose the sharpening? I still new to lightroom.

[Cliff3]

Can you explain where you choose the sharpening? I still new to lightroom.

It's on the export dialog just below the image size and resolution.

[jaseone]

You can make the process easier by getting a Donationware plugin for Lightroom that allows you to export straight to most of the mjaor online services:

http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies

[jmdfd415]

Ok i just tried that and it didnt make a difference. What im losing is alot of the depth. The blacks are the main thing im losing and some of the color. Here is the pic as a jpeg it doesnt look anywhere near as good as the tiff file:(

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q45/jmdfd415/carhdr2.jpg

[jmdfd415]

ok so maybe i was wrong when i look at it on preview on my mac it looks bad but now once i uploaded it it looks normal. Am I going crazy haha?

[jmdfd415]

You can make the process easier by getting a Donationware plugin for Lightroom that allows you to export straight to most of the mjaor online services:

http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies

Thanks Ill check that out.

[Cliff3]

Ok i just tried that and it didnt make a difference. What im losing is alot of the depth. The blacks are the main thing im losing and some of the color. Here is the pic as a jpeg it doesnt look anywhere near as good as the tiff file:(


It looks ok to me, but I can't see what you're seeing. What browser do you use?

[jmdfd415]

firefox but it looks normal now that I uploaded it. Before i was just looking at it on preview and noticed the difference. Maybe preview is just setup dumb i dont know.

[Cliff3]

firefox but it looks normal now that I uploaded it. Before i was just looking at it on preview and noticed the difference. Maybe preview is just setup dumb i dont know.

I've had no complaints using Preview to view sRGB images. Firefox has color management features now with version 3, but they have to be specifically enabled while Safari has always been color managed. You may want to view the image in Safari and compare it to the one in Firefox, just to rule out the browser as potentially contributing to your problem.

[jmdfd415]

yeah safari looks just like preview so firefox def looks better thats strange I havent changed any settings in either one.

[Cliff3]

yeah safari looks just like preview so firefox def looks better thats strange I havent changed any settings in either one.

That _is_ strange. Firefox looked flat for me, until I turned on the color management features. If you open about:config in Firefox, what is the setting for gfx.color_management.enabled ?

[jmdfd415]

Im not seeing that anywhere.

[Cliff3]

Im not seeing that anywhere.

Here's a screencap.

[jmdfd415]

mine says false

[Cliff3]

mine says false

This is a link to the add-in that helps you control the color management settings in Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=color%20management

Images look identical for me no matter whether I view them in Safari, Firefox, Preview, Photoshop (CS3), or Lightroom. For your photo, I disabled color management in Firefox and it ceased to match Safari and Preview. I am attaching a screen capture of that. FWIW, my monitor is color calibrated using an Xrite colorimeter.

I don't know what the right answer is for your system, but color management definitely appears to be an area for you to explore.