 Posted 5/27/2007 7:51:05 AM
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| I have had an issue with prints coming out with an extreme blue tint. The shots are almost always indoor and with a flash. Admittedly, these are family shots processed at a local drugstore but that really does not explain that other shots came out fine. I am shooting with a D200, an 18 to 135mm or 50mm lens, and an SB-800 flash. The files range from ~1.5 to 4 megs. The tint is NOT VISIBLE when I view on a monitor or photoshop the images in RAW, TIFF, or JPEG formats. I have a feeling that I have a setting with the flash and/or camera that is incorrect, but I still cannot figure out why this artifact does not show up on monitors in even the RAW format.
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Posted 5/27/2007 8:15:25 AM
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For prints on an inkjet printer, I recommend the following to improve output.
When using your RAW image processing software, perform a "White Balance" adjustment. Hopefully, there will be an eyedropper sample tool, so you can choose some pixels in the scene which should be white, without color cast. This WB adjustment will set a color temperature (in degrees Kelvin) and tint.
Colour temperature
If you already have converted from RAW to TIFF, PSD or JPG, then perform an Auto Color correction in PhotoShop (or whatever image enhancement application you are using). Although, I find that AutoColor Correction produces some very poor results, at times. It is much more effective to make the WB correction on the RAW file.
Since you are seeing some desirable results on your monitor, then it should be possible to produce the same on your inkjet printer. First of all, I'd change your monitor to display the AdobeRGB1998 colorspace. Convert your image to the AdobeRGB1998 colorspace. Then, adjust the image until you see what you want. This version of the image should print out in a favorable manner on your printer.
But, if it does not, then you may need to adjust hue/saturation in Photoshop to fine tune the output.
These words apply to printing on an inkjet printer. The workflow process for internet upload will be quite different.
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Posted 5/27/2007 8:56:37 AM
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RAD (5/27/2007)
I have had an issue with prints coming out with an extreme blue tint. The shots are almost always indoor and with a flash. Admittedly, these are family shots processed at a local drugstore but that really does not explain that other shots came out fine. I am shooting with a D200, an 18 to 135mm or 50mm lens, and an SB-800 flash. The files range from ~1.5 to 4 megs. The tint is NOT VISIBLE when I view on a monitor or photoshop the images in RAW, TIFF, or JPEG formats. I have a feeling that I have a setting with the flash and/or camera that is incorrect, but I still cannot figure out why this artifact does not show up on monitors in even the RAW format.
I have run into a similar problem with my Canon Pro Photo printer. It tends to have a green bias. Even images that I remove all the color information from (convert to black and white) seem to have a slightly green tint.
I talked to my friend about this who is an accomplished photographer (worked for National Geographic, etc.).
There are a couple things you need to know.
First, you are going to need to calibrate your monitor. There are ways to do this without purchasing hardware but they are difficult, to say the least. And, it will never be perfect. I used the Spyder Pro 2 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/426710-REG/ColorVision_S2P100_Spyder2Pro_Color_Calibration_System.html It's not the best but it's only $200. There are others that are VERY Expensive. This one does the job but it's a pain to get it right.
Second, what kind of printer do you use? If you use a printer with 3 pigments RGB and a black cartridge, you won't get pro results in a lot of instances. My printer uses 8 inks:
CLI-8 Photo Black, CLI-8 Cyan, CLI-8 Magenta, CLI-8 Yellow, CLI-8 Photo Cyan, CLI-8 Photo Magenta, CLI-8 Red, & CLI-8 Green.
If you're serious about doing good large prints at home, I suggest a printer with at LEAST 7 pigments. You can get decent results with some 3 and 4 cartridge printers but not nearly as good as a "pro photo" printer.
Third, you have to choose the right paper. As I have learned, there are good papers and "bad". I purchased a boat load of HP Advanced Photo Paper when I purchased my printer as it was on sale, about 40% off. I come to find out that when going to print, one needs an ICC profile for the paper they use. Unfortunately, HP is not a pro paper. It's targeted to the average consumer and they do not have an ICC profile that you can download for this particular paper. Some printers have a "recommended" profile for certain papers. I used the one for mine and it came out relatively desaturated. So, you're going to have to pop for some good paper if you want to print at home. My friend recommended Ilford Smooth Pearl. He tells me it's the cheapest paper that I will be able to get that will give me the results I want. At that point you have to load the ICC Profile of the paper into your printer preferences.
Fourth, you have to turn off color management in Photoshop. What you are seeing on your screen may not be what's "really happening". There are ICC profiles for color management like Adobe RGB, sRGB, etc. Those are good for uploading to the web, etc. Then there are other profiles like CMYK North American Prepress, etc. that are designed for print.
His basic advice to me was to get the good paper (having a calibrated monitor), add the ICC Profile of the paper for printing, use "Save for Web" for email and the web and otherwise turn off color management in PS. Also, he said not to use Adobe Bridge, Lightroom or Aperture. They tend to play with the color in your photos so you may not be seeing them right. He told me to use the Canon software that came with my camera (he uses Nikon). Since I am unable to locate my Canon disk and can't seem to find it online to download, I am using iPhoto (An Apple program similar to Picassa). You can use Picassa if you're on a PC, but your camera manufacturer's RAW conversion solution would be better. I used picassa it and it's not bad. Convert your RAW files using one of these solutions then work on them in photoshop.
If you want to "fix" the problem you are having without spending all this time, money and effort, you are in for a long ride. You will have to try every profile available for your printer until you get something that is similar to your screen. I spent a couple hours playing with the profiles on mine for the paper I have and the prints look "ok" not perfect. The colors are still slightly off and slightly desaturated.
If you use a GOOD online printing service, you will use their paper's ICC profile to apply to your image before uploading the file. So, it's all about the profiling and color management.
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