Colour spaces accross different monitors

Question

I have a question about colour spaces.

I have taken photos on a digital SLR in RAW, processed them in Adobe Lightroom and then exported them as JPG's with the sRGB profile.

On my home setup with the DELL u2713h (wide gamut monitor), when I open photos using a colour managed application - the JPG's look great, and when I open them in a non-colour managed application they don't - i understand why, and this is all fine.

The problem i am having is after I have uploaded the JPG's to Google Photos and then view them from my work computer which uses the standard run-of-the mill Dell monitors. When viewing at work the colours are over-saturated even when viewed using a colour managed application.

Everything I have been reading suggests this shouldn't be the case as it should be reading sRGB from the photo and displaying normally?

Can anyone help me to understand why this may be? I'm worried all the photos I share are coming out over saturated when viewed by other people.

thanks.

PS - here is an example photo https://goo.gl/photos/BHecW2AegsEgWBw78

Answer 1

If you edited with a wide-gamut monitor, it is likely that in editing, you have chosen some colors that are 'out of gamut' for standard monitors. Your wide-gamut monitor can display them, but others can not. You can control for this by changing your monitor profile, using a monitor calibration tool. If you have Photoshop, there is a basic tool built in. You can switch easily in Photoshop by using the 'soft proof' setting. There is also a tool built into MacOS in the Displays setting. Here you can switch Display profile easily. (Sorry, don't remember if Windows has one).

Another issue may be the type of screen you are viewing on. Your main screen is likely a IPS-type display, where the image stays true to color even when viewed off-axis. But if the 'run of the mill' Dell displays are TN, then the color shifts dramatically when viewed off axis. There is really no fix for this, other than getting the colors within the gamut of the display, and within the sRGB color profile. (and viewing in the middle of the display).

Answer 2

The way I am reading it: the images were made with display A and they look fine on display A. They don't look correctly on other display(s).

If that's the case, assuming that the other displays are set to defaults, your display A profile or setting may be the culprit.

Posting an example could be helpful. People here could tell if they see anything wrong. Get test images or color checker image and display them on your A display to see if they look correct.

Answer 3

When I setup a new work space, I take a known image that I have worked with in the past and I adjust the main monitor brightness, contrast and colors.

Then I compare the screen to a printed version, a tablet, and a few new smart phones.

After the main monitor is calibrated, I adjust the other monitors. I usually work with 3 monitors.

I usually only proof my prints/shots with my best monitor (display resolution, colors, and clarity.)

Even with top of the line Intel graphics to run all three monitors, only one monitor represents what most users will typically see. The other two let me know what the image looks like with less than ideal settings.

NOTE: There is a possibility that your operating system in conjunction with your conversion software is writing strangely. I've notice images exported to JPEG from Canon raw on a Windows 10 computer will not show the revisions in thumbnails. Where there is a file reading/writing issue. I also noticed this in Topaz lab exports.