Converting an image for posting – what am I doing wrong?

[LarsB]

This should be so easy – I have got to be missing something obvious. I am starting with 300 or 600 ppi TIFFs. I use Image>Image Size… to resize to 72 ppi and set the long side to 600 pixels. Transfer the image to ImageReady. In the Optimize tab in the Optimize palette, I set Format to JPEG and Quality to Maximum. Then File>Save Optimized as … to save the file. Comparing the original TIFF with the new JPEG, the JPEG’s colors look very dull. What am I doing wrong?

[Arbib]

You don't need to reset your DPI...That's a reference point only, so you know what the largest size of enlargement is...

I use "Faststone Photo Resizer - converter 2.5 (free)...You can select what the long side will be..(For SC..600px) and check "Keep aspect ratio"..
And there is a Quality setting under "settings" on the right lower side (Blue area)...and more settings under "Advanced" for everything else..including Text Copyright or Graphic watermarks (Could be a copyright graphic file)

BTW...It can save the EXIF data too...Some forums want the EXIF data preserved for proof of the Camera and shoot date. Like for contests.

Link below

FastStone Image Viewer, Screen Capture, Photo Resizer ...

[r_fredrick_smith]

Originally Posted by LarsB

This should be so easy – I have got to be missing something obvious. I am starting with 300 or 600 ppi TIFFs. I use Image>Image Size… to resize to 72 ppi and set the long side to 600 pixels. Transfer the image to ImageReady. In the Optimize tab in the Optimize palette, I set Format to JPEG and Quality to Maximum. Then File>Save Optimized as … to save the file. Comparing the original TIFF with the new JPEG, the JPEG’s colors look very dull. What am I doing wrong?

You are making it way to hard. There are two factors at play.

1. Colorspace --- if the color space is Adobe RGB or some color space other than sRGB, then when you do a Save Optimized, you are going to get a color shift. So before saving, change the color space to sRGB.

2. Use File | Save for Web right in Photoshop and use its image resize tab to change the size of the image. If you want to use Image | Image size, then ignore the resolution, just change the pixel width as needed. So there is no reason to even open ImageReady.

Here is a shot showing the typical color shift problem:

Image on left is in Adobe RGB color space. Image on right is as saved using file | Save for web. You can see the color shift this causes. So in this example I should first change the color space on the left to sRGB and the photo will still look the same on the left, but then would look the same as it on the right (after save for web).

Cheers,
rfs

[PhotosbyChuck]

I'm sure Roger is right...it's your colorspace. The Web is not color managed. Even embedding a profile does not guarantee it will be used. Also, to simplify your process forget PPI altogether for the web. 72DPI is a very old number. Monitors haven't been 72 DPI in 10 years. Just work in pixels instead (which the Save for Web tool will allow you to do anyway!)

[Eric E]

Wow. I'd never given this much thought. Great info, guys.

[LarsB]

Thanks for everyone's help.

rfs - You nailed it. My images looked just like your examples. I poked around in Photoshop, and sure enough, I was using Adobe RGB. I have no idea how that got set, but once I changed it to sRGB, everything fell into place.

Arbib - Thanks for the pointer to Faststone. Some of my images are large enough that Photoshop Save for Web complains, but Faststone handles them just fine. Its a great tool.