Photoshop Color Problems: PICS inside

[clavinZERO]

I am trying to get Photoshop, Bridge and Camera Raw to ALL display the same coloring, but only with the image fully loaded into Photoshop and WITH PROOF COLORS TURNED ON do my files look proper. I don't mean like, color casts and shifts, I mean like messed up contrast and wierdness I can't explain. Can anyone (BRAD or TJ?) help me, or steer me in the right direction here?

I am pretty sure my monitor profile is setup correctly with its respective file from Dell. Also, I have done some minor calibration to it as well.

I am at a loss, and Google is leading me in circles. I am tired of not being able to view .JPG and .NEF (RAW) files correctly before fully opening them in Photoshop and having to use proof color viewing.

Thanks in advance! OK pics (number 2 REALLY makes it clear):

[clavinZERO]

Side note:

Both my camera and the whole CS3 suite are set to the "Adobe RGB (1998)" working space now and I am still getting this wierd look.

The whole issue is: how the hella am I supposed to look for the good pics in Bridge if they all have color previews like ass, and even worse is when I am trying to do adjustments in Adobe CameraRaw and I won't know what I have actually done until it opens in Photoshop.

My wits end I tell ya. And I checked again... I have the right profile for my monitor both in my Windows color settings and it's listed in Photoshop.

HELP CLAY DO PHOTOS!!!! :D

[steinbachphoto]

most likely the colour space your running in photoshop is different, you should be using srgb, and it may be in adobe rgb

[steinbachphoto]

don't use adobe rgb, unless the photo is in an editing program it won't be able to see it properly, and when you look at it anywhere else it appears to be as its just srgb. using different colour spaces only benefits you if you are printing the photos

[clavinZERO]

I have gotten that part down so far...

When I purged the preview cache for Bridge, the pics ALL showed up perfect again for a few seconds. Then they all reloaded to that crappy look right after. I just can't for the life of me find the damn setting that is doing that.

EDIT:

I went back and tried the other various color spaces for the whole suite. Nothing changes in Bridge or anything... it still looks perdfect right after I purge the preview cache, then it processes them all again and has that funky look. I have put the whole suite on the North American Prepress 2 (sRGB). I just need to find out why I need to have proof colors on for my specific monitor to actually see things right. Got any ideas?

When I end up exporting as Jpegs or whatever, they look great in either browsers or in MS Fax/Pic Viewer. So... I am at a loss still as to why they look like as UNLESS I am running soft proofing with my monitor profile.

[steinbachphoto]

I have no idea honestly, so it only looks right if your monitor is set to proofing? what does it change the settings to when its in proofing?

[clavinZERO]

Soft proofing is adjusting it so you can see what it SHOULD look like on a another device like a printer or something. Proofing it on Monitor Color is the only way to make things look right IN PHOTOSHOP. Anything I export/save looks perfect in any other program though. It's wierd. I might go for a reinstall just in case. CS2 did this to me, and CS3 DID NOT at first, but now it does. There is something little, a small piece of the puzzle I am missing, I can feel it.

[clavinZERO]

Well I may have this thing solved.... bad monitor ICC profile.

[sumyungguy]

hmmm.. Im not familiar with Proof Colors, but, as steinbach said, stick to srgb for sure.

The images are going to look different in Bridge if your looking at .raw and .jpg versions of the same file cause for some reason Bridge likes to make its own adjustments for the preview .raw file. Double check your Camera Raw export settings ( at the bottom of the window, looks like a blue link) that they aren't being exported as xx-bit or x-bit, xxx dpi or xx dpi, just check the settings to see if they are what your needing. Remember a 240dpi preview will look different than the actual file opened in PS cause of the limitations of .jpg dpi (I think bridge makes those previews and thumbs as .jpg's in a hidden file and just plugs them in when your viewing or it does the process everytime you click for a preview).