HELP! Aperture and Lightroom enjoy screwing up my colour!

[EricChunky]

Both apps change my RAW file's color automatically.

When I first imported the photos, the color ( in thumbnails ) looks fine - same as what I saw in my Canon 5D display. However, when I double click and open them ( or just leave it as a thumbnail for long-enough ), the apps will say something like "working on / processing", afterwhich the color in my photo became completely wrong.

For example, a few great shots in Monument Valley at dawn have this amazing red effects. They turn into dead yellow after both apps automatically "adjust' them. ( The white balance is always kept as "as shot" )

I did a little googling and people are saying there is no way to stop Lightroom doing so. Is it true? How about Aperture? Any advices will be appreciated.

Thanks

Eric

 

[Abstract]

You're dealing with RAW, aren't you.


What you see in your 5D display is what a RAW file processed into a JPEG would look like. A RAW file isn't even a photo or image file of any kind. It's just "data". Your camera allows you to make sense of this RAW data and show you how the photo would look like if you let the camera process the photo and turn it into a JPEG. If you shoot RAW, you're telling the camera that you don't want the camera to process the photo for you, and that you would rather do it yourself.

 

[M@lew]

You have to counter-act the program by adjusting the White Balance in Aperture/Lightroom if you want to get the photos back to the way they were on import.

 

[EricChunky]

You're dealing with RAW, aren't you.


What you see in your 5D display is what a RAW file processed into a JPEG would look like. A RAW file isn't even a photo or image file of any kind. It's just "data". Your camera allows you to make sense of this RAW data and show you how the photo would look like if you let the camera process the photo and turn it into a JPEG. If you shoot RAW, you're telling the camera that you don't want the camera to process the photo for you, and that you would rather do it yourself.

mkay mkay, i 'll try to adjust it than set it as default then.

cheers.

 

[ChrisA]

Both apps change my RAW file's color automatically.

When I first imported the photos, the color ( in thumbnails ) looks fine - same as what I saw in my Canon 5D display. However, when I double click and open them ( or just leave it as a thumbnail for long-enough ), the apps will say something like "working on / processing", afterwhich the color in my photo became completely wrong.

For example, a few great shots in Monument Valley at dawn have this amazing red effects. They turn into dead yellow after both apps automatically "adjust' them. ( The white balance is always kept as "as shot" )

I did a little googling and people are saying there is no way to stop Lightroom doing so. Is it true? How about Aperture? Any advices will be appreciated.

Thanks

Eric

The RAW files have to be white balanced somehow. The camera does this using whatever setting you picked, maybe "auto" or "daylight". Sems like this is set to something reasonable. Lightroom and Aperture has to do the same thing But perhaps your default white balancesetting is "strobe" or something. the best would be to tell the program to use the W/B setting in the camera

 

[Dishrag]

Both apps change my RAW file's color automatically.

When I first imported the photos, the color ( in thumbnails ) looks fine - same as what I saw in my Canon 5D display. However, when I double click and open them ( or just leave it as a thumbnail for long-enough ), the apps will say something like "working on / processing", afterwhich the color in my photo became completely wrong.

For example, a few great shots in Monument Valley at dawn have this amazing red effects. They turn into dead yellow after both apps automatically "adjust' them. ( The white balance is always kept as "as shot" )

I did a little googling and people are saying there is no way to stop Lightroom doing so. Is it true? How about Aperture? Any advices will be appreciated.

Thanks

Eric

One other thing to realize is that any "picture style" including B&W will be stripped away. The only software that I know of that does not do this to a 5D image is Canon's own software. You can how ever set presets in Aperture to correct every adjustment in Aperture.

Also it would be wise to invest in a monitor calibrator.