Why do my photos look worse in a WordPress/NextGEN gallery than the original files?
Asked 5/7/2011
59 views
2 answers
0
My images look noticeably flatter, less sharp, and less vibrant when displayed through a WordPress site using the NextGEN gallery plugin, even though the same files look fine when viewed directly from the server or in other viewers. I usually export JPEGs from Photoshop at about 600px maximum dimension and high quality. I’ve also tried other formats, but the problem remains.
Since the images look closer to correct when opened directly in a browser, but worse once displayed through the gallery, I’m trying to determine whether this is caused by color management, CSS or JavaScript effects, or unwanted resizing/compression by the gallery or theme. What should I check first?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
6
This kind of thing is usually a color space issue. Make sure you save the images as sRGB, not Adobe RGB; the latter is intended for print, not web display.
Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3205
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The most likely causes are color management and image processing by the site.
First, export web images in sRGB. If your files are in Adobe RGB or another wider-gamut profile, many browsers/plugins may render them as if they were sRGB, which makes colors and contrast look off. A common workflow is to edit in a wide gamut, then convert to sRGB when exporting for web.
Second, make sure WordPress/NextGEN or your theme is not resizing the image again. If the gallery displays the image at a different size than the file you uploaded, browser/server resampling can reduce sharpness.
Third, check whether your theme CSS or gallery styling/scripts are affecting the image display. Disable stylesheets or gallery effects one at a time to isolate the culprit.
So: export as sRGB, upload at the exact display size you want, and test with gallery/theme effects disabled.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI15y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Why do my photos look better on a 27-inch iMac than on my Dell PC or laptop?
How can I get sharper, more vibrant landscape photos from a Nikon D5600 with the 18-55mm kit lens?
How can I make Nikon D5600 photos look more vibrant by default?
How can I preload Lightroom previews to speed up moving between photos?
What does "2500 pixels on the long dimension" mean?