not sure what is going on here, I use Photoshop for my post work and have for some time but I have noticed that darker scenes don't look right.

Although subtle when saved as a .JPG with just Photoshop the images appear more stark and less subtle. I have never noticed this until now and I am not sure what changed or if that is just Vista as well??? Please help.

I think it is your viewer. The easiest way to make sure, however, is to open an image in your web browser.

With XP® this is done by right clicking on a JPG file and pointing to open it using Internet Explorer...

...then compare that with what you see in Photoshop.

If it is the fault of the new image viewer in Vista®, I would scream at Microsoft® on a continual basis until you think each of their code monkeys have sufficiently worked up a bleeding ulcer © for failing to learn the lessons of Microsoft's®  history from Windows 95®­ until Windows XP®.

If history is any indicator, you can expect it will be another five or six years until Microsoft® develops another stable system.

Maybe, finally, someone else will develop a third OS to deliver the world from this two company tyranny of Apple's OS-X®© and Microsoft's® stolen IBM® code?

Maybe Cryptojoe is right and it's the viewer, but I've noticed saving as jpg sometimes screws up my images, the colors don't come out just quite the same, jpg isn't  the best format to preserve the quality of an image...

True point Luci.

@Vile: What type of monitor do you have, CRT, LCD, or Plasma?

Ok. With the screenshot that is on the same computer the left image is how it appears in photoshop and the right is the picture viewer. I am on a LCD but that cannot matter as the screenshot shows this is file related. Now I do have an XP system and it looks the same on that computer. Now I have tried a couple of different formats (.BMP, .Tif) same dang thing this really makes me point to Photoshop now.

Usually when your image looks different outside of Photoshop, it means your monitor is not using the same color profile (color space) as Photoshop.
Newer monitors tend to use their own manufacture specific profile by default.

Try setting both your monitor and PS to “sRGB” which is good for most web type output or to “Adobe RGB” if your output is for printing.

 

SWAMP

Right-o Swamp.

@ Vile: The shot you posted, honestly, I cannot tell the difference...

Are you looking at the enlarged image? You will see that there is some more detail and light colors that are washed out in the second image.

The image in the viewer is smaller, so, it tightens it up pixel-wise, sort of like drawing an image on a balloon and deflating it.

Attached Link: My image

Do you notice the halo around the stars on the left vs. the right? I think though I figured it out, SWAMP was right. It was my settings in Photoshop to match my screen. Once I did that and imported the psd back in it look just as dark! Thanks SWAMP! It still looks a little off as .jpg but I think that is just something I never really noticed LOL.

I would say that looks a lot better to me if you care to look.

Just as an experiment, go to image/adjustments/curves. In the curves dialogue go to options, click on the find dark and light colors and snap neutral mid tones. I find that helps in many cases.