I think I need help with my Photoshop settings. I've been processing my photos and been very unhappy/depressed with the results. I then realized that they looked a lot better on my phone than on my PC screen. I did some testing and I discovered that Photoshop (CS4 - both 32bit and 64bit) and the basic Windows viewer [the two things I've been using all this time to look at my images] are displaying poorer quality views of my images than other viewers or programs. (see attached images) I think I just noticed this because I just got a CMOS OSC camera and was expecting a lot better than it seemed I was getting.
Do I have something set wrong in Photoshop? I really don't want to spend the money to get Pixinsight just right now (and the time to learn it) but I need to be able to see what the image really looks like while I'm processing it.
At first I thought the problem was with my monitor, but since I do see the correct image with some programs I've concluded that the issue must be with Photoshop itself. However, I have no idea at all how to fix it.
I've uploaded two views of an early processing stage of an Andromeda photograph.
This one shows the image as seen in Gimp, Irfan View, Windows Paint, on-line, the new Windows "Photos" or on other laptops, phones, etc.
This one shows the image as seen in Photoshop or in the Windows Photo Viewer or Photo Gallery on my PC. (I used screen capture to get this but it is accurate for what I see).
As you can see above, the image I'm seeing in Photoshop has problems. The main problem I notice is that the gradients of color do not flow smoothly but are concentric areas of flat color. No depth or subtlety.
Can this be fixed and if so what do I need to adjust in Photoshop or my PC? I'm using Photoshop CS4 and this effect shows up in both the 32bit and 64 bit versions.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks and Clear Skies Everyone
Taylor Blanchard