Google photos : changing something about my photos.....

wersal gummage

Hi folks,

Gratefully for any insight on this. I understand that google photos is probably running all kinds of horrible compression on my photos (it's changing them from 15-20mb to 2-3mb) as I opted for the free storage rather than the limited storage at original quality*.

Anyway, when I upload a photo from my camera (via laptop) to google photos, all looks fine. Google photos is synced with my phone and tablet. When I open the photo on my phone or tablet, it looks correct for about a second, maybe 1.5 seconds, and then it turns to a slightly darker /greyer /less contrast version of the image and remains like this. By swiping to another photo and back it then shows the image properly again, before going back to this greyer version again after about a second. I've had other people look at this for me and they agree, so it's not my eyesight.

If I download the image from Google photos and share it, it is only shared in this greyer /lower contrast version.

My phone is a Google phone (nexus 6p), and photos taken on that look fine on Google photos (automatically backed up), they do not change at all when viewed - this only happens with photos uploaded to google photos from my laptop, taken on my camera.

Any ideas?? I've googled, but my combination of search terms is obviously making google think I'm trying to change (edit) photos and I can't find any relevant results.

Thanks in advance for any tips.


*edit, just checked the settings in Google photos. I have actually opted to keep the original quality of the photos, but they are nonetheless being compressed from 15mb or so to typically less than 3mb.....

CabanSail

I am not sure ..... but .....

It seems that the Nexus 6P has the option of recording RAW files. That would explain the 15MB file size as well as the images looking flat.

ED E

wersal gummage wrote: »

*edit, just checked the settings in Google photos. I have actually opted to keep the original quality of the photos, but they are nonetheless being compressed from 15mb or so to typically less than 3mb.....

What format are you uploading?

wersal gummage

Thanks.

I should say that my phone (nexus 6p) is not set to shoot in raw, and when photos are taken and backed up to google photos they look fine.

My camera (Canon 5d mark 2) is different. I shoot in raw, upload photos to laptop, edit in photoshop cc. I then save the photos as jpeg on my laptop hard drive, and they automatically backup to google photos at that point. When they back up, they are then visible on all devices linked to google photos, including my phone and tablet. When I then look at google photos on my phone or tablet, photos taken on my phone are fine. Photos taken on the Canon are fine but within about a second, change to this dull, greyish colour (they are still in colour, just lacking the initial contrast or vibrancy).

gloobag

Is it possible that you're shooting/ saving your images in the Adobe RGB colour space? Images need to be sRGB for the web. Might be something to check.

ED E

It sounds like its backing up the Canon RAWs.

As I understand it .CR2s contain the Meta + Thumb + RAW data. Your device may be displaying the thumb(which has WB etc applied) then loading the full size RAW and dropping all WB settings making it rather flat.