Debate: Background brightness in full view

Software darktable
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I’m still working on enriching my personal darktable theme (CSS) with new ideas, and I’ve reached a point where I have to decide on the behavior and background of the light table views, especially the full view depending on its state (indifferent, selected, rejected).

Initially, it’s normal to set them all to a medium gray background, but I find that quite limiting for assessing the image’s brightness in an environment other than the screen.

Looking at the screen, I wonder how that image would look hanging on a wall somewhere, let’s say a white one. Or if it were in a very dark environment. And then I’m forced to change the settings to approximate that scenario, or add a huge border in the darkroom to simulate that environment.

Here’s the idea for discussion and evaluation:

Why not incorporate a small slider in the bottom right corner (for example) of the full view (.dt_fullview) that modifies ONLY the “brightness” (from black=0% to white=100%) of the background color chosen in the full view’s CSS? With an initial default value centered at 50% and enough memory for subsequent calls to the view.

Furthermore, I would like it to hide itself, like the rating data, when the mouse moves away. An option within the general settings menu could be added to configure its global visibility for those who might find its presence bothersome.

What do you think?

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Somewhat tangential to your question: Color assessment mode in darkroom might satisfy your need to assess the colors in a brighter visual context.

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Just changing the background in the full view might not quite do what you expect, as you end up with very small borders on two sides of the image. As @mino suggests, something like the color assesment view might work better (but for the lighttable that means basically adding yet another view).

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It might fit with the single-image-view-mode for lighttable without creating a new view. I personally never use the latter though as it doesn’t allow to zoom out beyond “fit” - which I almost always do to have a more holistic perception of the photo while culling etc.

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Yes, color assessment is the way to go. As I understand it you need both the white, to get a reference white/max brightness, and grey, so you have a mid grey/average brightness reference as well.

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I haven’t talked about color grading in photo development.

I might want to upload photos that have already been developed to a website with a specific color scheme, and in that case, I might consider creating a version adapted to that setting. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

"Photo publishing websites usually use white, black, or neutral gray backgrounds so that attention is focused on the image without distractions.

White: It’s the most popular. It gives a sense of cleanliness, order, and clarity. It highlights the product or image without distracting the viewer. It’s mandatory in large online stores like Amazon.

Light or dark gray: It works as a neutral tone. Soft gray is easy on the eyes and makes the photograph stand out naturally without the harshness of pure white. Dark gray adds elegance.

Black: It’s used to give a touch of luxury, drama, or exclusivity. It makes metallic elements or very bright colors shine, although it can reduce the visibility of very dark photos."

Here, for example, the background is white, and I might want to simulate how it will look before uploading it, generating another version with some adjustments,

or adding a frame to isolate it from that environment.

My knowledge of darktable is that of a typical user, so I might be missing some options or features, but, based on my limited understanding, it only applies to the case of medium gray, and you can’t view a photo full screen with a white or black background. Unless you modify the default theme.

The question I’m raising is: Is there any point in simulating how something already developed will look depending on the background it’s displayed on?

That’s why I mentioned the light table.

All of the above was just a wish to avoid having to retouch something already published.

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A white, a grey, and a black. I find that I tend to muddy my shadows if no black reference is in sight. And I’ll dull my highlights without a white reference. The grey reference anchors the brightness of Caucasian skin.

(Also, it just helps to look at a smaller version of your picture. I tend to get lost in the picture and lose sight of the overall composition if it’s too big.)

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Well, I always read here with a black background – so it may be hard to really know what background any image published on the web will actually get. So perhaps save time and just stick with an edit with the neutral gray that dt offers?

Yes, Never underestimate darkroom’s Navigator window (or the thumbnails in lighttable).