Back to Basics – Part 6B: Exporting Underwater Photos for Social Media Without Losing Color or Detail (2026 Edition)
When Your “WOW” Turns into “Why?”
Oceanic Explorers,
You nailed the shot.
A beautiful hawksbill turtle glides gracefully through the clear blue waters off Roatan. The vibrant reef glows. The red colors are finally back. The water column looks perfectly smooth.
In Lightroom, it looks exactly like you remember it.
Now all that is left is to upload it to Instagram and share the moment.
Suddenly:
The blues look flat
The reds look nuclear
The shadows look muddy
The fine coral texture looks soft
And you wonder:
“Why does this look different than Lightroom?”
Here is the truth.
Social media platforms aggressively compress, reinterpret, and rebuild your file. If you do not export correctly, they will do it for you. And they will not do it gently.
In Part 6A, we focused on exporting underwater photos without losing quality.
In Part 6B, we focus on exporting specifically for social media so your image looks the same online as it does inside Lightroom.
This is exactly how I export my own underwater reef and diver images.
Why Social Media Changes Your Underwater Colors
When you upload a JPEG file, several things happen behind the scenes:
Metadata is stripped.
Color profiles are converted.
The file is recompressed.
It is often resized.
Bit-depth handling is reduced internally.
For underwater images, this is particularly dangerous.
- Blue gradients are smooth and subtle. Compression introduces banding quickly.
- Reds are fragile and easy to clip.
- Shadow areas often contain noise.
- Coral textures rely on micro-contrast.
Compression attacks these areas first.
That is why underwater photographers notice degradation faster than topside shooters.
The sRGB Rule, Non-Negotiable
Every major social platform assumes sRGB.
If you export in:
Adobe RGB
ProPhoto RGB
The platform will convert it to sRGB anyway.
And it will not ask permission.
Inside Lightroom Classic v15.1.1 or Lightroom v9.1:
Export → File Settings → Color Space → sRGB
This one setting prevents:
Washed out blues
Oversaturated reds
Unexpected color shifts
This is not optional.
The Master Social Media Export Settings
These are my standard settings for underwater social delivery.
File Settings
Format: JPEG
Color Space: sRGB
Quality: 80–85
Limit File Size: Off
Why not 100 percent?
Because platforms recompress. If you upload at 100, they compress aggressively. At 80 to 85, you control the compression instead of letting Instagram decide.
Image Sizing
Resize to Fit: Long Edge
Resolution: 72–240 ppi
Important clarification:
PPI does not matter for online display. Pixel dimensions matter.
Social platforms care about pixel width, not PPI metadata.
Output Sharpening
Sharpen For: Screen
Amount: Standard
For macro images with heavy blue backgrounds, High may be appropriate.
Underwater images often need careful sharpening after resizing because blue water softens micro-contrast. Fine coral structures can disappear during downscaling.
However, do not over-sharpen. Haloing around fish fins is the fastest way to look amateur.
Platform-Specific Pixel Dimensions
Best-performing format for feed:
4:5 portrait
1080 × 1350 pixels
Why?
It occupies more vertical space in the feed. More screen presence equals more attention.
Other options:
Square: 1080 × 1080
Landscape: 1080 × 566
But 4:5 consistently performs best for underwater portraits and reef scenes.
Very similar to Instagram.
Use:
1080 long edge minimum
4:5 or square
Facebook compression is slightly more forgiving, but do not assume it is safe.
X
Landscape performs best.
Recommended:
1600 × 900
Avoid cropping fish too tightly near the edges. X sometimes crops unpredictably in previews.
Optimized image size matters for clean rendering.
Blogger / Website
For blog use:
Long Edge: 2048 pixels
Quality: 80
Sharpen: Screen Standard
This keeps:
Load times fast
Page performance strong
Feedspot ranking healthy
Speed affects ranking.
Avoiding Blue Banding in Water Columns
Banding happens when:
Dehaze is pushed too hard
Clarity is overused
Shadows are lifted excessively
JPEG compression is too aggressive
To prevent it:
Avoid extreme Dehaze before export
Keep clarity moderate
Reduce noise before resizing
Export at 80–85 quality
If you see banding after upload, it is almost always a gradient compression issue.
Preventing Red Channel Clipping
This is distinct from capture-stage red-light absorption.
In shallow reef scenes, over-editing reds can cause:
Texture loss
Artificial color
Harsh saturation
Instead of pushing Red Saturation to 100:
Use:
HSL → Red Luminance adjustments
Lower luminance slightly to deepen reds without oversaturating them.
Always check the histogram before export. If the red channel is pressed hard against the right side, reduce it slightly.
Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom Cloud for Social Export
Both Lightroom Classic v15.1.1 and Lightroom v9.1 export beautifully for social media.
Classic:
Export Dialog → Full control → Save preset
Cloud:
Share → Export → Same core settings
If settings match, results match.
The Social Media Export Checklist
Before Export:
☐ Confirm sRGB
☐ Confirm correct pixel dimensions
☐ Quality set to 80–85
☐ Screen sharpening enabled
☐ Histogram checked
☐ Red channel not clipped
After Upload:
☐ Compare to Lightroom master
☐ Check blue gradients
☐ Check shadow detail
☐ Check coral texture
If it does not match, adjust and re-export.
What Comes Next
In Part 6C, we move into print preparation for underwater photography.
Printing is a completely different color management world.
And if social compression frustrates you, wait until you see how paper behaves.
Final Thoughts
Exporting for social media is not an afterthought.
It is the final stage of your creative workflow.
Master it.
Control it.
Standardize it.
And your underwater photography will look as strong online as it does in Lightroom.
🎁 Want my export cheat sheet?
Download Export Cheat Sheet for Social Media
Until next week,
Dive smart.
Shoot steady.
Export with intention.
— Bob Herb
Written by Robert Herb
Empowering underwater photographers to capture and enhance the beauty of our oceans since 1978.
Stay tuned for more in-depth insights into underwater photography. Let us dive deeper into the art and craft of capturing the marine world. I would welcome any comments or suggestions.
Get ready for an exciting underwater photography adventure. For more details on my upcoming online training course, check out my Training page at RobertHerb.com or email me at bob@robertherb.com.
Sincerely,
Bob Herb
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