converting an exr gamma back to linear -or at least how it looks in vray frame buffer

[stayinwonderland]

Full disclosure, I suck at figuring out linear/non-linear workflows. God knows I've tried, but I'm a concept artist so 95% of the time I just need pixels from 3d to mash into 2d workflows.

 

But I'm working on a heavy 3d scene which is sent to a render farm and outputs EXR files. In the Vray Frame Buffer I have sRGB off and I get a my desired gamma/contrast in the frame buffer. When I save out as EXR it's like the sRGB is turned on i.e. really pale and bright.

 

All I want to know is, in Photoshop, how to I get it from 32 bits to 16 and get that exact same gamma as in the frame buffer. Currently, non of the option in the HDR toning dialogue are a good fit. They alter the image too much.

[Chris MacDonald]

If you set the gamma in photoshop/whatever to .4545 does that do the trick?

[stayinwonderland]

actually I found a work-around. I made another layer in the exr document inside photoshop. I then convert from 32 to 16 and it asks me if I want to merge layers. I say no, and it converts it to 16bit without changing any of the gamma or contrast or colors etc. then I go to adjustments > exposure and, as a guess, dropped to 0.5 but maybe you .4545 would be more exact.

 

cheers