Color-Space and Profiles

I recently received an email asking what color-space/profile I use in post-processing. First, I'd like to preface that I am by no means a master colorist or printer. It's best you stop reading this right now and Google "understanding color-space" and forget this entry ever existed. If you want a wet&dirty laymen's take, I give you this grain of salt-- take it as such. What I'm about to say stems from my own personal education on the subject-- which is very basic...but what I use suits my needs.

First off, a color-space is a gamut of colors...aka... a color range. How big this gamut is (read: space) directly correlates to how much color depth and brightness you are offered to work with when adjusting color in your image in programs such as Photoshop. So, the bigger the space, the more color range you have-- but don't confuse "more color-range" with "more colors"; you're getting the same number of colors, but a wider saturation range.

From smallest to largest, these three are the most common color-space profiles:

- sRGB

- Adobe RGB (sometimes Adobe RGB 1998)

- ProPhoto RGB

Please refer to the graphic below. The center point is the most desaturated the colors will be... the farther out you move from the center, the more saturated the colors become. You can see where sRGB range stops... and then the color saturation continues outward. See how much more color range/saturation is available to you between sRGB and Adobe RGB.

In my opinion, the age of the professional print is waning fast. Sure, a lot of photographers still carry around and present a psychical portfolio book to show prospective clients... but where your work is seen most often, and by the most people, is your website. On top of that, the iPad is dead-set on supplanting the portfolio book as well. Love it or hate it, that's just the way it's going; it happened to film cameras, now it's happening to prints.

So... since my work is mostly seen on the internet, I choose to work in the smallest, most limited profile, sRGB, the majority of the time. This is because sRGB's limited color-range matches that of the average computer monitor, world-wide. Now, many photographers would lambast me for electing to limit my color options to such a small gamut, and I mostly agree with them. However, the most important reason I elect to work in sRGB is also the most critical: I want to be assured that the colors in my final image will be seen exactly how I see them, by any person, anywhere in the world, on any computer.

Since (for now), the internet is my primary, widest reaching showcase venue, it makes better sense for me to use the universal color space (for average monitors) and know that the degree of blue I made the sky in a photo, is the same blue some Japanese kid is going to see on his screen when he checks out my site. Using a wider gamut would be nice in the short-run... I'd have a lot more range of saturation and can possible make my photos even more vibrate/colorful... but throw that up on my site, then go to a friend's computer... the image will more than likely look duller and more desaturated because that monitor is set for an sRBG color profile, thus not displaying any color-range outside of its profile (that was visible to me on Adobe RGB). So now, I've got something up on my site that isn't a reflective representation of how I adjusted it; the average person viewing my work on their computer will not see the colors how I intended. Solution is to edit in what their range will be (sRGB) and what you see will be what they see (more or less).

So yes... sRGB is the least attractive and most limited profile, but in this digital age, it's going to be the one that's most honest on any given computer.

Now, if you're hot on making prints and/or you just want a much better range of colors... no doubt you need to be in Adobe RGB. It's a medium-gamut and more importantly, the printer's industry standard. However, you also need to get on the phone with your printer ahead of time and ask what specific brand/model of printer they are using, as it makes a small difference. I'm not too keen on what exact micro adjustments you make in PS after, but they can probably walk you through it. Point is: always ask.

If you're a fancy-pants fine-art photographer or a God-complex color-perfectionist, you're probably not even reading this blog, but more than likely working in ProPhoto RGB. Good for you. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm pretty envious, as it's a specialized skill to understand how to wield that mighty sword without hurting yourself. This is a giant profile, but don't think that because it offers the most color-range, you just NEED to be working in it. In this case, bigger doesn't mean better if your camera-captured color range falls within a smaller gamut....

... Think of it this way: you have a 20oz pitcher and a 12oz can of beer. You open the can of beer and pour it into the pitcher. The beer only fills a small portion of the pitcher and that's ALL the beer you have. Then you drink from the pitcher. Kinda pointless isn't it, if all you needed, moreso all you HAD, was 12oz's of beer... just drink it from the can.

....Mmmmmmm...beeeeer.

Depending on what you are shooting and what you are shooting with, you may only need a certain size color-range; so don't think if you're always working within bigger color-space/profile means you're maximizing your options-- -it may just be pointless. So, how can you tell how much color you have and how much you're losing by being within a certain size color-space? Check your histogram in RAW and look at your color channel clippings (colors outside the range you've selected). If you have none, you're fine in your existing color space; if you've got a lot, consider a larger space... but always bear in mind your final output: web, standard print, or fancy-pants print.

Lastly, it's very important to sync the color profile of your DSLR to the color profile of your work-space. In other words, if your camera is set to Adobe RGB, then your work-space should be set to Adobe RGB. If you shoot on Adobe RGB, but your work-space is set to sRGB, then your going to lose a lot of the color captured initially in your image; your untouched photos are going to look more vibrant/etc than when you view them within Photoshop, if set on conflicting color-space. Your camera's manual will tell you how to change it.

Again, there are far better and more extensive articles on this subject; mine is a rudimentary grasp, so rank this entry pretty low on your "take-it-to-heart" list and delve into Google to read expertise takes. However, if anything, hopefully this entry has simply made you AWARE why you may not be getting the most out of your photo prints and/or why what you see on your monitor doesn't match what it looks like on your friend's laptop.