Page 253 - Friedman Archives

Color Space 253

And so the concept of color space (or “gamut”) was invented to help
everyone agree on a way to represent such colors using numbers. Both
color space options in your camera (sRGB and AdobeRGB) will represent
each pixel color using 3 8-bit numbers – one each for Red, Green, and Blue
- and a lookup table that will translate the number triplet into a particular,
previously-defined wavelength of color. You can see a good example of a
color space for a computer screen in Figure 5-88.
There are many different color
space definitions in use, but by
far the two most popular are
sRGB and AdobeRGB. sRGB is
really the worldwide de-facto
standard, being used by all point-
and-shoots, computer monitors,
and photo labs on the planet. A
different standard, called
AdobeRGB, provides a different
assortment of colors designed
specifically to emulate what a
CMYK printer can produce (like
your inkjet printer, or a
conventional magazine or book
printing press).

AdobeRGB is essential if you’re
a real stickler for color accuracy Figure 5-88: An example of a color space:
AND you know the final product All the possible colors that can be
will be printed by a commercial represented by a program or printer.
graphics house (or a high-end inkjet that knows how to handle
AdobeRGB). Shooting in AdobeRGB and setting up your workflow to
handle it is the only way to accurately preview how the colors will appear
on the final printout, and that’s why most professionals use it.

There are a few downsides, though. Not all monitors (and not all inkjet
printers) know how to work with AdobeRGB color spaces. If you choose
to shoot in AdobeRGB format, you will still have to convert back to sRGB
in your photo editor if you want to share the file electronically with non-
professionals (email or web), or send it to most 1-hour photo printers. (And