My Color Realization

The past few days have been all about education... serious learning curve on a very confusing subject - Color Management. I recently shot photos for some friends, edited them in Photoshop, then saved the JPGs for sending and guess what... they didn't look anything like my edits. The colors were completely different. They were faded and bland compared to those in PS.

Now, I have been working with digital media for a while now - especially photographs - and feel like a moron for not understanding this point earlier. But... my lesson may help you on your road to creating great images for the web and print. So, let me start out by saying I am going to give a VERY abbreviated explanation of this issue; however, if you want to read in great, concise detail about it, visit Jeff Friedl's blog. It's an excellent post that really breaks down the technical and historical aspects of it.

To start - there are a few basic facts we need to discuss upfront:

1) Digital SLR photos (the higher priced cameras with interchangeable lenses) create meta data for their photos. In that meta data you will find a tag that describes the color space in which the picture was taken - although there are more, sRGB and AdobeRGB are the most commonly used. That meta data sticks with the photo throughout its life.

2) Most (if not all) Point and Shoots (the little digis you can carry in your pocket) don't come with any meta data - so this topic probably won't apply if that's all you own.

3) If embedded into your SLR photo, that meta data travels with it throughout the life of the photo.

4) The different types of color space (eg. sRGB, AdobeRGB, etc) are basically proprietary color spaces created and marketed by different companies throughout the history of the digital imaging landscape (you can read more about this in the article).

5) These different types of color spaces don't play well together.

6) MOST IMPORTANTLY - your web browser or Microsoft imaging applications DO NOT read this meta data.



Okay, so now that these rules are laid out, you're asking yourself - how does this apply to me. Well it does - even if you aren't a photographer. I'll explain as simply as possible:

Most Pro / Semipro / Enthusiast photogs do their image manipulation in Photoshop. That application reads the meta data and allows you to manipulate based on that data. So, if you are manipulating an sRGB file, then your changes in photoshop will be affected based on the color space you chose. There is a big debate about which is the best to use, but in general - this seems to be the rule - AdobeRGB is better for print work, and sRGB is better for web. And unless you are working with a RAW image file, the twain shall never play together.

Now I know this may be getting a little complex for someone who stopped by just to check out some pics, so...

Here's the deal.

While almost all web browsers don't read a pics color space meta data, they do work in a space that's pretty close to sRGB.

So... drum roll... If you plan to put your pictures on the web and have your colors show up at least close to what you had in mind - convert your image to sRGB first! If you do plan to create an AdobeRGB file in RAW, be sure it's only for print. Because when you place it on the web, the Browser will not be able to read the Meta Data and it will look nothing like the color space you are placing it into!

I've put up a couple examples for you to check out to better demonstrate this confusing ass thing. And if you are a serious photographer that doesn't fully understand this, please take the time to read this 7 page article - it will be well worth it.



In the meantime, I promise to make my articles a little less technical in the future and focus on other things like pretty sunsets, fashion models, and funny dogs!