Color Management! « S. Monica’s Weblog

Color Management!

03Aug08

Finally.

For awhile I was really agitated with the way my photographs were converting colors when posted onto the web. Through research and experimentation, I finally found a way that best color coordinates my photographs from my Mac to the web. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain.

Color Management for Photography is a key essential into maintaining your original Art’s look and feel when posting to the web or getting your photographs printed. Ever wonder why your photos from your digital camera look different when printed? Or maybe when you upload your images to the web you note changes? The problem is not in the photograph itself, but in the different color profiles attached to the image. Color Profiles (or ICC Profile for short) are settings given to a specific image that give a calculation of the varying colors in one picture. Most point and shoot cameras have default ICC profiles, where as SLR cameras have several options to choose from (such as JPEG vs. Raw).

Given this instance – an image with a given RGB ICC profile is uploaded to the internet. The internet attributes its own profile (most likely one called sRGB). Therefore the measurements from the original picture are altered to fit the internet’s standards, resulting in maybe, lack of color (desaturation), more grays, or softer lines.

Example

Picture 1: Original Image:

Picture 2 : Image when uploaded to Facebook

How awful is that!!!!!

The same problem (of altering your images) can happen to your pictures when you send your digital images to a printer. All of which, are a photographers NIGHTMARE!

The Catch.

All monitors are different, most users do not callibrate the colors on their computer. (So of course your images are not always going to be exact from one user to the next, the key is to get really fricken close)

and also,

Mac users have more of a problem then Windows users. Safari (the default browser for Mac users) is programmed to read embedded ICC Profiles. Therefore if you are a mac user, you may not even know your pictures have a problem to you open the image in another browser such as FireFox (a browser that does not read ICC Profiles).

The Fix.

For awhile, I assumed I would have to craftily manage each photograph to fit the colors I wanted for the web. But alas, I have found a way! Although, I am not so keen on sharing… but if you email me I might help you out.

In the meantime the best advice I can give is this:

Equation: Camera Settings + Editing Software + (print and/or web) must be Equal

1. Consider the Hardware: What kind of camera are you using and what are its default color settings?

2. Consider the Product: Are you going to be doing any editing that will alter the original photo? Remember: If you open a photo in photoshop and a window pops up that reads something along the lines of “Use the embedded profile, Convert Profile, and Discard Embedded Profile” it is best to pick the first option that reads ” Use the embedded profile.” That way, if you did not know what your color profile was you can check it in photoshop.

3. Consider the Output or Source: Are you going to print this photo or post it to the web? Remember: You want your photograph to have the same ICC profile as the source you are uploading to. The default viewing for most internet browsers is a profile called sRGB meaning (standard default color space; RGB standing for Red, Green, Blue). Defaults for the printer is dependent on the printer’s custom profile setup. Most printers rely on Adobe RGB or CMYK color profiles.

The last 3rd step is the one that is the hardest because colors are bound to change when converting ICC profiles to fit your desired source. Experimentation is the only way…

Oh, and rule of thumb -Always save your photoshopped image before playing around with color settings, assigning profiles, and converting.

Like I aforementioned, I have solved the Mac photos to Internet problem…so YAY!

phew.