I have a real quick question.....

When exporting from Lightroom, should I have the color space set to sRGB or AdobeRGB?

Thanks in advance!

I prefer Adobe RGB for better colors.

Thanks Alex!

Depends... what's your camera set at? Where do you print? Adobe RGB has a wider gammut, but sRGB is more widely supported. You need to make sure your camera, all of your applications (photoshop, indesign, whatever), and your output devices are all set the same. Some labs still don't support Adobe RGB.

$.02

It depends on the output, and you can't break the chain of consistent color management. There's no point in working in adobeRGB if you shot in sRGB (jpeg).

IMO, a color scientist in a lab can tell you how much better adobeRBG is, but real world, sRGB is just fine.

This a good question! I can't really wrap my head around the different color spaces--how to use them, why etc.

Anyone have a good link to this type of info for a digital dabbler?

Thanks!

G

Thanks so much for your input everyone! It really helps a lot. Maybe that's why my pictures were looking great in lightroom and not quite so great in other programs. You guys are awesome!

It all depends Serena. If your export is for the web, you must use sRGB as that is a standard for the web and almost a "default" standard for photo printing companies. If not, your pictures will look dull. For any other application that is color space aware, then it's all up to you. Like others have said, there are much more colors in the AdobeRGB color space versus sRGB so sometimes people like to edit and process in AdobeRGB before converting it to sRGB for jpg and final display on the web. Some photo labs preferr sRGB files rather than AdobeRGB. Make sure to check to ensure optimal prints. If you shoot RAW, then the color space that you are using will be determine by the RAW convertor. i.e. Adobe Camera Raw, CaptureOne, etc. If you shoot in JPG, then the sRGB or AdobeRGB setting in camera will have to be set.

But it's basically it boils down to this...use sRGB. It makes everything easier and especially on the PC, all the non colorspace aware applications uses that as the standard. If you understand the whole color space stuff like that and are anal, then you can think about using AdobeRGB. But really, hard to see the difference in an actual photograph. If you are that particular about your colors, then you'll probably want to use the ProPhoto RGB during edits and work in 16bit mode since those are the color space and bit depth that can contain all the other info your 12bit camera sensor can capture.

-David

Very true!

Not really. Your pictures won't look dull.

sRGB is a standard for online viewing, but only because it's sort of the lower common denominator. Most modern browsers and operating systems can handle just about anything now. The main difference in colorspaces is in final printing--not web display. You can read about either space by simply googling srgb vs adobe rgb. Adobe RGB has a wider color gamut, sRGB is more widely supported.

You can tell the difference, especially in reds and greens, with Adobe RGB.

My workflow is entirely Adobe RGB and I don't consider my prints or web images "dull."

It's important to make sure all your applications are set to the same color space, so you're not converting and messing anything up.

Serena, Kevin is right in that the AdobeRGB space has a wider gamut of color to choose from, so specifically, certain colors in the reds and greens will exist in the AdobeRGB colorspace but not in the sRGB colorspace. However, I think I might not be clear when I say that the pictures will look dull. I can't completely speak for the Mac, as I don't know if their browsers are icc aware like the rest of their applications, but in the windows world, if you upload a jpg in AdobeRGB that contains a lot of out of gamut colors for the sRGB colorspace, your pictures will look "dull." Most internet browser expect the pictures to be in sRGB. I think this help article makes it easier to digest this idea: http://blogs.smugmug.com/great-prints/2005...ters-my-colors/ You can easily see for yourself too if you output two pictures, one in sRGB and one in AdobeRGB. View it via a web browser, and you'll see the problem I am talking about.

However, like Kevin said, when it comes to print, I like to maintain my workflow in ProPhoto or AdobeRGB and export to sRGB for web, and AdobeRGB for printlabs that support. For my inkjet printer, if you compare the AdobeRGB colorspace, you will find that these 8color inkjects are capable of producing some color that is even outside the AdobeRGB space. It sounds confusing, but it really isn't once you understand the concept of color spaces. For everyday prints to Costco, I convert to the icc profile for that particular Costco's printer to ensure the best possible print. You can get Costco printer profile from http://www.drycreekphoto.com. Costco's printer does not read embedded icc profile, so you need to convert explictly to their printer's profile.

-David

I exported from lightroom in AdobeRGB and was little confused when I looked at the same picture on the same monitor on the internet- the reds were not as vibrant and looked a little dull. I then went back into lightroom changed to sRGB and uploaded to the internet and the red popped like I originaly saw.

Aaron....same with me. At first I didn't realize that the default export settings were set to Adobe RGB and I kept wondering why my images didn't look so great after I exported. Then I changed to sRGB (which is what my camera is set to) and it made the world of difference!


Thanks everyone for all the info! Much appreciated! You guys are so smart and helpful!!!