Pro Photo RGB VS Adobe RGB VS SRGB

[brad_in_omaha]

Anyone have any thoughts on Color Space? I would like to use Pro Photo RGB.

I would like to use a very linear work flow. RAW --> Post Process in to a PSD --> Save a TIF for Printing --> Save a JPG for Web.

However, using ProPhoto RGB it seems like I need to have two parallel workflows to generate the the TIF and the JPG. You can certainly do it all in one, but the Twitter Mobile App and a couple other sites still can't handle the Pro Photo RGB and absolutely wreck a photo... If you try to convert to Pro Photo to SRGB at the end, it has the same effect as the mobile display.

I do see some people argue that Pro Photos is waste because most printers can't even print that many colors, however I print traditional photos on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, which is an actual photographic paper that is exposed with a digital enlarger and processed in RA-4 chemistry.

Here is a sample of the difference between Twitter Mobile and the desktop Twitter. Exact same photo and post, just two different devices.

Here is the difference in Color Space from Wikipedia.

 

[Bob]

Shoot in RAW and work in ProPhoto. Do all your edits and tuning that way. Save the original and save the final result as a second file.

Working in ProPhoto is not a waste, since any modifications you make will take advantage of the larger color space, making for better gradients, smoother transitions, etc. You've got the big box of crayons, use them.

Use the "convert to profile" to change your tiff file to whatever color space you need for printing. Some labs support AdobeRGB, others, like Costco, do not.

Then go back to the final version you save, before converting it to AdobeRGB etc. Re-size it for the web. Sharpen it (should be the last thing you do, as re-sizing will cancel the effects). Get it looking the way you want, the use "convert to profile" and convert it to an srgb. That's really the only sure way to handle images for the web.

 

[brad_in_omaha]

Thanks for the Info Bob! I really appreciate it.

I agree and I like the Big Box of Crayons analogy!

I will check out the "Convert to Profile" tonight.

Thanks Again,
Brad