Photography Tip—How To Manage Color Easier, Part 2

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Capturing color photos of family, friends, vacations, etc. is one of the reasons so many amateurs decide to enter the world of digital photography. Color is the element that makes most of the photos an amateur will shoot look realistic and become lasting memories. Part 1 of this PhotographyTalk.com article briefly explained the theory of color (and light) and provided the first practical tip for amateurs to manage the color in their digital photography better and easier. Part 2 continues the list of tips.

Control Color with an Image Editor.

An image editor is another term for photo-editing software, such as Photoshop. This software and others employ various “profiles,” which have been established and standardized by the International Color Consortium. With these profiles, image editors assure that the color of a digital photo is reproduced correctly when it is translated from the computer to a printer. The goal here is to maintain control of color management in the computer and not allow the printer to pick an ICC profile, which is typically matched with the paper on which the photo will be printed.

Tag Image Files with a Specific Color-Space Profile.

Another kind of profile is called color space. It defines the range of colors that a camera, monitor and printer are capable of using. Two of the most common color-space profiles are sRGB and Adobe RGB. For Internet photos, use sRGB, for printed photos, Adobe RGB. If you have an above-average digital camera, then you can usually select from a choice of color-space profiles. Editing software, such as Photoshop, will have a specific menu where you can set the color space. You can also tag digital photo files that don’t already have an assigned color-space profile, so you can control their color, as well.

Select an ICC Profile for Your Printer.

In number 2 above, control of color management begins by selecting an ICC profile in editing software, so the printer doesn’t. Eventually, however, you also want to select an ICC profile for your printer, as the final step in the process. Typically, these profiles are downloaded from the printer manufacturer’s Web site and are matched with specific paper types.

Using Photoshop as an example, follow these steps:

  • Open the image to print.
  • Click on “File,” then “Print With Preview.”
  • In the dialogue page that appears, set “Color Management” and “Document.”
  • Next, select choices for the three options.
  • Color Handling: Choose “Let Photoshop Determine Colors.”
  • Printer Profile: Choose a specific ICC profile from the drop-down menu.
  • Rendering Intent: Choose “Relative Colorimetric,” which seems to maintain more of the colors of the original image. You can also experiment with the “Perceptual” setting. Remember to check the Compensation box.
  • Use Black Point Compensation to adjust any differences between the printed image and your printer.
  • Click “Print,” which opens the printer’s driver.
  • Make sure to select “No Color Adjustment” in the printer driver.

With these steps in Photoshop, the colors on your monitor should come very close to matching the colors in the print.

In the final analysis, every digital photographer won’t benefit from a color-management system, especially if you plan for all, or most, of your photos to be shared and displayed on the Web. There are too many variables in monitor and browser settings, and even your Internet service provider (ISP). The more prints you make, the more beneficial a color-management system, if for no other reason than you will save money on paper and ink.

 

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