Which RGB working color space?

[Andprayforrain]

When you're processing a neutral gray image using the RGB color mode, which working color space (sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB, etc) do you prefer and why?

Certainly, pastel RGB colors can be affected by the choice of RGB color space. Some colors available in ProPhoto aren't available in sRGB.

I reckon all color spaces should include all neutral gray tones from white to black. Is there a particular RGB color space that allows superior gray tone separation (ie, micro contrast)?

 

[willie_901]

I prefer to do post-production rendering using ProPhoto RGB simply because it has a larger range.

I am not sure "Some colors available in ProPhoto aren't available in sRGB." The number of colors depends on bit depth, not range.

When I deliver images to clients or send them off to a print lab I create JPEGs (and rarely TIFFs) using the color space they specify.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Neutral gray images should be edited in the grayscale space "Gray Gamma 2.2"


There is no reason to edit them in an RGB space; all it does it triple the size of the file. It does NOT give you more gray tones, contrary to what some on the internet claim. As Willie said above, it is bit depth that increases the number of discrete colors (or grays in a black and white image); you should edit in 16 bit no matter what color space you use. This is true for both B&W and color images.

 

[Tom R]

Neutral gray images should be edited in the grayscale space "Gray Gamma 2.2"


There is no reason to edit them in an RGB space; all it does it triple the size of the file. It does NOT give you more gray tones, contrary to what some on the internet claim. As Willie said above, it is bit depth that increases the number of discrete colors (or grays in a black and white image); you should edit in 16 bit no matter what color space you use. This is true for both B&W and color images.

Excellent point! I, too, have found this to be true. I keep all B+W in 16-bit Greyscale throughout the PP. I then export (and/or scale, etc.) to whatever the client requires (note the "client" might be a printer, website, etc.).

(In all candor, I devised this workflow from reading through the excellent notes on your website!)

Tom R

 

[Bill Clark]

When I was in business I used sRGB. The lab that printed my images (WHCC) insisted sRGB. They helped me to insure that the image on my computer monitor was how the paper print made by them would turn out. Side note, they gave me excellent service.

One of the photographers who worked for me made beautiful black and white prints on, as I recall, watercolor paper. There are quite a few different papers available. WHCC had a really nice metallic paper available. Most of the time it was the paper I had them print wedding album pages. Beautiful panos.

Some info:
(Hope it helps you)

https://fstoppers.com/pictures/adobergb-vs-srgb-3167

https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/adobe-rgb.htm

 

[PRJ]

You have literally no color space at all when you are using black and white.

Since you want to use "pastel" tones it won't matter much what you use. I'd advise you to use sRGB only because it is the most compatible in the most ways.

Just using the largest space can cause a large headache later on. if you use ProPhoto for example you will never see what is in the file. Most people don't have very good monitors anyway, so using something larger than sRGB is a waste unless you understand what you are doing. Even if you have a great monitor using a space larger than Adobe RGB can be challenging.

 

[Dan]

Neutral gray images should be edited in the grayscale space "Gray Gamma 2.2"


There is no reason to edit them in an RGB space; all it does it triple the size of the file. It does NOT give you more gray tones, contrary to what some on the internet claim. As Willie said above, it is bit depth that increases the number of discrete colors (or grays in a black and white image); you should edit in 16 bit no matter what color space you use. This is true for both B&W and color images.

Actually, there is one compelling reason to edit a black and white image in RGB: by using the HSL panel in Lightroom and ACR you can utilize the color information in the image for greyscale tonal adjustments. This provides a whole other level of manipulation beyond the Basic Panel.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Actually, there is one compelling reason to edit a black and white image in RGB: by using the HSL panel in Lightroom and ACR you can utilize the color information in the image for greyscale tonal adjustments. This provides a whole other level of manipulation beyond the Basic Panel.

If you're converting a color image to B&W, that is true. If the image has already been converted, or was always B&W (B&W film scan or image from a Leica Monochrome) then the color sliders make no difference.

 

[Andprayforrain]

Thanks, everyone.

I am not sure "Some colors available in ProPhoto aren't available in sRGB." The number of colors depends on bit depth, not range.

What I meant was that some ProPhoto colors lie outside sRGB's gamut.

I understand that all sets of equal RGB values (eg, 128, 128, 128) are neutral gray and lie within any RGB wording space, so differences between working spaces are significant only if the gammas are different or I add color (eg, by toning).

If I make an ICC paper profile using the i1Studio device and software, can I use that profile when soft-proofing and printing a file processed in grayscale 2.2? Or does that profile work only with files in the RGB mode?

 

[lawrence]

If you're converting a color image to B&W, that is true. If the image has already been converted, or was always B&W (B&W film scan or image from a Leica Monochrome) then the color sliders make no difference.

Personally I much prefer to use the colour sliders rather than a greyscale image because I can then control the tone of the final image to something I like. In particular, if the file is to be printed by a print-shop I have found that simply using a greyscale image can result in rather horrible colour casts that it's difficult or impossible to get rid of.