As photographers, the first thing we do with a new camera is to go through the settings to make sure the preferences are optimized for our shooting style.  But what is the difference between sRGB and Adobe RGB?  Does it matter which we use?

The short answer is yes.  Adobe RGB captures a wider range of color data, but sRGB is the standard for the Internet and printing photos.  More info is better when capturing images (see why you should shoot in RAW) and allows for more room when editing and publishing images.  Modern digital cameras have amazing sensors (made of rare earth elements from the periodic table) and we should be taking full advantage of them, which is why we set our cameras to record images in Adobe RGB.

After editing images in Adobe RGB, Lightroom allows you to save a final JPG in sRGB color space for printing and online publishing.

Now that we’re recording the highest quality images available to us, we need to remember that our final image file should be in sRGB.  The reason to reduce the color space to sRGB is because most monitors and printers cannot display the full color range of Adobe RGB.  If you think of the color space as a histogram, Adobe RGB is the full histogram while sRGB crops colors at each end and can result in muddled colors being displayed/printed.  Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop make it easy to import and edit photos in Adobe RGB, then convert the color profile to sRGB when exporting a final JPEG image.

To keep it simple, shoot in Adobe RGB, edit in Adobe RGB, and then convert the final export (JPEG, etc) to sRGB.

The post Understanding Color Space – sRGB and Adobe RGB first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

By:  Brent Durand

Most advanced digital cameras offer the choice to shoot in RAW or JPEG (or both).  We hear that RAW is “better” but know that JPEGs are the photo currency of the Internet.  So why should we shoot in RAW if the final images are JPEGs anyways?

In short, RAW files capture more information at the time of shooting, allowing for more flexibility during post processing.  Think of RAW as all the data recorded on the camera’s image sensor, and JPEG as a final product.  Unless your images are perfect straight out of the camera (remember that your camera’s LCD is not precisely accurate in showing colors and brightness), it’s not wise to jump immediately to the very last step.  Using JPEGs in-camera immediately compresses the image data to create the JPEG file.

Sea anemone and purple urchins shot in RAW and saved as a small jpeg file.

As underwater photographers, we should be taking advantage of post-processing tools (my belief is in moderation and keeping images true-to-life, but any art is subjective).  RAW files record a wider range of brightness, which allow for a number of adjustments in white balance, exposure and contrast.  The second benefit is that you can edit RAW images without permanently changing the original file.  The changes are essentially “laid over” the original file and you can reset the image at any time to edit from scratch.  The last major benefit is that you can choose your final product once done editing the RAW file.  This includes image size, quality, file type (JPEG, TIFF, PSD, etc), color space and much more.

Sure, RAW files take up more hard drive space, but memory is very affordable and constantly getting cheaper.

Check back soon for my next entry on understanding sRGB and Adobe RGB color space.

The post Why You Should Shoot In RAW first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.