colour space question on photoshop

[daviddbfotoart]

I shoot with a d70 (mainly raw nef) and cannot work out what happens

with colour space. Almost everything I do passes through photoshop,

but it keeps asking me if I want change, modify or keep the current

colour space. I just dont understand. What should I shoot on (ie Ia,

Adobe 1998 or III) and what setting should I have photoshop set to

when opening images? What is the advantages and disavantages of any

of this? Am I dumb?

[mystuff]

you're not dumb

 

colour management is a big topic, there's no single 'right' answer to which colour space you should use, but adobe rgb is certainly a reasonable one

 

i suggest read up on colour management, there are lots of websites with info

 

for an introduction followed by practical setup try...

 

http://www.normankoren.com/color_management.html

[Ed_Ingold]

You have several options in Photoshop under Color Setup. You can assign, ignore or ask about color space if the file you open is different from the default value. Of course, you can also set the default color space for Photoshop. If you plan to work in Adobe RGB, make sure that is the default color space for Photoshop and your camera as well. It shouldn't matter whether you use II or III in the D70 - the Adobe RGB tag is still there, with a little different emphasis in the camera.

[perfect_exposure]

Just to add to whats already been said.

 

In PS CS goto Edit/Color Settings

 

the 4 top options allow you to set your default working space for RGB, CMYK etc.

 

The color management policy selects what you want to do with images you open. i.e. leave them without converting to working space default or to auto convert them to your default working space profile or to switch off color management for that image.

 

Then you select what kind of notification you want if the image color space does not match your default color profile for that image type.

i.e. do you want to be notified or not. Sounds like your settings are set to always ask you what you want to do.

 

If you are working in Adobe 1998 then set your default RGB space to Adobe 1998 and then set color management policy to "Preserve Embedded Profile" and then check "Profile mismatches" "ask when opening".

 

That way you won't here about it unless either your camera or photoshop are not using adobe 1998.

 

Are you dumb? The juries out...

[eric_perlberg]

If you're shooting RAW and using Photoshop's Camera Raw tool then

 

1) the image is coming into photoshop without a colour space since its just the raw info the camera chip captured

 

2) As mentioned above, the colour management policies can be set up how you want.

 

3) At the bottom left of the Camera Raw tool there is a selection box for the colour space you want to tag the particular Raw converted image with. If you chose the same colour space that you used in the colour management policies as your preferred colour space you won't see the dialogue asking if you want to change, modify or keep the current colour space. If you choose a different one you will see this dialogue when leaving Camera Raw.

 

4) Since you're shooting RAW, the colour space choices in your camera are irrelevant because RAW doesn't have a colour space. Those camera menu choices refer to when you're working with jpegs from your camera.

 

5) When you are working with jpegs from your camera instead of RAW you would probably be best off with Adobe RGB but there could be reasons why you would choose something else (I'm not familiar with the options on D70).

 

Adobe RGB's strength is that it is a large colour space. The idea is that your camera can capture lots of information, why restrict it by chosing sRGB. But the catch is that neither your monitor, nor your printer can print out all the colours in the Adobe RGB colour space. On the other hand they may be able to produce many of its colours and possibly some colours which are outside the range of Adobe RGB. The largest of the colour spaces is ProPhoto RGB but again, your monitor and printer can't produce all of those colours. For almost certain, your monitor and printer can produce all the sRGB colours.

 

So why not just use sRGB? First, because your monitor and printer can produce some colours outside this colour space and second, because monitors and printers are improving all the time and you probably want to preserve as much of the original information as possible for future conditions.

 

The better your equipment, the more likely you are to benefit from a larger colour space. The more pedestrian your equipment is, the less likely you are to benefit.

[daviddbfotoart]

thank you all, I'm learning. excellent information.

P.S. the jury has returned for the verdict, I'm blocking my ears!