I am ready to try upgrading working space from sRGB to ProPhotoRGB...

[earlybird]

I am ready to try upgrading working space from sRGB to ProPhotoRGB... what do I need to know?

I guess the first two things to do are to set Adobe Camera RAW to output 16bit ProPhotoRGB files, and to set my Photoshop CS6 working space to ProPhotoRGB.

A big question I have in mind concerns my existing photographs. What is the implication of opening files that have been prepared in the sRGB working space into a ProPhotoRGB working space?

What is the best way to make this transition?



I watched Andrew's Photoshop Color Settings yesterday, but I guess I am a slow learner. :-)

Thank You.

 

[PeterAit]

I am ready to try upgrading working space from sRGB to ProPhotoRGB... what do I need to know?

I guess the first two things to do are to set Adobe Camera RAW to output 16bit ProPhotoRGB files, and to set my Photoshop CS6 working space to ProPhotoRGB.

A big question I have in mind concerns my existing photographs. What is the implication of opening files that have been prepared in the sRGB working space into a ProPhotoRGB working space?

What is the best way to make this transition?

If you processed RAW files in the sRGB working space, then any colors not in the sRGB space are lost - they are converted to colors that are in the sRGB space. If you then open the sRGB image in the ProPhoto working space you do not get those "lost" colors back. You will have to go back to the RAW files and redo them from scratch.

[howardm]

Yup.  You can't get it back w/o going all the way back to raw.

[earlybird]

Yes, Thank you, I have assumed this is the case with my old post processed photos. I don't expect to recover colors I have already lost.

Yet I feel superstitiously concerned that those old photo will somehow becoming degraded if I open them after the change of working spaces.

I would like to adopt the ProPhotoRGB workflow to see if the photos I make afterwards seem appreciably more deluxe in the final output.

One thing I remain confused about is how to open the old files after setting my working space to ProPhotoRGB. Do I "convert" to the working space? Automatically? With a prompt dialog? etc.

Thank you.

[digitaldog]

A big question I have in mind concerns my existing photographs. What is the implication of opening files that have been prepared in the sRGB working space into a ProPhotoRGB working space?

Set the Photoshop Color Policies for Preserve, then those sRGB images will open as sRGB which is what you need to maintain. It's pointless to do anything further with them in terms of their working space; leave them (preserve them) as sRGB data and move on.

[PeterAit]

Yet I feel superstitiously concerned that those old photo will somehow becoming degraded if I open them after the change of working spaces.

Not to worry - they will remain unchanged.

[Simon Garrett]

Set the Photoshop Color Policies for Preserve, then those sRGB images will open as sRGB which is what you need to maintain. It's pointless to do anything further with them in terms of their working space; leave them (preserve them) as sRGB data and move on.

In addition, in the Photoshop Color Settings, under "Color Management Properties" I suggest checking all the "Ask when..." options (so it warns you when there's any mismatch in profile). 

[digitaldog]

In addition, in the Photoshop Color Settings, under "Color Management Properties" I suggest checking all the "Ask when..." options (so it warns you when there's any mismatch in profile).

Certainly for awhile and for someone who's new to all this. The Ask When can get tedious after awhile. The color space of any open document can be shown to the user who looks for the clues, in the little dropdown window in the lower left of each window or in the Info Palette.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Not to worry - they will remain unchanged.

As long as they are not converted to ProPhoto RGB. Converting will re-map the coordinate values, and integer number rounding will occur (some colors can be changed a bit). So Andrew's comment to preserve sRGB space when opening is best, nothing will change.

For future Raw conversions, it doesm't matter which colorspace is used 'in-camera', it only affects the thumbnails (which IMHO are best kept at sRGB). Some Raw converters use a default colorspace assignment that is the same as the Camera tag, but that can just be changed for the actual Raw conversion.

Cheers
Bart

[earlybird]

Thank you to everyone for the information.

I have set the dialog "preserve" and will use the "ask when..." warnings until they become tedious.

I looked in the lower left corner and the info panel and all I see is the mention of "RGB" without any specified version of RGB color space.


What happens when I preserve the embedded sRGB but need to make some further edits on old photos? Does the "preserve" override Photoshop's working space for that particular document or do you work in the global working space but save the result of any changes in the embedded working space?

Thank you.

[digitaldog]

I looked in the lower left corner and the info panel and all I see is the mention of "RGB" without any specified version of RGB color space.

Here's what I'm referring to (notice too, Info Palette when so set).

What happens when I preserve the embedded sRGB but need to make some further edits on old photos? Does the "preserve" override Photoshop's working space for that particular document or do you work in the global working space but save the result of any changes in the embedded working space?

No problem, go ahead and edit IN sRGB. Preserve simply opens the document in it's 'native' color space. It doesn't automatically convert which is dangerous.

[earlybird]

Thank you for the heads up about the Document Profile info selection.

I trust that you think you answered this, but I am thick sometimes... if you open with "preserve" option does Photoshop edit that document locally in the preserved color space that was embedded in the document while temporarily ignoring the global working space?

Thank you.

[digitaldog]

if you open with "preserve" option does Photoshop edit that document locally in the preserved color space that was embedded in the document while temporarily ignoring the global working space?

It does exactly as the name implies. It preserves the color space of that document. If you started with sRGB, you open that in sRGB. If you started in Adobe RGB (1998), the document preserves that color space, you get Adobe RGB (1998). This is directly opposite of the Convert policy. You have the preferred RGB working space set for ProPhoto RGB. You open anything in RGB but ProPhoto RGB, Photoshop converts that data to ProPhoto RGB (whatever you set as your preferred RGB working space). Again, dangerous for nearly everyone.