How Does Lightroom Handle Color Spaces

[IanBarber]

Workflow:


I scan black and white negatives and output them as 16bit Tiff files in the Epson Gray Gamma 2.2 color space
I bring them into Photoshop which is setup to use Gray Gamma 2.2
I edit them, and then import them to Lightroom


Question:
When they are in Lightroom, are they still in Gray Gamma 2.2 or has Lightroom done anything to them
If I make further edits in Lightroom, are they still in Gray Gamma 2.2
If I send them to the Epson ABW driver, are they being sent in the Gray Gamma 2.2 color space


Is Epson Gray Gamma 2.2 the same as Gray Gamma 2.2
Is Gray Gamma 2.2 a good color space to use for this workflow


Ian

[Wayne Fox]

Lr uses an internal color space for all work.  According to Adobe

Lightroom uses Adobe RGB:

    -for previews in the Library, Map, Book, Slideshow, Print, and Web modules
    -when printing in Draft mode
    -in exported PDF slideshows and uploaded web galleries
    -when you send a book to Blurb.com (If you export books as PDF or JPEG from the Book module, however, you can choose sRGB or a different color profile.)
    -for photos uploaded to Facebook and other photo-sharing sites using the Publish Services panel

The same article states it uses ProPhoto RGB for all work in the develop module, although it's been documented it's a slightly modified version of ProPhotoRGB.

So the original file may be in Grey Gamma 2.2, but Lr is converting that into it's own working spaces.  As far as the ABW driver from Lr, I don't use ABW but my understanding is that process does not use profiles, but is a printer driver conversion.

I'll let others comment on the workflow and the choice of grey gamma, personally I don't use anything special for my B&W conversions, most are just converted inside Lr using camera raw tools and printed just like a color photograph.